The walls are painted deep red and adorned with traditional Afghan outfits and paintings, the floors laid with beautiful Oriental carpets. There are only 15 tables, although some were set up for 6 or 8 seats. We ordered widely, starting with borani kadoo ($6.95), slices of pumpkin sauteed with garlic and butter and topped with yogurt and spices. I had heard of something similar from Bamiyan, and this version was delicious, with the sweetness of the pumpkin offset by the garlicky butter. Entrees normally come with a zesty salata, a mixture of red onion, tomato, cilantro, garbanzo beans, and a creamy dressing, but our server brought us separate plates of the salad to eat with the borani. Then we tried some mashawa ($4.99), a lentil and bean soup made creamy with yogurt. It was a very comforting soup, although I'd enjoy it more when it wasn't 95 degrees out. I'll look forward to ordering it when it begins raining. A great warm-weather drink, though, was the doghe ($2.50), an icy yogurt drink with cucumber and mint that reminded me of an Indian lassi. I found it a bit tart, but my husband thought it was great.

For our entrees, we had to try a kabob, and ordered the shami ($10.99), broiled skewers of ground beef seasoned with onions and served with sauteed rice. It was also sprinkled with spices, including red pepper. It was similar to kofte, if you've had that, almost a meatball mixture around a skewer, which is removed after cooking. The rice was very flavorful, and the shami was delicious with it, if just a bit dry. We also chose the mantoo ($11.99), which were fantastically tender steamed dumplings filled with ground beef and onions and topped with a tomatoey-yogurt sauce with plenty of spice. The dough on the dumplings was paper thin and the serving size was quite generous. Oh, and we got a basket of just-baked naan to sop up the delicious sauces. Spelled the same as the Indian bread, this slightly thicker version had some yeast in it and was crunchy on the outside and soft and aromatic in the middle.

Even though we couldn't finish all of the entrees, we had to try dessert. So we packed up the remaining shami and rice and split an order of firni ($2.50), a softly set pudding delicately flavored with rosewater, cardamom, almonds, and pistachios. There may have been some rice in the pudding as well. It was a great palate cleanser and just the right finish to the meal. All in all, we thought the food was fantastic and we didn't even spend $50 for everything.

Kabul Kabob has only been open for about a year, but it's well worth visiting. If you work downtown, take advantage of the all-you-can-eat lunch buffet from 11 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. Mon.-Fri. Otherwise, go for an early dinner and order a variety of dishes. Chances are, it will all be good.

Kabul Kabob Cuisine
729 J Street
916-444-9044
Mon-Fri, 11 a.m.-9 p.m.
Sat. 12 p.m.-8 p.m.
www.kabulkabobcuisine.com