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Finding a good mechanic — like finding a good hairstylist — is crucial to city living. You need someone dependable, honest, and unequivocally skilled at their job. My mechanic is all of those things — plus, he has great taste in food to boot.

Ali Alhumaidi is the owner-operator of on East Vernor Highway. Ali was born in Yemen, specifically the capital of Sanaa. He grew up in the Bronx before settling in Detroit around 2016. He carries with him some of that unmistakable New York swagger as he saunters around the premises with a type of big-city confidence. On most days, you’ll find him wearing kneepads and a backwards hat, and if you go to In & Out during lunchtime, you’ll probably see him and his crew chowing down on braised lamb and basmati rice in the garage.

That’s exactly where I found Ali and his mostly Yemeni staff enjoying such a meal — four men sitting on the cold concrete ground, digging into plates of lamb shanks and fragrant rice spread out on a flattened cardboard box. When I came to pick up my truck, this potent smell had percolated through the entire garage. Gone were the mechanical scents of oil, machinery, tires, and gasoline — this space was now occupied by the aromas of Yemen.

I had to know where it came from. “We try all of them,” Ali says about the Yemeni restaurants in Detroit. “And �����Բ�’a is the best.”

That’s where Ali gets his lamb and rice — , a restaurant in Dearborn that also shares a name with his birth city. I asked Ali how often he orders takeout from the restaurant. “Every day,” he responded casually.

In an industry that’s often dominated by the shiny new thing and who won what award, it’s refreshing to see somebody patronize a restaurant nearly every day of the week. It’s a rare kind of loyalty, but Ali and his staff simply aren’t sick of �����Բ�’a no matter how often they eat it. Lamb and rice powers this auto shop on a daily basis.

“Go. Order the lamb haneeth,” Ali instructed me as he handed over the keys to my truck. “It’s unbelievable.” And so, I left the garage with a fully functional Tacoma but also, more importantly, a new restaurant recommendation from my mechanic.

�����Բ�’a is a warm, approachable restaurant, the type of place working-class Arab Americans frequent in Dearborn. The dining room consists of mostly booths usually occupied by locals — families with children eat together and men pop in during their lunch break, with lots of people coming in and out of the restaurant during bustling afternoon hours. On each of my three trips to �����Բ�’a, the counter was tended by a different helpful, benevolent teenager.

As Ali promised, the lamb haneeth is indeed the star at �����Բ�’a. Lamb shanks marinated in an array of traditional spices are roasted slowly on low heat so the meat falls off the bone. Fatty, meaty, and tender — the lamb possesses a succulent texture. The shanks get plopped down on a colorful bed of orange and yellow basmati rice and are served with a side of a spicy red salsa called zahawig.

Near the outskirts of the plate lie dried black lemons, a traditional Yemeni accompaniment. Incredibly pungent and tart, they serve as a strong accent to the meat and rice. Traditionally, it’s a dish eaten with one’s hands, but the restaurant also offers plastic cutlery.

With the lamb haneeth arrives an entire meal of accoutrements — a deli salad features iceberg lettuce, tomatoes, raw red onions, cucumbers, and an herby dressing that reads very much Italian. Hearty, turmeric-spiced lamb soup warms and brightens the meal, and puffy, toasted disks of flatbread are cooked in a tandoor and delivered directly to the table, perfect for ripping and dipping.

What else do Ali and his crew of wrench-wielding mechanics like to eat at �����Բ�’a? He occasionally orders the fatah with honey — a soft, sticky, and sweet bread pudding-like dessert that features lots of honey butter.

The kebda amounts to a platter of marinated, sautéed lamb liver served with onions, tomatoes, jalapeños, and garlic. The lamb liver is marinated with plenty of warm spices, and the grilled onions add a layer of sweetness.

Fahsa is a dish that can be best described as shredded lamb dip: A bubbling pot of spiced lamb and aromatics is topped with creamy hulbah, a frothy condiment made from ground fenugreek seeds. The lamb is served piping hot in a clay pot — so hot that bits of lamb excitedly sizzle and caramelize right in front of your eyes. The savory, salty bits that develop around the edges of the pot are packed with flavor. Fahsa, like the lamb haneeth, is a must-order.

The only real miss I experienced on the menu was the foul. Finely mashed fava beans come in the same bubbling-hot clay pot, but the dish feels mostly bland. Olive oil heated to such a degree often leaves an acrid flavor. Still, the restaurant leaves its mark, and leaves it cheaply.

Aside from a friendly, helpful staff and stellar food, the portions and prices at �����Բ�’a are downright gracious: The $27.99 lamb, rice, and choice of a soup or salad is easily a lunch for two. It’s a working-class meal through and through, the type of food capable of feeding Detroit’s hardworking citizens on a regular basis, as it does at In & Out Auto.

I went back to see Ali. This time not because something was wrong with my truck, but to thank him for the restaurant recommendation and also to find out why exactly — out of all the Yemeni restaurants around Detroit — he prefers this one.

“It smells like Yemen,” he says fondly of the restaurant, while also reminiscing about his home country. Then, “The people. They’re kind; they make you feel at home.”

It’s 11 a.m., near lunchtime, and soon Ali and his crew will be indulging in �����Բ�’a’s lamb haneeth. The smells of roasted lamb shank and basmati rice will waft through the garage, and I imagine other customers will become enraptured by it, too. Perhaps they’ll even be curious enough to ask what restaurant the food comes from.

Listen to food critics, sure — but it never hurts to take a restaurant recommendation from your mechanic, either.

At a Glance

• Price: $ ($15-$20)
• Vibes: Family restaurant, lunch
• Service: Friendly, helpful
• Sound level: Quiet to moderate
• Dress code: Casual
• Open: 7 days a week, 10 a.m.-9 p.m.
• Reservations: Yes
• Parking: Parking lot in the back or street
• Accessibility: Wheelchair accessible

�����Բ�’a Yemeni Cuisine is located at . Call 313-427-8424 for more information.��

This story originally appeared in the March 2025 issue of ����vlog��׿��. To read more, pick up a copy of ����vlog��׿�� Detroit at a local retail outlet. Our will be available on March. 10