BRIGHTENING THE SCENE
Kabob House delivers flavorful interpretations of Persian, Kurdish cuisine
The first glimpse of a plate of food deposited before us at a restaurant summons a range of indicative grunts. Sometimes, the plating and the portion size underwhelm. Other times, they impress.
At Kabob House on Paseo del Norte Boulevard, reactions tend toward the latter category. The colors of the kabobs and sides arranged on hubcap-sized plate dazzle. The golden brown of the chicken kabob is carried in a streak of basmati rice, bright yellow with turmeric. The vegetables blaze with bright greens and reds armored in black from the grill. A bowl of the traditional Iranian dessert Faloodeh Shirazi, with its pale pink mound of ice rising from a moat of ruby-red pomegranate syrup, is almost too pretty to eat.
Kabob House has been serving up these treats for the eyes since 2012, when it opened in a dog-eared space near the University of New Mexico. A few years ago, it relocated to a brighter, newer spot at the end of a strip mall that marks the eastern side of La Cueva Town Center, the sprawling food and retail complex on Paseo del Norte between Barstow Street and Wyoming Boulevard.
While Kabob House is not alone in serving Persian food — you can get similar things in town at places like Pars, Chello Grill and Alquds — it’s the only one offering it from the bustling Paseo del Norte corridor.
I visited during the weekday lunch hour to find the place empty except for one server. The dining room’s spacious corner location allows for lots of natural light. Decorations line the walls: Here, a poster of Kurdistan, a region of northern Iraq that borders Iran; there, a couple of lifesized dolls in traditional garb.
I sat in a booth along the window and almost immediately crushed a corn chip under my foot. What was a corn chip doing in a Persian restaurant? The answer came moments later when the server brought over a bowl of the circular chips with a cup of cucumber-yogurt sauce. Not what I was expecting, but tasty.
The short list of appetizers includes a couple of dips ideal for sharing. Kashk Bademjam ($7.99), a Persian eggplant dip, was served in a bowl with a side of flatbread. The pan-fried eggplant bore a striking resemblance to diced green chile, but its flavor was sweeter, its texture meatier. A topping of kashk, curds that come from the cooking of yogurt, added some tang.
As good as it was, I preferred the Hummus ($7.99). The paste of smoothly ground chickpeas was served in a pool of olive oil and topped with sumac, a spice that looks like paprika. The lemony zing from the sumac balanced the garlicky flavor of the hummus. It was also served with triangles of flatbread. The bread, soft and warm when it first arrived at the table, started to crisp up as it cooled.
Kurdish flatbread topped with green onions and seasonings is also offered.
Most of the rest of the menu is devoted to a dizzying assortment of kabobs cooked over an open fire and served off the skewer. There are different cuts of beef, ground chicken and chicken breast, lamb and fish and a veggie kabob. Prices for the kabob plates, which come with yellow and white basmati rice, roasted vegetables, pickled cabbage and cucumber-yogurt sauce, range from $14.99 to $25.99.
I tried the Mixed Koobideh ($14.99), a skewer each of ground chicken and ground beef. Both were excellent. The
ground meats were mixed with grated onions and formed into logs that had some char on the outside and were juicy and wellseasoned inside. The sauce added cooling, sour notes. The ample portion could easily be shared by two people. The tomato burst with juice, and the green chile and pickled cabbage added some snap. The only off note: the long-grained rice wasn’t hot enough.
The Fish Kabob ($20.99) made with salmon that my friend wanted to try wasn’t available that day, so he settled for Boneless Lamb ($19.99) instead. The lamb was served off the skewer in eight smoky, earthy chunks that were dense but not tough. A knife would have been useful here.
For slightly cheaper options, you can get the beef, chicken or mixed koobideh kabobs with bread for $12.99. Individual skewers are also available, ranging in cost from $4.99 for the Beef Koobideh to $15.99 for Persian lamb chops called Shishlik. The chicken and beef are available in sandwiches too.
The beverage menu has plenty of soda options, but you’ll want to try the traditional Persian drinks like Doogh ($2.49 a glass), made in-house from a mix of yogurt, water, salt and dried dill. Initially, it tasted almost like a strong cheese in liquid form, but the dill helped relieve the sourness.
For a sweeter option, try one of the two specialty drinks. Majoun ($5.99), a blended mix of almonds, walnuts, bananas, dates and milk blended. Banana Milk ($4.49), served in a handled mug, was like a frothy, ripe banana in a glass.
Like the beverage menu, the dessert side mixes the familiar — chocolate cake, vanilla ice cream — with traditional Persian dishes like Havij Bastani ($7.99), a mix of carrot juice and vanilla ice cream. Kabob House’s version of Faloodeh Shirazi ($5.99), an icy slurry of rose water and sugar laced with short segments of rice noodles that yielded easily to the bite, was served in a glass bowl. Pomegranate syrup encircled the granita. Sweet, flowery and a little sour, it was a terrific surprise and a consummate palate cleanser.
The server and the kitchen staff kept things moving even as people started to trundle in for lunch. The server was friendly and knowledgeable about the menu. Aside from the flatbreads, most of the food is gluten-friendly. Orders came out quickly, and there were plenty of leftovers to take home.
The Paseo del Norte corridor is home to a wealth of ethnic foods. Kabob House’s flavorful interpretations of Persian and Kurdish cuisine further brighten that scene.