The Royal Afghan

Hello All:

Sorry we haven't been on here much lately, but..well...do you really want to hear how Mike went to work, and I lounged by the pool all day? Didn't think so.

Last night when Mike got back from work, we decided to check out the The Royal Afghan restaurant. The Afghan is actually one of the many restaurants located in the Windsor Sheraton & Towers Hotel. (beautiful!) It's only about a 5 minute walk to the hotel, so we headed out about 7:30. Unfortunately a lot of the restaurants don't even open until 7:30, which is a bit late for me.

The restaurant was poolside (nice) with an open kitchen and many grills. When Mike and I first approached the hotel we were bombarded with the delicious smells of shish kebab. The smell definitely reminded us of Turkey. As we were already quite hungry, that just about put us over. heh heh

When we got in (or is that out) there were some very interesting uniforms on the waiters and staff. Afghany? maybe. Anyway we were seated and the first thing that caught my attention was the copper. Copper all over the kitchen and copper drinking cups. Cool. Then the waiter came over and placed a very large bib on our laps. Some people left them on their laps, and some tied them around their necks. We opted for the lap. :)

The menu handed to us was also a bit unusual , it was a slab of wood. One side vegetarian and the other non. I choose chicken kebabs that were marinated in cheese, yogurt and spices. Mike choose a lamb type thing..also grilled. We also ordered drinks and nan bread. (have no idea if I'm spelling it right) Then we just sat back and waited.

Meal time here is a time of relaxation and sheer enjoyment of food. I believe that to be a lost art in the states (the hurry mode). It's actually kind of funny because I do think its hard to relax and spend at least 2 hours at the table. The looks of 'you can't be done' and 'you can't possibly want something else to drink, I just checked on you 40 minutes ago' and 'you don't want dessert?' all evoke my sympathy, but I'm so into the consuming, and moving on mode that its hard to change. But I'm working on it! I do feel bad for the Indians that come to the US after having this kind of treatment. Can you imagine going to the 'whadu want?' 'whaaa?' 'are you guys done yet?' 'here's the bill' after the exquisite treatment here?

The waiter brought our drinks and then a plate piled high with thinly sliced red onions, a token cucumber and a slice of tomato. Another plate with these chip like things that had chopped tomato and onion and spices on them. Mike said it was their version of chips and salsa. Indeed, the chips were extremely salty and unusual tasting and I have no idea what the spices were. For all of you salt fans, you would have loved it.

After awhile our food arrived. AAHHHHH yes, (the glorious food) two plates with the kebabs on them a basket with huge pieces of buttered and garlic nan bread (just out of the wood fire!)and a crock of dal. sp.? Dal is a lentil soup type of food. (this particular recipe cooks the lentils for 24 hours) Actually it's more like the consistency of a thick chili, its not too runny. WOW, the stuff looked great. After the waiter served us (they always serve you) Mike and I both just sort of looked at each other like okay..ummm...utensils anyone? The waiter took pity on us (as we had that extremely newbie look) and said 'here at the Afghan we believe in enjoying the food with the fingers'. Oh

Dig in boys, meat's back on the menu! Saying that the food was delicious would be a gross understatement. Already I'm saying..hey Mike, I think it's our duty (ah, yes..our duty) to invest Honeywells money into the fabric of this society, don't you? snort snort Seriously, it was great food and we enjoyed ourselves thoroughly. Highly recommend it.

Then when we were all done, bowls of steaming water with lemon were brought out for us to wash our hands. Perfect ending.
Then we walked home.

hungry?

Mary