[Pigging by Wilfrid: October 26, 2009]
Only sheerest coincidence led to me lunching yesterday at an unassuming Afghan kebab house listed in last week's Time Out guide to the "best food neighborhoods".
In fact, it was only the sight of the Time Out review carefully pasted in the window which made the connection, even though I'd read the article.
Coney Island Avenue is a long, straight, cosmopolitan route from the bottom of Prospect Park to Brighton Beach. One passes a few Latino diners, some Pakistani restaurants, then a strip of kebab and pita stops before hitting the kosher schnitzel joints. It was by luck that Bahar was the stopping spot. It immediately impresses as well-looked after, neat and tidy - if a bit orangey in decor - and the menu is very interesting. By which I mean, of course, that it had plenty of things I'd not heard of - and a good vegetarian section, by the way.
So I ordered the ashti gooshti (pictured above) from a list of Authentic Afghan Pasta Dishes. Its authenticity could hardly be reproached. The description led me to expect some kind of spaghetti with meat sauce, but no. The noodles were white, almost translucent, and remarkably light. Egg noodles are a feature of Afghan cuisine I know, but these were more like a rice noodle (everywhere this dish is mentioned, I find the noodles described as "silky" and "handmade" which is true, if uninformative). The ground beef and lentils were sauced with yogurt and lemon, but the striking flavor and aroma note came from fresh mint.
A kebab of yogurt-marinated chicken was impeccable, and came with ample rice and and a salad. The home-made lemonade is well-flavored and fiercely cold, but a bit sugary. An alternative is mango lassie. Yes, it is big and orange.
A substantial lunch for around sixteen or seventeen dollars a head. No dessert ordered, but room saved for some pistachi-flavored sweets from Sahara Sweets and Bakery just down the Avenue, where you can gorge yourself on multi-colored confections for $8 a pound.
Next time a schnitzel, perhaps.
