Friday night, Amy and I visited Afghan Grill again. It's been about five or so months since we'd last been there - too long if you ask me. I had a major craving for their Kadu Buranee (sauteed pumpkin). We didn't bother making a reservation, but we probably should've. The restaurant was packed around 8 PM when we arrived. Overall, Aghan Grill seems to be doing very well. I mean, the last time we'd been there, they weren't nearly as crowded and it was really easy to get a table. This time, we were lucky that they were able to make room for us.

We didn't order appetizers, although, I wish we had. (I saw someone order the sampler and it looked very enticing.) Instead we decided to just get entrees and eat the pita bread that they always bring to the table. They did change the dipping sauce that they bring with the bread - for the better. It is now much spicier. You can see the pepper seeds in it. They've obviously added jalapenos or some other green pepper to the recipe. I also ordered a glass of the Turkish red which has always been a winner in the past.

When the entrees came, I was ready to devour. Amy ordered the Kadu Buranee and it was very good as usual. Knowing that Amy would never finish her entire dish, I went with something new. I should have written down the name of the dish, but I remember the last word in the title was "Pulao". Anyway, it was a basmati rice dish with carrots, raisins, and your choice of chicken or lamb. It was excellent. The meat was tender and adequately seasoned. I don't know what it is about the rice at Afghan Grill, but I swear I could eat plates and plates of it on it's own. The sweetness of the carrots and raisins complimented the spices in the chicken well. The Kadu Buranee that Amy ordered tasted great as usual. Overall it is a very sweet dish. Meat sauce is added to the top of the sauteed pumpkin to add a salty flavor to the dish.

We opted out of dessert. This was probably one of the fastest meals we've eaten in a long time. I mean, we were in and out in less than an hour. Most of the people that were there when we arrived were still there when we left. The pace of the service helped very much. The server brought our food not too long after we ordered it. Each server in the restaurant helped with out table at some point, whether it was filling out water glasses or bringing our food. Service gets an A+ grade. When it was all over, the check only came to $33 which was definitely on the cheaper side compared to most of our meals recently.

Read about my previous trips to Afghan Grill here.

Afghan Grill
2309 Calvert Street, NW
Washington, DC 20008
(202) 234-5095
Map
www.afghangrill.com

Dress Code: Casual
Parking: None - street parking is a rare in Woodley Park. No Valet either. I recommend taking the metro or cabbing.
Nearest Metro: Woodly Park. Literally, it's right there.
Reservations: Taken
Bathroom rating: Eh, they're ok. The actually aren't in the restaurant. You have to go outside the restaurant and upstairs to some comment restroom that the building has. Cleanliness is questionable, but all the utilities are all working.