Aladin Market Little Bangladesh Los Angeles, CA

Quite frequently I get the urge to travel. 95% of the time I go to LAX it is to pick up or drop somebody off. Every time I pass the International terminal I think about pulling a Lawrence Taylor. Park the car at the curb, get on the plane, and deal with the mess when you get back. Like clockwork my passenger shouts out their terminal is approaching. I pull up to the curb, hug them goodbye, and hit the 105 freeway back to my house.

I went on a trip to Bangladesh to visit my brother a few years ago with Dad and Uncle, and this trip is the reason I want to be Lawrence Taylor. Nothing compares to the first few steps you take in a foreign country. It’s sensory overload and boy do I miss it.

I tried to recreate this feeling by going to Aladin Sweets and Market in LA’s Little Bangladesh a few weeks ago. I even rode my bike as an attempt to replicate the rickshaw rides I grew accustomed to in Dhaka. It also happened to be the holy month of Ramadan so I thought it would be a fine way to break the fast.

As I sat in Aladin Market by myself (people don’t eat until sunset during Ramadan. I should have planned that one better.) eating chicken biryani, various pakoras, a beef dumpling, reading an article in the Economist about Bangladesh’s upcoming prime minister elections, and watching ATN Bangla I was inundated with memories from my trip. It was awesome.  

The sounds, smells, flavors, and sites of Bangladesh are overwhelming. I would imagine Aladin Market would have a similar effect on many Angelenos. Bangladeshi food is like your favorite step brother from a previous marriage in relation to Indian food. My favorite thing in Bangladesh was the grilled meat dishes. Sadly they didn’t serve any of that at Aladin market, but they did come through with a mean chicken biryani. Things really got cracking when I mixed in some of the sea foam green yogurt sauce.

Lawrence Taylor’s curbside departures never ended up in Bangladesh, but that doesn’t mean we don’t share similar feelings of wanting to leave something behind. Thankfully I found Aladdin market and for a little over an hour I got out of town.