Working near the Inner Harbor has its advantages around mealtime. In addition to the restaurants and food stalls in Harborplace, there are numerous eateries for blocks in any direction.
One of the more exotic options is Afghan Kabob, which opened four months ago in a sunny space at the corner of Lombard and Charles streets. The menu is small, and so is the space in this glorified carryout. But the food and service far exceed the quality of the average glorified carryout. In fact, both are better than some of the more formal places I've been to in the neighborhood.
While Afghan food is still a rarity in Baltimore, it's not new, thanks to the venerable Helmand. Afghan Kabob is a distant descendant of the Mount Vernon landmark; Kabob's owner, Anwar Hamidi, managed Helmand restaurants in Boston and San Francisco before striking out on his own. His goal is to provide Helmand-quality food in a fast-food environment.
Don't dismiss Hamidi's place as an Afghan McDonald's; his wife, Shayma, prepares the food in a clay oven, and he or his counter helper cheerfully delivers it to the table. (Ordering is done at the counter.) The main similarities between a true fast-food joint and Afghan Kabob are the speed with which one can eat and the stripped-down atmosphere.
We started with appetizers typically found in northern Afghanistan: aushak (Afghan ravioli) and mantwo (comparable to meat dumplings). The aushak's yogurt, mint and garlic sauce released a wonderful floral flavor in our mouths that held up well against the ground beef and scallion mix ladled over the ravioli.
The mantwo tasted almost fruity, perhaps because of the puree of dark-orange carrots and yellow split peas that blanketed the small dumplings.
To pay homage to the restaurant's name, we tried beef and chicken kabobs. The former was tender and mildly zesty from being marinated in a blend of onions, crushed raisins and herbs. The chicken chunks were plenty tender, as well.
The kabobs came atop warm wedges of flatbread. Sides were a spicy chopped salad of onions, green peppers and tomatoes; peppery sauteed spinach; and long-grain rice sprinkled with cumin seeds.
The same sides accompanied a lamb entree called chow pan; the chunks of lamb were on top of the spinach, in fact. We liked the lamb well enough, but for $11.95 we expected the three chunks to be much larger than the bite-sized ones we got.
For dessert, we lapped up a creamy, cold rice pudding dusted with cardamom and pistachio pieces. Bucklawa - an Afghan version of baklava - passed muster with my companion, an accomplished baker of baklava. The flaky, layered pastry, spread with a gooey, thin honey-nut filling, fell short of excellent because it was served ice-cold instead of at room temperature.
Hamidi says he does a brisk carryout business. But he also seems to be doing a brisk sit-down business; the crowd filled each table during a weekday lunch hour. Hamidi and the pleasant young woman behind the counter handled the rush without missing a beat.
Great food, brought to the table with a smile, ought to improve any day in the office.
Afghan Kabob
Where: 37 S. Charles St.
Call: 410-727-5511
Open: For lunch and dinner Monday through Saturday
Credit cards: MC, V
Prices: Appetizers $3.95; entrees $6.95 to $11.95
Food: ***
Service: ***
Atmosphere: **
Excellent ****; Good ***; Fair **; Poor *