Khyber Pass

Rating: 7.5/10
Date visited: July 11, 2009
Party of three
Dinner

We went there to celebrate the purchase of our new car. Our mood was great - we were very happy. A close friend joined us for dinner. (R, we missed you) As as usual, we were hungry after 7 hours of driving and 'burning' under the hot CA sun - we had the hood down all day!

I would say that this restaurant serves 'pseudo-Afghan' cuisine. Now, we have not been to Afghanistan (yet) but we have met people who have and heard stories of what the food is like out there. Here at Khyber Pass, they have the Americanized (and a bit Indianized) version of Afghan food. The menu had several kebab dishes and all the rest seemed to be Indian. We have to note that north Indian food has been influenced by the Persian - Afghan cuisine. So whether Chicken Matar originated in India or in Afghanistan, only a true food historian can figure - I am not qualified to pass judgement.

Afghanistan was very well known for its dried fruits and nuts. At least that's what we knew when we grew up in India - not for the opium and war, as we do now. I remember being a very young kid and a "Kabuliwala" walking the streets peddling the goodies from Afghanistan. This was more than 25 years ago - in Nibaranpur, Ranchi. The big strong men from Afghanistan would leave their family back at home and visit India to sell fruits and nuts on Indian streets - they were good money lenders too. Once a year they would trek back home with the money they made and pay debts at home - what a lonely life, isn't it? They used to have a big bag and would walk the streets and shout 'kabuliwala'. Women would call them to the house and trade. Moms would also tell the kids that if they would be naughty, the kabuliwala will stuff them in his big bag and take them away to the far distant land. There are no Kabuliwalas now. But his story has been immortalized by Rabindranath Tagore in his story Kabuliwala - you can read an abridged translated version here. Tapan Sinha made a movie of this story in 1957 - I highly recommend you watch it. You will fall in love with Mini (young Sharmila Tagore). And may be, just may be, the story of Rehmat will bring a tear in your eyes just like it does to millions of Indians.

Well, back to food.
We did not order any appetizers and went straight for the dinner dishes. No drinks either - was not in the mood for it - had a margarita earlier. Ordering two dishes for three seemed appropriate, considering that in America the food portions for individual platters are huge. So we went for the Khyber Pass Special Platter and Chicken Dal.

Chicken Dal made us curious. I make (my own recipe) chicken dal at home and my husband and friends love it. So, we wanted to check the restaurant version - I never expected it to be a dish at a restaurant. Well, I was very pleased to find out it tasted almost the same as my version! Mine, of course, is a bit more spicier. The food came on a lovely white rectangular platter - the reddish chicken dal curry on one side (longitudinally) and warm white Basmati rice (with loads of butter and some cumin) on the other side. We ate it all - not a grain of rice or curry was left when we were done. I hope the chef was happy when he saw the plate return - at least I would, if I was the chef. I would certainly like my customers to finish up the dish served to them.

Khyber Pass Special Platter is the dish I would recommend you all order when you go to this restaurant. It will give you a good feel of the cuisine. Lamb, chicken, and beef skewers are served with three different kinds of rice and and two vegetable curries. I think the vegetable curries served to us were - Chalow sabzi (spinach with onions and garlic) and Chalow mattar (sauteed green peas with onion and tomato). There was plain white basmati - just like rice with the chicken dal dish - and green rice, and brown curry rice. I think the green rice had a mixture of mint and cilantro - it sure smelled and tasted very nice. And yes, there was a nice flavorful mango sauce on the side of the plate - it went well with the chicken kebabs.

I also noted that on their menu they specifically mentioned 'imported' Basmati rice. That was nice. After all, Basmati is best harvested on the plains fed by the clear fresh water from the Hindukush and the Himalayas.

Scope of improvement for this restaurant would be to make the menu more authentic - do away with the Indian dishes and bring in more true Afghani ones - more fruit and nut dishes. As for the decor, it was quite good. The blue glasses for water was unique, I liked it. Over the bar they had the wine bottles boxed on the wall as if they were pictures. Looked good, but I am not sure how good it was for the wine to be so close to the kitchen. I would also suggest to open up the kitchen for full view to the diners. Right now the kitchen is hidden behind a white partition, they could easily replace it with a glass wall and the diners could enjoy seeing how the wonderful food is being created.

We will definitely go there again. There are several other dishes I would like to try - especially the cherry and apricot dishes and more kebabs.
I do cherish the dream on someday visiting that lovely country - when the war is over and peace prevails. When will that be?

Address: 523 University Ave., San Diego, CA 92103
Website: www.khyberpasssandiego.com
Ph: 619 294 7579
Timing: L / D, 11:30AM - 10PM Mon - Sun
Liquor served - yes