Meat As A Condiment

The Afghan restaurants in Howard County shout "kabob" in their name, but their appetizers offer some of the most interesting flavor around.

I love eating at Maiwand Kabob's various locations or Mimi's Kabob in Clarksville. The kabobs are great. But the real draw to me are the appetizers, which I tend to use like mezze by ordering up a single kabob and a couple small dishes like aushak, bowlawni, samosas or pumpkin. Perfect light lunch with my in-laws when we were coming from Larriland and had reservations that night for Woodberry Kitchen.

That is where you get meat as a condiment. Sweet pumpkin baked until tender, then topped with ground beef. Raviolis filled with scallions and sauced with yogurt, then topped with ground beef. Those are delicious little dishes topped with ground beef. I love a good burger, but I have to admit that sharing an aushak gives me all the flavor of a meaty burger with probably half of everything that I don't need in my body -- the cholesterol, the fat, etc. Where else can get this "meat as a condiment" experience?