I really, really enjoyed the experience of meeting up with the Phoenix ISC at this place. It is truly a hole-in-the-wall but they handled our crowd pretty well. I would have to guess that they have a hard time when faced with large parties but everything came out at roughly the same time and my food was hot when it arrived.
My favorite bite of the night actually came from the Yelper seated across the table from me. She ordered the mantoo and graciously traded bites with me for some of my kabli pulao. The mantoo consists of bite and a half sized ground beef and onion dumplings with a meat sauce and a yogurt sauce on top. I really, really liked the combination of flavors and the presentation was simple yet beautiful. I would have gladly eaten an entire order!
My entree was a ground beef kebab that was over a foot long and beautifully seared with a really pronounced charcoal flavor. It came on a bed of Afghani rice which included raisins and carrots. Savory and well seasoned, it completed the dish. That said, the beef was a little dry and benefited from the occasional dunking in the yogurt sauce.
I also had a beef samosa that was a steal for a buck. It came with a sauce that included jalapenos so I had to leave that part of the dish alone. The others at the table who sampled it had great things to say, including the description of it tasting green. Plenty of green ingredients and it looked like something I would have enjoyed if it didn't include the one green ingredient I cannot eat. The samosa itself was just about perfect. I really liked the addition of several different peppers in the meat mixture both for the flavors they added and the color. They were fried perfectly and were the right balance between tender and crunchy.
Baklava for dessert, iced tea to drink plus a generous tip and I was still out the door for less than $20. Thanks again Phoenix for having me at your ISC. It was a pleasure to meet everyone and I enjoyed the restaurant!