(December 2007)

By Warren Rojas

Food: 8.2 Ambiance: 8.5 Service: 7.3

With its palatial decor and unabashedly Afghan menu, Bamian may seem a bit intimidating to first-time visitors. But repeat guests—the dining room gets more and more crowded with each visit—can attest to the overwhelming hospitality that is the heart of this thriving community touchstone.

Unsure which exotic vegetable dish or grilled meat to sample? Check with any of the incredibly gracious servers, many of whom start off soft-spoken but cheerfully open up when discussing their favorite native dishes.

The exhilarating bouranee baunjaun summons a spicy eggplant mash offset by mint-spiked yogurt sauce, best devoured atop warm pitas. A gloriously understated portion of subzi chalau rolls leafy spinach and white rice around until grain and greens unite in stir-fried bliss. Chopan kabob delivers chargrilled lamb ribs that are sparsely seasoned yet roar with flavor, with or without a dunk in the potent homemade chutney (packs a citrusy sting). Simply sweet goshe feel reveals curly sheets of fried dough dusted with powdered sugar and crushed pistachios (no-nonsense confections even dieters can enjoy).

Keeping with the times, the restaurant offers about a dozen mixed whites and reds by the glass (all under $8), while bottled wines start at $22 for a youngish Delicato White Zinfandel and top out at $29 for a St. Francis Merlot. Devout Muslims can enjoy chilled doogh or hot tea.

Best New Afghani Charmer

(March 2007)

By Warren Rojas

Cultural adaptation is one of the things that make covering the restaurant industry so very interesting. Hence the reason I'm so smitten with Bamian, a new addition to the Bailey's Crossroads corridor that takes Persian favorites like char-grilled kabobs and homemade yogurt dishes and adds white-tablecloth treatment.

An otherwise plain-Jane exterior betrays luxe touches like a fashionable antechamber adorned with plush chairs and a display of traditional Afghani jewelry. The upscale dining room boasts plenty of space and modern amenities (minichandeliers illuminate from all around, while a bank of semi-private booths provides insta-intimacy). Open tables are not hard to find, but solo diners or small parties may wish they could join the larger groups of Middle Eastern diners that frequently gather to commune, share plates and while away the evening.

The menu includes nearly a dozen kabob standards (beef, lamb, chicken, salmon), but its true strength lies in the more high-brow offerings. A plate of sambosay goshti yields crispy triangles filled with ground beef and herbs (reminiscent of Middle Eastern empanadas). The more polished mantu platter summons homemade dumplings smothered in yogurt, meat sauce and snippets of fresh mint. The bountiful chef carrayee produces the Afghani answer to stir-fry, delivering a stew of sautéed chicken, spinach, onions, peppers and tomatoes accompanied by a zesty herb sauce and a basket of warm flat bread. The more subtle but no less pleasing palau buries tender lamb cubes beneath a mountain of saffron rice crowned with a robust meat stew.