Welcome back to Five Things, Racket’s recurring rundown of new, new-to-us, or otherwise notable Twin Cities restaurants. Today we’re taking you inside Baba Saj, which opened in Blaine last October.
The small Illinois-based chain, with two locations in the greater Chicago area, got its start in 2015, but this is the first Baba Saj in Minnesota. I sat down with Mohammed Almadani, owner of the new north metro franchise, to talk about all things fresh-baked bread and shawarma. Here are five things to know before you go.
All the Bread is Made In-House
I judge a Mediterranean spot by the bread, and bread that’s made in-house is always a sign that the meal is about to rock. “What makes us special is our bread is made every single day, fresh,” Almadani tells me. Saj is right there in the name of Baba Saj, and it’s featured heavily on the menu. “It’s a thin bread, very light. We use it to wrap the shawarma and we toast it so it becomes a little crispy,” Almadani says. They even have a saj oven specifically for the bread.
But while saj features prominently on the menu, it’s not the only bread they make. There’s a plethora of breads made in-house, from wraps to sesame buns that resemble hoagies to fresh-baked pita. This is a bread lover’s paradise: flatbreads with labneh, samoon stuffed with steak shawarma, or nutella saj for dessert.
Yes, the Drive-Thru is Actually Open 24/7
Baba Saj solves one big problem I did not know I had: the problem of where to obtain breakfast falafel.
In order to write this piece, I felt like it was important to make a run to the drive-thru at a time you might not expect to go get falafel. So I drove out during the morning rush hour (you’re welcome) to make sure that the drive-thru is, in fact, open 24/7. And I’m happy to report that it is! Maybe this solves a problem for you, too. You can get an order of hummus in the middle of the night when you can’t sleep, or you can pop by before work to get a shawarma roll and save it for lunch. The full menu is available all day and all night long at the drive-thru window, with the dining room open until 1 a.m. every day of the week.
It’s Family-Friendly Food and Fun
Every time I go to Baba Saj, there are tons of kids in the restaurant enjoying kid’s meals and dancing to music. There’s even a small playground. Almadani told me part of the goal was to be a place where families can come. “We have a playground area for a kid where if someone wants to come enjoy their food or coffee,” he says. “They can have their kids play in the small playground and enjoy their time here.” There's a special kids’ menu, too, with items like a Zinger special: three-piece chicken tenders with fries or flatbreads (think cheese pizza). They even have halal pepperoni!
It Gets Busy
Walking into Baba Saj for the first time, the main thing I noticed was the line. It wrapped around the entire restaurant, threatening to snake through the tables. Staff at the front were pushing to fill orders as fast as they could, occasionally glancing up at the growing line like it didn’t phase them one bit. Overhead, there was music sung in Arabic to a beat that felt like it would fit into the most buzzy restaurant in New York City, not suburban Blaine. One baby, seated in a high chair, was bopping up and down with the music, banging their hands on the table, and the table next to them joined in, egging the baby on. Baba Saj felt less like a restaurant and more like a raucous party.
When you come, expect to have a bit of a wait for your food. Orders are announced with a bell and an automated voice on a PA system overhead like this: “*Ding Dong* Order 344, please take the meal.” So, head’s up: This isn’t the most sensory-friendly experience, but it does feel electric to be in a restaurant that’s constantly full with the chatter of families and order after order coming in from the drive-thru and in the dining room.
The Shawarma is the Breakout Star
I’ve eaten my way around the menu at Baba Saj, and my pick for your first order is the steak shawarma meal ($15.49). It comes in a wrap of toasted saj with a mix of carrot, cucumber, and pepper pickles. There’s tahini on the side and a pile of fries in the middle. It’s a great meal to grab and go and hearty enough to fill you up even if you forgot to eat lunch.
You can also get the steak shawarma on a flatbread. “We wanted to blend cultures together so we came up with a steak shawarma pizza,” Almadani says. That’ll be my order next time I go in. As for Almadani, he likes the chicken shawarma because it’s packed with a garlicky punch. “If you want it spicy,” he says, “order it as a zinger.”
Baba Saj Mediterranean Restaurant
Address: 8685 Central Ave. NE Ste. #110, Blaine
Hours: 9 a.m. to 1 a.m. daily; drive-thru open 24/7
