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Bamiyan Afghan Cuisine


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#31 Bill Z

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Posted 18 May 2009 - 02:12 PM

QUOTE (palango @ May 18 2009, 02:59 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>
I am too lazy too cook. My wife wishes I cooked something else besides spaghetti, Bean Burrito, and fajitas. See, Afghan food takes like 4-6 hours to prepare, 20-30 minutes to eat and then 2 hours to clean up (unless you have leftovers which you can nuke in the microwave).

So Palango, when Cheesers in Folsom had the side business "Taste of Kabul", was that authentic or not? I liked it, the price I thought was reasonable, but it has been my only known Afghan eating experience.
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#32 palango

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Posted 18 May 2009 - 02:55 PM

I heard lots of good things about the old cheezers/Taste of Kabul from both Afghans and non Afghans. I knew the chef/owner "john" personally. Ihad his food when he had the Kabul Kabob Cusine on 9th andJ and it was fabulous. Then he sold it and it went downhill from there.

#33 palango

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Posted 18 May 2009 - 03:04 PM

QUOTE (a little bean @ May 18 2009, 03:11 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>
I've never had Afghan food either, and don't know what makes great Afghan food. Would you mind describing some of the common dishes/ingredients (I'd like to try it and it's always good to have a little knowledge when trying something new!)




Here is my lehman attempt of explaining this.

Basmati Rice is a staple with most of the dishes in various formats. For example, Rice with Meatball in tomatoe stew (flavored with lots of Cumin, light curry, and corrainder).


I would classify Persian (Iranian), Afghan, and Indian food into then following catagoiries.

On the Curry/specie scale, Persian food is very bland, but can also be very tasty. There is ZERO curry.

Afghan food has very complex spices with light curry. They rely on cumin and corriander and the food itself is not hot, but some of th Afghan saladas (kind of reminds me of salsa fresca) can be very hot because some folks puyt some hot peppers in there. Afghan food can also have Beef (tri Tip) Kabobs, lamb Kabobs as well as chicken Kabobs which can be very tasty.

Indian Food can be classified as very heavy on the curry and sometimes extremely hot. They have lots of vegeterian selections with some lamb, lots of checken, but no beef. There naan can be delicious.

I love all three, but Los Angeles area (hands down) has the BEST selection of Afghani, persian, and India selction anywhere.



#34 Bill Z

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Posted 18 May 2009 - 03:04 PM

QUOTE (palango @ May 18 2009, 03:55 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>
I heard lots of good things about the old cheezers/Taste of Kabul from both Afghans and non Afghans. I knew the chef/owner "john" personally. Ihad his food when he had the Kabul Kabob Cusine on 9th andJ and it was fabulous. Then he sold it and it went downhill from there.

Thanks, sounds like I got introduced to afghani food with the good stuff then, maybe someday another good one will open in Folsom. I'm also hoping for a good Korean restaurant to come to town.
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#35 palango

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Posted 18 May 2009 - 03:11 PM

One of the most well written and simple Afghan cookbooks I have ever encountered was written by Helen Saberi.

http://www.amazon.co...-...8183&sr=8-1

#36 a little bean

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Posted 18 May 2009 - 03:45 PM

QUOTE (palango @ May 18 2009, 04:04 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>
Here is my lehman attempt of explaining this.

Basmati Rice is a staple with most of the dishes in various formats. For example, Rice with Meatball in tomatoe stew (flavored with lots of Cumin, light curry, and corrainder).


I would classify Persian (Iranian), Afghan, and Indian food into then following catagoiries.

On the Curry/specie scale, Persian food is very bland, but can also be very tasty. There is ZERO curry.

Afghan food has very complex spices with light curry. They rely on cumin and corriander and the food itself is not hot, but some of th Afghan saladas (kind of reminds me of salsa fresca) can be very hot because some folks puyt some hot peppers in there. Afghan food can also have Beef (tri Tip) Kabobs, lamb Kabobs as well as chicken Kabobs which can be very tasty.

Indian Food can be classified as very heavy on the curry and sometimes extremely hot. They have lots of vegeterian selections with some lamb, lots of checken, but no beef. There naan can be delicious.

I love all three, but Los Angeles area (hands down) has the BEST selection of Afghani, persian, and India selction anywhere.


Thanks! Your description is making me hungry. I know you're not crazy about Bamiyan, but anywhere else you can suggest that would be a good place to get me some Afghan food?

#37 palango

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Posted 18 May 2009 - 04:24 PM

QUOTE (a little bean @ May 18 2009, 04:45 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>
Thanks! Your description is making me hungry. I know you're not crazy about Bamiyan, but anywhere else you can suggest that would be a good place to get me some Afghan food?


You can try Kabob Express on East Bidwell. I have not tried them, but am curious. Its owned by the same couple that own the Kabul Meat Market behind KFC. The owner has been bragging about his prices and portion sizes, but I have been burned many times by braggers.

I tend to favor some of the resturants in bay Area (fremont, Concord, walnut Creek). there is also Persian garden restaurant in the Arden area, but I do NOT recoomend buffets for Afghan/Persian because I have had bad experiences with them as they use cheap quality stuff for those.

If you are ever in the mode for Indian, I HIGHLY recomment CHAAT cafe in Roseville. This place is owned by a husband and wife team that used to be managers @ Intel. They have been around for almost 5 years and have done very very well. their samos, and wraps are amazing. they also have franchises in fremont and Berkley. I used to drive to Berkley for their food. Simple selection. Great taste. Good portion and great price.

I could care less about ambiance/wine selection. When I go to eat somewhere I have the following questions:

A) Is it Clean
B) Is it priced well and not out rageous
C) are they good portions
D) do you notice some ethnic people from their OWN cultures in there. For example, I see Indians @ Chaat cafe most of the time. I figure that If they think that its good, it must be good. Now I realize this must be a very poor and primitive assumption, but this has served me well through the years.

#38 Dave Burrell

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Posted 19 May 2009 - 07:26 AM

QUOTE (palango @ May 18 2009, 05:24 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>
You can try Kabob Express on East Bidwell. I have not tried them, but am curious. Its owned by the same couple that own the Kabul Meat Market behind KFC. The owner has been bragging about his prices and portion sizes, but I have been burned many times by braggers.


we've been there, the food was good and the prices were very nice.

QUOTE (palango @ May 18 2009, 05:24 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>
If you are ever in the mode for Indian, I HIGHLY recomment CHAAT cafe in Roseville. This place is owned by a husband and wife team that used to be managers @ Intel. They have been around for almost 5 years and have done very very well. their samos, and wraps are amazing. they also have franchises in fremont and Berkley. I used to drive to Berkley for their food. Simple selection. Great taste. Good portion and great price.


Have you tried Ruchi Indian Restaurant here in Folsom yet? (lots closer then Berkley or San Fran)

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#39 mylo

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Posted 19 May 2009 - 07:35 AM

QUOTE (davburr @ May 19 2009, 08:26 AM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>
Have you tried Ruchi Indian Restaurant here in Folsom yet? (lots closer then Berkley or San Fran)

I second Ruchi as best Indian.
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#40 Lisa in Folsom

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Posted 19 May 2009 - 08:22 AM

QUOTE (palango @ May 18 2009, 03:55 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>
I heard lots of good things about the old cheezers/Taste of Kabul from both Afghans and non Afghans. I knew the chef/owner "john" personally. Ihad his food when he had the Kabul Kabob Cusine on 9th andJ and it was fabulous. Then he sold it and it went downhill from there.


That explains it - I went two years ago or so and it was great. I gave the owner a pretty bad time about selling the Folsom location since he had gotten us hooked on the food and was then inconsiderate enough to sell to people who did not make the food the same way. I went to the DT one about 4 months ago and it wasn't as good as I remembered, but figured maybe it was an off day. Perhaps "John" could make it up to us and open another restaurant?

Afghan food is like Indian food - really good, but so much work that you are better off going out to get it.

#41 palango

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Posted 19 May 2009 - 09:42 AM

The Mrs always tells me that she wishes that she had the $$$ to open an Afghani restaurant in Folsom so she can showcase the real/authentic food with excellent service. But I warn her that even if she had the $$$, more than 90% of all businesses fail in the first 2 years and also you would be an absolute SLAVE to your restaurant. You will not be able to spend time with family and kids.

I have had friends that were in the restaurant business and the toll it took on the family was brutal (even though they had successful restaurants) .




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