Afghan Friend Authentic Food, Moderate Prices Distinguish Afghan Grill by Rachel Hunt and Stephen Qualiana The first thing we noticed when walking up the stairs to the second floor of the Afghan Grill on Calvert Street near the corner of Connecticut in were two American flags in the Afghan restaurantís alcove window, as if the setting were a shrine. The second thing we noticed, to our surprise, was that the rather open and sparely decorated dining room was nearly fullóexcept for three small tablesóon a Sunday. This was after Sept. 11 but before the U.S. air strikes on Afghanistan. So it appeared that local diners were not shying away from the restaurant for political reasons. The chiffon-yellow walls with soft sconce lighting were nearly bare, but the dining room was warm and comfortable. We remembered that when this Woodley Park location was the restaurant Kyber Pass it was almost cluttered with Middle Eastern ornamentation. Our waitress, casually dressed, was friendly and knowledgeable, but we think she had her hands full because there were only two waitresses for the entire dining room. Although she was willing, she did not always follow through and had to be asked twice on occasion for some things, such as water. The Afghani salad ($3) was a delicious mix of finely chopped purple onion, tomato, cucumber, green bell pepper with cilantro and mint in a lime dressing. The panir salad ($3.25) was also very good, made with sliced fresh tomatoes, feta cheese, mint in vinaigrette and served with bread. The mint in both salads really added zing to the taste. These salads were fine examples of how simple can be very good. The sampler ($11.75) was a good representation of the appetizers offered on the menu. It included sambosy goshtiócrisp little turnovers with light dough and stuffed with ground beef, chickpeas and properly seasoned. The bulanee, a leek and potato turnover with yogurt, was terrific with the same crispy turnover pastry as the meat version. Kadu buranee and aushak were also included on the platter, of which we ordered entrÈe versions. When we ordered the entrÈes we were a bit surprised to find out that at 7 p.m. the restaurant had already run out of two things we had requested: the potato and bean salad and an Afghani beer. But the alternative choices turned out to be pleasing. All the entrÈes were served on large white plates. The kadu buranee ($9.25) was exceptional. Another simple dish, it was made with strips of grilled pumpkin, garlic, yogurt and meat sauce, sprinkled with mint and coriander. The pumpkin was not in the least stringy and its sweetness was nicely offset with the tang of yogurt. It was an unexpectedly winning combination and the most unusual thing we sampled. We tried the entrÈe version of aushak ($9.25), which was wonderfully gratifying. It was a generous serving of tender leek-filled dumplings topped with yogurt and meat and potato sauce. The combination kebob ($14.50) was a platter stacked with samples of several of the kebob meats and accompanied by basmati rice and dusted with powdered sumac. The grilled chicken chunks were tender and moist, and the beef was marinated to tenderness, slightly spiced and succulent. The lamb was a bit gamy and chewier but very good. Unfortunately, this dish would have been much better if more grilled vegetables had been served. Only grilled tomatoes accompanied the meat and rice, which left us wanting for vegetables. The spinach buranee ($9), which was similar to an Indian paneer except that it was not purÈed but sautÈed, was tasty with a pleasing texture. The hearty korma challaw ($9.75) was chunks of boneless chicken breast simmered with fresh tomatoes. Similar to a stew, it was cooked with garlic, onion and coriander seeds and was served on a bed of rice. Although it was somewhat greasy it certainly was appealing to the palette The eggplant buranee ($8.75), a stewed eggplant dish, was smooth and tasty, with no bitter aftertaste, which is often a problem with eggplant. It was cooked with tomatoes, sliced onions and mint and served with rice. The custard was rather gelatinous and covered with ground pistachios. Although it was tasty, the texture was too much like glue. The baklava, though flavorful, was difficult to eat because the filo was tough. The ice cream was simple and good: just plain vanilla ice cream topped with honey and ground pistachios. Later, we talked to Afghan Grill chef and owner Asmat Pikar to see if his business had been affected by the Sept. 11 attacks. "Iím going to be honest with you," said Pikar, "the people in Washington have been very nice to us. They come and support us, and they send us letters. Right after [Sept. 11] business was slow. It dropped off for about a week or a week and a half. Then the people started coming again, and they gave us their support. I appreciate that." He said the level of business is nearly where it was before the attacks. Nasr Sateri, owner of Paradise, a Persian and Afghan restaurant in Bethesda, Md., expressed similar sentiments. "We didnít see any reaction from our customers because we have been here for a long time," he said. "And they know us, and they have a relationship with us. We did not have a bad reaction, but business was down. It was 40 percent down [after Sept. 11]. Now itís 20 percent." Afghan Grill is at 2309 Calvert St. NW, Washington, D.C. The telephone number is (202) 234-5095. Dress is city casual. All major credit cards are accepted. The kitchen is open from Tuesday to Sunday from 11:30 a.m. to 2 p.m. and 5 p.m. to 10:30 p.m. Rachel Hunt and Stephen Qualiana are the restaurant reviewers for The Washington Diplomat.