Enticing Afghan flavors are as close as the Eastside's Bamiyan

Bamiyan Afghani Restaurant, in Issaquah's Gilman Village, is an attractive modern bistro. Some walls are painted saffron, some tomato and some olive. Another consists of garage doors that lift to expose an outdoor patio.

RESTAURANT REVIEW

BAMIYAN AFGHANI RESTAURANT

PHONE: 425-391-8081

ADDRESS: 317 N.W. Gilman Blvd., 31B, Issaquah

PRICES: Lunch starters $4.50-$7.50, Afghan kebabs $6.99-$9.99, entrees $8.99-$12.99, vegetarian entrees $7.99-$11.99; dinner starters $4.50-$7.50, Afghan kebabs $12-$16, entrees $11.50-$18.25; desserts $4.25-$4.75

HOURS: Lunch 11 a.m.-3 p.m.; dinner 3-9 p.m. daily

BAR: Beer and wine

SMOKING: Permitted on patio

RESERVATIONS: Accepted

PAYMENT: Major credit cards

KID-FRIENDLY: Children seem to enjoy dining on the patio

SOUND: Very good, with Afghan music in background

ACCESS: Excellent; both restrooms fully accessible

PARKING: Free parking lot

BEST BETS: Aush $4.50; Bolani $5.25; Ashak with Tomato-beef Sauce $12.75; Mantoo $12.50; Kebab Combination $25.99; Bamiyan House Tea $2.25

RATINGS:

Food: ***

Service: ***

Ambience: ***

It's a casually sophisticated setting for a complex, sophisticated cuisine. For those who've never tried it, Afghan cuisine is a blend of flavors reminiscent of its better-known culinary neighbors Iran and Pakistan or the Indian state of Punjab.

I first encountered, and was seduced by, Afghan cuisine in Arizona circa 1990. Here in the Puget Sound, Wallingford's Kabul Afghan Cuisine was Seattle's only purveyor until Bamiyan opened last fall.

Three sauces -- sweet red tomato, green cilantro chutney and soothing white yogurt -- are the rivers that run through Afghan cuisine. Mint is a common seasoning, as are saffron, lemon and garlic. Walnuts are the nut of choice.

Service is professional and knowledgeable, especially at dinner. Bamiyan's servers treat its customers with great respect, taking the time to explain dishes and seasonings and suggest beverages to complement the flavors of the cuisine.

On my first foray, my Iranian-born server, a chef himself, guides me to a glass of Hogue Cabernet-Merlot ($6), insisting its bold dry berry-rich fruit will work well with Bamiyan's cuisine. He's right; I stick with it.

The wine proves emblematic of my Bamiyan experience. It's easy to "get hooked" on certain dishes and want to order them again and again.

My favorite appetizer is bolani ($5.25) crisp-fried wonton wrappers stuffed with seasoned mashed potatoes tasting of black pepper, green onion and cilantro, then cut into quarters. I'm skeptical until I crunch into a piping hot triangle after dipping it in chilled yogurt-garlic sauce.


		Scott Eklund / P-I
	Bamiyan's menu includes, in the foreground, Murgh kebab (marinated, grilled white-meat chicken) and Quruti (Afghan bread coated in yogurt-garlic sauce), rear left.

Aush ($4.50), a traditional noodle soup made with yogurt, is a homey, refreshing copper-colored mix of vermicelli, garbanzo and kidney beans tinged with mint and dill.

Quruti ($6.50) is a vertical lean-to of sliced Afghan bread, soaked in yogurt sprinkled with ground walnuts, accompanied by chewy, sweet, caramelized onions and a delicious mint-tinged olive-oil-and-garlic plate sauce. The moistened bread is odd: vaguely sweet, slighly semi-reminiscent of french toast.

The Torshi Platter ($5.50) features two types of Afghan pickles -- a turmeric-bright tough-to-identify vegetable mash; and a harsher, more discreet cubed mix of eggplant, carrot and cauliflower -- served with Afghan bread and a molded mound of basmati rice. The rice and pickle work well together, but this is not an appetizer I'd order again.

Afghan salata, a small salad of chopped cucumber, tomato and mint in a bright lemon marinade, comes with all entrees.

Bamiyan offers two types of dumplings, served three ways. I adore ashak with tomato-beef sauce ($12.75): a plate of half-moon-shaped dumplings, filled with an all-green mix of chives, green onions, parsley and cilantro, topped with tomato sauce thick with ground beef, striped with yogurt sauce and sprinkled with dried mint.

A vegetarian version of ashak, topped with meatless tomato sauce, is available for the same price.

Although I worry that mantoo ($12.50) might be meat overkill -- steamed dumplings stuffed with ground beef in more of that fabulous yogurt-drizzled tomato-beef sauce -- they turn out to be wonderful. The beef is seasoned with onion and black pepper; the yogurt sauce enhanced with ginger, cilantro, garlic and coriander seed.

The menu lists several vegetarian entrees. The Bamiyan Plate ($14.50) offers a combination of borani kachaloo, seasoned sliced potatoes; Qormar-i sabzi, deliciously seasoned spinach; and Afghan palaw: fluffy, tanned basmati rice cooked with herbs and topped with raisins and julienned carrot.

Non-vegetarians should definitely sample one of Bamiyan's four Afghan kebabs. A special kebab combination ($25.99) is an excellent way to sample all of them at once.

Murgh kebab (lunch $7.99/dinner $13), is moist, grilled white-meat chicken marinated with saffron, ginger, lemon, garlic and cayenne.

Bamiyan kebab (lunch $8.99/dinner $15) is high-quality marinated beef tenderloin. Bara kebab (lunch $9.99/dinner $16) is highly seasoned cubes of lamb.

Kofta kebab (lunch 7.99/dinner $12) is minced beef seasoned with onions, cilantro and jalape�o -- possibly my favorite version ever, and especially good when dipped in yogurt-garlic sauce.

For $2, add a thick slice of eggplant borani, topped with yogurt-striped tomato sauce to your entree.

Finish your meal with cool rose-water tinged custard ($4.25) or not-too-sweet Afghan baklava ($4.75) and a cup of Bamiyan House Tea ($2.25) made with cardamom. Make plans to return soon.

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