Mediterranean Catering in Fredericksburg

Aladin Mediterranean Kitchen cooks for groups out of its kitchen at 9901 Southpoint Parkway, just off I-95 at Exit 126. The catering menu draws on the eastern Mediterranean: Lebanese dips and salads, Greek gyro and Greek salad, grilled kabobs, and a handful of Egyptian dishes you rarely see on a catering menu. This page covers how the pieces fit together. For dish-by-dish detail, see Greek catering, Lebanese catering and kabob and shawarma catering.

What goes on a Mediterranean catering spread

A Mediterranean table works in layers. Guests start with something to scoop, add a salad, then fill the plate with a grilled or roasted main over rice. Most spreads have five parts:

• Dips: hummus and baba ghannouge, eaten with warm tandoori bread.
• Bites by the dozen: falafel, grape leaves, spinach pies, cheese pies, kibbie.
• A salad: fattoush, tabouleh, Lebanese, Greek or Mediterranean salad.
• A main: a shawarma or gyro tray, kabob skewers, or a lamb specialty.
• Rice and dessert: a tray of rice, then baklava, kunafa or rice pudding.

The food holds well on a buffet table. Dips and salads are served cool, and the bread and pies are fine at room temperature, which matters for a meeting that runs long.

Mezze or mains: which to order

Mezze are the small plates that start a meal across Lebanon, Greece and Turkey. For a catered event, think of them as the dips and finger foods. Mains are the trays of shawarma, gyro or kabobs.

• Lunch meeting or office lunch: one main, rice, one salad, one dip and bread. Everyone gets a full plate in one pass through the line.
• Open house or reception where people graze: lean on mezze. Two dips, two or three items by the dozen and a salad, with one main for heartier eaters.
• Dinner or celebration: both. Mezze on the table as guests arrive, then the mains.

For finger foods, plan on two or three pieces of each item per guest when you serve several. For dips, one small tray covers 10–12 people as a side.

A good Mediterranean spread for 20

For an office lunch of 20, this order covers everyone once per course: chicken shawarma, rice, fattoush, hummus, bread and baklava. Totals come from the current menu prices.

Qty	Item	Price
1	Chicken Shawarma, large tray	$120
1	Rice, large tray	$50
1	Fattoush Salad, large tray	$60
1	Hummus, large tray	$60
2	Tandoori Bread, dozen	$32
1	Baklava, large tray	$90
	Food total	$412
	Per guest	about $20.60

Food only, at today's menu prices, before tax and delivery ($10 to $30 by distance). Trays are counted at the low end of each size's range.

Easy swaps at about the same size:

• Gyro ($120 large) in place of chicken shawarma, with Greek salad in place of fattoush.
• Add a dozen falafel ($14 a dozen) so vegetarians have a main of their own. See vegan and vegetarian catering for more.
• Add baba ghannouge ($40 small) for a second dip.

Planning for more people? The catering planning guide works the same order for 30, 50 and 100 guests.

Egyptian favorites

Alongside the Lebanese and Greek dishes, the kitchen makes four Egyptian dishes in trays. They give a spread something guests won't find on every catering menu.

Koushary

Koushary (also spelled koshari or kushari) is often called Egypt's national dish, sold from street carts and small shops all over Cairo. It layers pasta, rice and brown lentils under a tangy tomato sauce and garlic vinegar, finished with chickpeas and crispy fried onions. It is filling and inexpensive, a good second main next to a meat tray: $60 small / $110 large.

Béchamel pasta

Egyptian makarona béchamel is a baked penne with spiced ground beef under a layer of creamy béchamel and mozzarella, cut into squares like lasagna. It is a family-gathering dish in Egypt and an easy sell to kids: $60 small / $90 large.

Kunafa

Kunafa is shredded phyllo layered with sweet cheese, baked until golden and soaked in syrup. It is served across the Middle East, and it is at its best warm: $70 small / $130 large.

Basbousa

Basbousa is a sweet semolina cake, baked golden, a favorite at Egyptian celebrations and coffee tables. It cuts into neat squares for a dessert table and is sold as a large tray: $70 a large tray.

How to order

Orders must be placed and confirmed 24 hours before your event. Pick up at the restaurant, 9901 Southpoint Parkway (open from 11 am daily), or we deliver anywhere within 50 miles of it, to offices, homes, churches and venues. Delivery is $10 for addresses within 20 miles of the restaurant, $20 for 20 to 40 miles and $30 for 40 to 50 miles. Orders placed less than 48 hours before your event are paid in full when you order; with more notice, your order starts as a quote, and we call you to go over it before charging your card. Browse every tray on the catering menu, then request a quote or call (540) 372-7755.