It’s one of those places where most “reviewers” are not going to be able to find fault; nor will your average customer who walks in off the street.
Affable hosts, prompt service, delicious food, artfully presented, and a fair price. That’s the story at Kabul House on Oakton Street in Skokie.
A soothing atmosphere with linen tablecloths and napkins is the perfect setting to sample a wide variety of the cuisine of Afghanistan.
The restaurant has been around for quite some time, but has been in various locations around the North Shore; the Skokie location is the newest and nicest.
They bill themselves as “Chicago’s only authentic Afghani restaurant”. I have no way of knowing if that is true or not, of course, but I do know the food is spot on to other Afghan dining experiences I have had outside of the US.
We opened the experience with hot cardamom tea all around, which was both delicious and palate cleansing; on to lentil soup, with was hot, thick, with just a hint of spice.
For appetizers, we shared the “Mantoo”, steamed dumplings stuffed with seasoned ground beef and plated very attractively with a tomato based sauce and yogurt, and split the vegetarian platter entrée as another starter, a plate of sautéed spinach , eggplant, cauliflower, and pumpkin. If you’re a regular reader, you know how much I enjoy dumplings in any form, and the same goes for cooked spinach.
For my entrée, I opted for the Koubideh, seasoned ground beef skewers or kabobs (yes, I seek out hamburgers in any shape!) , with grilled vegetables. All entrees come with a choice of three styles of rice, a seasoned version, plain white, or dill. I went with the dill, enjoyed it very much. The other diners in the party enjoyed the shrimp kabobs, and the chicken kabob entrees.
I generally pass on dessert, but my companions raved about the rosewater and cardamom ice cream, made in-house.
Tea, two appetizers, three entrees, two desserts, two coffee, less than fifty bucks.
I generally don’t look at other reviews on line, but I was curious about how Kabul House fared, because my experience was so divine; I wasn’t surprised that the majority of reviews I saw paralleled my own experience.
This family deserves your business, and all the success that life in the free world promises. I’m happy to have had the experience of dining here.
Lentil Soup
Steamed beef filled dumplings
Ground beef skewers
