If you’ve ever experienced Mediterranean food from one of the New York City street carts, get excited — something similar recently popped up in Kailua.
Naji Baba opened on March 23, according to business owner Naji Salahaldin, who says the business is inspired by the New York City street carts. He says he and his business partner initially thought about opening as a small hot dog cart, but decided to ultimately have a trailer.
“We wanted to make it (the hot dog cart) look like the street carts of New York, but we thought about the rain,” he says. “We made it into a little kitchen.
“A lot of guys at work (my full-time job) call me Naji Baba,” he adds. “My partner — who’s from Brooklyn and grew up eating this stuff all the time — always goes to this place in New York called Haji Baba.”
Naji Baba’s location is ideal for foot traffic, and Salahaldin says they chose the location to provide more options for those who live and work in the area.
“I live here (in Kailua),” he says. “There used to be a trashcan for the building (where we’re located). The landlord is a doctor; there are a lot of nurses around there, and he wanted to have a food cart or something affordable for the nurses working.”
The cart’s menu is simple, consisting mainly of rice platters and sandwiches. The combo rice platter ($16) — which comes with falafel, gyro and chicken — is the bestseller, according to Salahaldin. Plates come with the business’s housemade white sauce, but contrary to popular belief, it’s not quite tzatziki.
“People use tzatziki sauce; we make our own white sauce,” Salahaldin says. “That’s what makes the plate; it gives it more flavor. It has yogurt, mayo, eggs and a bunch of other things. It’s not tzatziki because there is no cucumber.”
If you’re going to the cart for the first time, the combo rice platter is ideal because it’s basically a sampler. All the meat choices are flavorful, and if you’re concerned about the price, rest assured that it’s enough food for two meals.
If you get the falafel sandwich, you won’t have to worry about dried falafel. The falafel are flavorful with some texture, but they aren’t overly gritty.
“We make the falafel from scratch; our falafel, white sauce and chicken seasoning are our secret,” Salahaldin says. “A lot of other places have frozen falafel; we decided to do something different.
“Back home, there’s no such thing as frozen falafel,” he adds. “You get the dry chickpeas, you soak them overnight and it becomes soft, then you have to grind them, add garlic, onions and cilantro. It’s in our culture; falafel is what we grew up eating. I was born and raised in Palestine; this is what my mom made, this is what we ate.”
The sandwiches are good options if you want a meal that’s easy to grab and go. They’re a little messy to eat, but so worth it — and ask for extra white sauce and hot sauce just in case. Once you try that white sauce, you’ll probably want more.
Be forewarned: If you go at prime lunch time, the cart might be busy; during our visit, a phone system wasn’t installed yet, so only in-person ordering was available (a new phone system has since been installed). The goal for the business is to be open every day, eventually with halal meat, according to Salahaldin.
“We did not expect this volume all at once,” he says. “People keep coming back!”
CONTACT
Naji Baba
45 Aulike St., Kailua
808-761-0865
Instagram: @naji_baba_hi
Open 11 a.m.-7 p.m. Fridays-Saturdays, 10 a.m.-7 p.m. Sundays
Kelli Shiroma Braiotta can be reached at kelli@alohastatedaily.com.
