DINING DIFFERENT IN AND AROUND TUKUBA
By Danna Bookem

For Twelve years I've watched the famous and not so famous eat on Japanese TV. I've watched them eat everything from abalone to whale and repeat it with the tedious regularity of the seasons. Watching other people eat has never satisfied me and I don't expect that it ever will. It just makes me hungry. In twelve years I've eaten in just about every kind of Japanese and "ethnic"restaurant the Tsuchiura/Tsukuba area has had to offer(I won't to go Tokyo risking death to dune).Nine times out of ten I've  been filled but not thrilled. I've narrowed down the myriad Izakaya/Aka Chochin to three that I REALLY like regardless of atmosphere or long legs and low tables.

I've narrowed down the myriad ramen shops to three my cholesterol count. I've narrowed down the "ethnic"restaurants to - one,the one that reminds me of California.I object to the perceived need to after a national cuisine to suit "the Japanese taste". I won't eat in many restaurant because I hate to have everyone eating virtually the same thing at different times.

Ali's Kebab is different dining experience in Tsukuba.Many of you are familiar with Ali's yellow trucks on the road and each serve off the road. He has wanted to use his huge kitchen preparing for a more leisurely dining experience since the beginning.He has only recently completed his plans.Having the space, the place and the time, Ali has recently opened his restaurant, Ali's Kebab on Science Odori.

The cuisine is and will be Iranian and as authentic as Ali himself. Iranians will want to eat there to remind them of home cooking. His spices, seasonings, even his specialized kitchen equipment are imported from Iran. He spent nearly two months at the end of last summer tracking down what he wanted and needed.

I won't detail the menu because Ali suggests it is a work in progress. When I visited, the menu offered as many as six pages of Iranian specialties. Each item was described in Japanese and English and each had a photo as well. One can order ala carte or beef, chicken or lamb. Ali is no small guy and the portions in his restaurant may reflect his own appetite, they are generous. In two visits I've had shish-kebab, ground lamb charcoal roasted and beef Donner kebab, slow roasted sliced beef with vegetables. Both were excellent. The complete dinner was served with a delightful vegetable soup, light as a feather pita bread, salad with a choice of one of Ali's three dressings, long grain white rice and long grain saffron rice. Garnish was a unique pickle that I'll have to ask Ali about the next time. This time I was taken with the beef kebab and the long grain rice, also authentically Iranian.

Ali put a lot of time and effort into making his restaurant comfortable. It is small without being close. The Middle Eastern music in the background added to the ambiance as does the art on the walls. Prices are reasonable, ranging from about \800 to about \1800. There is a full bar so whether you are on the Japanese"date course"or the visiting gaikokujin"family course", you'll find Ali's appropriate. Ali tells me he is prepared for large,even very large parties as well. I'll be suggesting that my office has the next enkai there.

Finding Ali's is easy - the second time. Ali's is located on Science Odori in the Tokodai neighborhood of Tsukuba. If you are going west on the Tsuchiura-Gakuen sen you'll want to turn right at the second set of huge steel columns on the side of the road. Go past the entrance to Banpaku Park but if you pass Shuei High School you have gone too far.

After you've made the correct turn on Science Odori you pass the big Tokodai Sports Park ,Intel Japan,etc. Slow down a bit and start looking to the right. Ali's has a sign painted on the front and side of his yellow building. look for the restaurant's name, caricatures of Ali, a cow, a lamb and a chicken. you can't enter his parking lot from Science Odori, but have to turn onto the street running parallel to it.

Ali's Kebab is open from 6 PM until midnight nightly except Monday. Bon appetite!