By Erin Mansour, News Correspondent.
Though many people associate Afghanistan with conflicts, very few know much about Afghan food. That’s why the idea of Ariana, an Afghan restaurant located at 129 Brighton Ave., near the Harvard Avenue T stop in Allston, intrigued me.
Since it opened in the spring of 2010, Ariana has built a reputation as one of the best (and one of the few) restaurants serving Afghan cuisine in the city. Upon arriving on a Friday night, my friend and I were seated immediately, which, as any foodie around can tell you, is pretty unusual in Boston.
At first glance, the atmosphere did not live up to my expectations. The tables were placed closely together and the ambiance was a bit lackluster, with no open windows to the nice summer night and tacky wall décor. Despite the less than stellar first impression, I held onto hope that the quality of food would outweigh the quality of my surroundings. As the waitress brought over a warm basket of naan accompanied by three dipping sauces, things suddenly took a turn for the better.
The menu had a reasonably-priced selection and as a vegetable lover, I was happily surprised with a vegetarian section. Afghan cuisine is typically centered on rice, and Ariana offered various types of seasoned rice dishes alongside eggplant, pumpkin and leeks. As for the non-vegetarian meals, the rice was paired with mostly lamb or beef.
We finally settled on the Banjan, which is pan-fried eggplant spiced up and baked with tomatoes and served on a mint and yogurt sauce, as an appetizer and the vegetarian “special,” which was a blend of baked pumpkin, fried eggplant, sautéed spinach, tomatoes and okra all served over rice, and Banjan and Kaddo Challow, baked and pan-fried pumpkin and eggplant served with challow rice and tomato sauce, as our entrees. The Banjan appetizer, which arrived quickly, consisted of pan-fried eggplant with fresh tomatoes and yogurt sauce. The dish was delicious with an interesting mix of spices, and the portion was perfect for two.
Soon after we finished, our entrees arrived. The combinations in the vegetarian “special” ($12.95) was so fantastic, the sweetness of the pumpkin mixing perfectly with the spice from the other vegetables. By the end of the meal, I was scraping the remaining sauce of my plate with naan, a sure sign of a good meal. The Banjan & Kaddo Challow was a similar dish of pumpkin and eggplant served over rice, but it included a tomato sauce as well.
To top it all off, we ordered Bucklawa ($4.95), a pastry accompanied with an assortment of nuts and spices alongside honey caramel. Out of all the things we tried, this was our least favorite. It tasted overly spicy, and in the end I wished I had just finished my meal with a familiar ice cream cone from the store around the corner.
All in all, I was happy with my experience at Ariana. What the restaurant lacked in ambiance it made up for with delicious and budget-friendly food. It was definitely something different yet still tasty, and I’m glad I advanced out of my comfort zone and gave it a try.
