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Kabul House opens Friday, November 12, for dinner!

Kabul House
4949 Oakton St
Skokie, IL 60077
847 674-3830

I ate here last night during its grand opening. Oh my, how I've missed Kabul House. The space is beautiful with lots of street parking, and the food was better than ever! Make the trip back and support them.

Yesterday was Kabul House's grand opening back in Skokie. It's new space at 4949 Oakton, right in downtown, is attractive and spacious, and the food is better than ever! I live right across the street, and I'll be a frequent visitor. Hope you will, too!

Try the baklava - it's the best I've ever tasted!

What were the avg price points on the various dishes? How extensive was the menu with meat or vegetarian items?

Join us for lunch on December 7!

viewtopic.php?f=19&t=30219

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I'm a vegetarian and found plenty of things to eat. Meat well represented for those who aren't veggies. One fish dish, a wonderful marinated mahi my husband had. The owner gave us one free dessert, but two dinners, two teas, and an appetizer costs $32 including tax. I think the most expensive thing on the menu was about $13.

I also returned last night (Saturday) and the prices and menu are very similar at dinner to the old location at Dempster and McCormick.

Most salads and soups are around $4.00, and a bowl of the beef noodle was comped to me in a take out order.

Most entrees are in the $9.00 to $14.00 range. I had the koubideh over seasoned rice, it was still very good, with good spicing and very tender; the seasoned rice still was the fragrant blend of spices with shredded carrot and raisins from the previous locations.

Also had one of the lamb dishes, I forget the name, but it was a braised lamb with seasonings, also over seasoned basmati rice.

I easily fed four light eaters with the two entrees.

I regret that one of my old favorites, the chicken biryani, is no longer on the menu, and I didn't see a lunch menu - but I believe they will be open for lunch on Monday. All the great vegetarian items that I remember are still there, especially the spiced spinach, and the great pumpkin entree. The vegetarian sampler was $10.95, and very popular with patrons.

The place is mostly booths, but has a few free-standing tables. The decor is nice and fresh, far more open than the old Skokie location, and of course, the restaurant is still BYOB. Considering they were on their second day, they had 75% coverage at 6:30 on a Saturday, with no advertising. That suggests their reputation is pretty good (it is!) and folks were looking forward to coming back. Service was quite friendly, although I did notice as I waited for my order that there were a few "opening week" bumps in service.

Bottom line, I'll be back for more. It is a value point kind of place, and unique for the North Shore.

Count me as the first lunch customer for Kabul House Mark II (actually III), albeit a takeout, a couple hours ago.

I wanted a lentil soup & that great baby pumpkin side dish I had remembered from Dempster St. The lentil was still cooking so the guy comped me the Afghani noodle soup, which was wonderful on a chilly day. The pumpkin was piquant, sweet, and with some of their house green hot sauce mixed in with dollops of homemade yogurt, was just about perfect, and the house sesame-style flatbread, soft but crunchy, was a nice counterpoint.

Lunch specials supposedly are forthcoming this week, but looking at their entree menu I think they're going to have to target a price point of about $8.00-9.00 for them rather than the $10.00-$13.00 for the entrees presently on the menu. Not that the food isn't worth it, but in order to compete with the other ethnic lunch specials that are making that block of Oakton St. a destination--De-Jred (Jamaican) and Tub Tim Thai (Thai), both great restaurants in their own right--Kabul House will need to be in that vicinity to draw the repeat business carry-out/walk-ins.

All I can say is WELCOME BACK Kabul House. Went there with my wife last Friday and could not have been more pleased with the food and the service. Owner was as gracious and personable as ever. Everything was hot, fresh and very tasty - just like before. I will definately be back, and wish them many years of success now that they have returened "home." FYI - I had the combination plate, with moist and tender lamb and chicken. Wife had the chicken kabobs. Mantu appetizer was terrific. The didn't have the lentil soup that evening, but the vegeatable soup was extremely flavorful.

Lunch specials were available today. $6.95 for the vegetarian plate, Murgh (chicken) kabob or Koubedah kabob (1 skewer on the kabobs). We got the pumpkin appetizer which was tasty with the yogurt sauce drizzled over it. I had the Mantu and it was really great, the yogurt sauce in combination with the spices of the rest of the dish was delicious. Co-workers had the vegetarian plate and chicken kabob and were pleased. Service a tad slow but they were fairly busy and new so I will forgive that. Will be back for sure.

EXCELLENT on the lunch special price points! Under $10 lunches on Oakton Street--your choice of authentic Afghani, Thai or Jamaican. Maybe this will revitalize downtown Skokie more than anything.

I had forgotten to mention that they've really done a beautiful job rehabbing the space as well. For us native Skokians, it was the old Price n' Compare store, a great neighborhood grocery owned by the Zabel brothers. My brother and my friends worked delivery there for many years.

I want to add to the positive reviews. I forgot how much we liked this place.

The new space is airy, light, very pleasant. There was plenty of parking at 6:30 on a Friday night.

We had a couple of appetizers and split the vegetarian sampler, which had okra, pumpkin, spinich and eggplant. Each one was excllent, as was the accompanying rice. The bread that comes with the meals is also very good.

Those running the place could not have been friendlier or more accomodating.

I can't think of anything I would suggest they improve, except move a little closer to my house.

Jonah

Has the Kabul House in Elk Grove Village closed?

Yes, since sometime in 2008.

The original Skokie location closed in August of 2008. The Elk Grove Village location didn't open until December 2009. With the recent opening of the Kabul House in Skokie, I was wondering if they had closed the EGV location or if the new Skokie location was Kabul House #2.

Well if you believe Yelp, they closed the EGV location in August 2010.

Still, I could have sworn that in early 2008, I was staying at a hotel in EGV while in the process of closing on a house and read somewhere about Kabul House in EGV, but when I went by there it was closed. Who knows.

Thanks, Vinny. I live about a mile from the Elk Grove location and had been meaning to try it out but unfortunately, never got around to it. Being a hotel restaurant is bad enough, but the location itself is horrible. It was basically in the middle of an industrial park. So I'm not surprised it closed within a year.

HI,

I was at the Elk Grove Village location last March. I think our party was the only one present in the Kabul House section of the restaurant.

The owner's twenty-something son was beginning to be involved with the restaurant. I suggested he contact Kelly Cheng from Sun Wah BBQ to learn how to use the internet to inexpensively promote their restaurant.

The interior at Elk Grove Village was quite exotic. A much more Arabian Nights feel to it than their original location on Dempster. I hope they brought those style ideas to the new location.

Regards,

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Cathy2

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I had dinner this past weekend at the newly relocated Kabul House -- 4949 Oakton St, Skokie -- and it was outstanding. Please note that this is now their only location and they've been open for just under 2 weeks. We tried a bunch of items, many of which I remember having back when they were on Dempster and as much as I enjoyed them in the past, they were, across the board, even better than I remembered. Maybe absence actually does make the heart grow fonder . . .


Kabul House - 4949 Oakton St, Skokie



Interior space was comfortable and attractive



Salt, Pepper and Sumac
This reminded me of when I was in Hungary and there was paprika on nearly every table.

We started out with some appetizers. It was just after 8 pm on Saturday and a few items had already been 86'd. Given that they've only been open less than 2 weeks, this was completely understandable. We improvised and came up with 4 appetizers that were still available (descriptions are mostly taken from their menu) . . .


Aushak | Afghan ravioli filled with leeks and scallions, served on yogurt-mint, topped with tomato meat sauce
A great start. Big, bold flavors, intoxicating aromas and a satisfying variety of textures.



Sabzee | Spinach cooked with garlic, onion and special spices
There was a satisfying depth of flavor here that was stunning.



Mantoo | Steamed dumplings filled with ground beef, onions and spices, and topped with tomato meat sauce
A bit meatier than the aushak and every bit as delicious. I just loved how intensely flavored these were.



Boranee Baunjan | Eggplant seasoned with spices, then baked with fresh tomatoes, served on yogurt garlic mint sauce
Luscious, rich and bursting with complex flavors

Main courses were up next and they were just as successful as the appetizers . . .


Qorma Sabzee | Chunks of lamb stew on a bed of sabzee, served with a side of white rice
I loved the tender, herbaceous lamb and getting some more of the awesome sabzee was wonderful, as far as I was concerned.



White Rice | served with Qorma
Even the rice was great. It had a slightly nutty flavor and was perfectly cooked so that every grain was separate and toothsome but not hard or crunchy at all.



Three Kabob Combination | 1/2 skewers of chicken and lamb and a full skewer of Koubideh
I usually avoid kabobs because they're often dried out and flavorless. Nothing could be further from the case here. These were just perfect, as the meats were not only hot and juicy but packed with flavor.



Vegetarian Plate | Sabzee, Boranee Baunjan, Kadu (baby pumpkin) and Bamiya (okra)
The 2 items we didn't share earlier as appetizers -- pumpkin and okra -- were both sensational, with bold and distinctive flavors.



Seasoned Rice | served with Vegetarian Plate



Shrimp Skewer | spice-marinated
Again, delicious and perfectly cooked. Totally moist and succulent.



Rose Water Ice Cream with Pistachios and Cardamom and marinated fruit
Our server, Zackie (don't know if I got the spelling right), brought this out for us and explained that it's his father's (the owner of the restaurant) favorite ice cream. Some time ago, he got a bit bored with the plain pistachio topping and added cardamom to it. This was a nice addition, as the spicy note went very well with the rose water ice cream.

I was really impressed with our meal at Kabul Hose because literally every dish we tasted was excellent. I'm certainly no expert on Afghani food and have no idea about authenticity but these dishes really satisfied and delighted us. Seasonings were intense and flavorful and all the meats were cooked perfectly. Service, while still getting acclimated, was friendly and helpful. I'm really excited to have Kabul House back so close to home.

=R=

Kabul House
4949 Oakton St
Skokie, IL 60077
847 674-3830

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Twitter: ronniesuburban

Ronnie,

The meal looks great, and although the meat aspect looks terrific, Kabul House also looks like just the kind of place a certain vegetarian-leaning member of my household loves.

I'm partcularly enthused about trying their version of "Qorma Zabsee". I don't know anything about the history or provenance of this dish, but when it's on, the "Gormeh Sabzi" at Persian restaurant Noon O Kabob is among my favorite dishes in town. It looks like essentially the same preparation, though the Noon O version appears much more oily/ fatty than the KH version seems to be from the picture. At Noon O I don't think they serve any Zabsee or Sabzi without meat, so I suspect all of it is stewed with the fatty pieces of lamb, unlike KH, which may cook the vegetables separately, then combine with meat.

Looking forward to a Kabul House visit soon...

KZ

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Fuckerberg on Food

Could the title of this thread be edited to reflect this?

Can't wait to go there- I went to their original Skokie location several times, never made it to the EGV location. This is a nice halfway point to meet friends from the city.

I believe the Masouleh Restaurant in Rogers Park makes a vegetarian version of Gormeh Sabzi, but as I recall it has the (unusual?) addition of eggplant. I don't know if that's a northern Persian thing or just peculiar to that restaurant. I will have to ask my Persian CPA. They also make a beef version.

Masouleh Restarant
6653 N Clark St
Chicago, IL 60626
(773) 262-2227
http://www.masouleh.biz

I split this off and started a new thread.

=R=

_________________
I just wanna live until I gotta die. I know I ain't perfect but God knows I try. --Todd Snider

Twitter: ronniesuburban

I too am very happy to have Kabul House back. I enjoyed my qabili pulao, although it was a bit wet for my taste and the boneless lamb cubes they use might as well be veal. But I look forward to going through the entire menu. The cardamom tea is the perfect accompaniment to a meal here.

I made a last-minute decision and joined the Evanston Lunch Group™ on Tuesday for a great lunch at Kabul House. The food was, again, outstanding and the company easily surpassed it. I've already covered most of the dishes we had upthread but here are some pics (and descriptions) from Tuesday's lunch . . .


Kabul House by day



Hot Tea



Dough
A cold, yogurt-based drink that contained cucumber and garlic, among other ingredients. I'm not the one who ordered this and I only had a sip of it. It was very savory and kind of tasted like tsatziki sauce to me. I liked it but not necessarily as a beverage.



Aush-Rishta
A vegetable-noodle soup that's thickened with egg yolk. Great, deep flavor and the egg yolk provided a silky texture.



Bread



Kadu (Baby Pumpkin)



Bamiya (Okra)



Sabzee (Spinach)



Boranee (Eggplant)



Dumplings
Mantoo and Aushak (back)



Mantoo



Aushak



Kabobs Murgh Koubideh, Koubideh & Murgh (front to back)
I can't say enough about how perfectly these meats were cooked and I loved the fact that there was lots of dark meat in the murgh kabob.



Koubideh



Murgh Koubideh



Murgh Kabob



Murgh Chalau
Sauteed chicken served in a tomato, onion and garlic-based sauce.



Chutney
Not sure exactly what was in this as I got distracted while it was being described. There was definitely some heat, some garlic and some vinegar. A supremely flavorful condiment.



Seasoned Rice



White Rice



Firnee
A cold, cornstarch-based pudding. Very creamy and delicious.



Rose Water Ice Cream with Pistachio and Cardamom

I'm thrilled that Kabul House is now so accessible, even from the more northerly burbs. I made it there today in about 20 minutes from Highland Park. Soon, though, my office will be just about 5 minutes away, which makes me very happy. If I have one complaint, it's a minor one. Long after lunch, I still kind of smelled like grilled meats. Now, that's not a bad way to smell but still, it was pretty strong and seemed to permeate (see what I did there ) my clothes pretty thoroughly. Even after I got back to my office an hour after lunch, my partners noticed it -- and commented on it -- the minute I walked in the door. 2 hours later when I got home, the wife noticed it, too. Even now -- over 7 hours after lunch ended -- I can still smell it on my clothes. It's certainly not going to stop me from hitting Kabul House on a regular basis, though. This place is definitely in my regular rotation.

=R=

_________________
I just wanna live until I gotta die. I know I ain't perfect but God knows I try. --Todd Snider

Twitter: ronniesuburban

I, on the other hand, wish this place was way more accessible to me. Man it looks good.

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The guy with the scarf and sunglasses would make a great doorman...

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Great pics, Ronnie. I actually came in to pick up whilst y'all were eating, saw tarte tatin & GWiv. I'd have joined you but had to get back to the office tout de suite.

I haven't dined in yet, so I haven't been able to judge the coat-smell factor, but I can't imagine it isn't anything a blower fan couldn't solve.

Glad the group enjoyed Kabul House. They're great people.

Very glad I was a last minute join for the Evanston Lunch Group, Kabul House exceeded expectation and, especially given proximity, will be in my regular rotation. Comfortable, spotless, engaged informed staff I was particularly impressed by the three chicken dishes we ordered. Often a throw-away for the unadventurous Murgh Chalau, gloriously pictured upthread by Ronnie_S, was aggressively spiced with tender moist chicken, rich sauce the perfect compatriot for fluffy rice. Murgh Kabob and Murgh Koubideh have set the standard to which all chicken kababs will be compared.

Terrific choice NR, with an assist from Tart T, thanks for letting a non Evanston resident join the delicious fun.

Kabul House, Count me a Fan

Enjoy,
Gary

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Thanks very much for posting those photos, Ronnie. Never having visited Kabul House in its previous incarnations, I didn't have any sense of what was so appealing about it to so many LTHers until I saw the photos of various dishes that you posted.

The plating of the dishes is lovely, but I'm wondering if anyone has experience to report on picking up food there for carryout?

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