after dinner sneeze

t says: We went to L2 maybe over a year ago. Thus, I’m not sure this should be an official “review”, rather, a “remembrance”, as my memory is spotty. But here is what happened when we went …

1) When we arrived, it was empty. It was actually kind of spooky. If you wanted a place to go where you wouldn’t be seen, this is it.

2) The place had some very weird decor. Was that velvet I saw on the walls? I remember the light fixtures from the ceiling also being bizarre. It was kind of dim, but not a Stephen Starr “we’re too cool for school” dim, rather an “is it clean?” dim.

3) The wine list wasn’t bad upon perusal, pretty standard with five or so reds and five or so whites. It’s a shame that they were out of stock of over 50% of the wines on the wine list. It was more of a wine wish-list. We actually had to ask the waiter to just tell us what they did have because he kept saying, “I’m sorry, we’re out of that tonight”.

4) I attempted to order an appetizer, but they were out of that, too. So we ordered the shumai appetizer. Definitely the same old frozen shumai you could get at your favorite oriental delivery place.

5) I ordered the half-a-duck. I didn’t get duck. Or at least, it didn’t taste like duck. It was the most chicken-esque duck I have ever had. Seriously. But it was very juicy for chicken. But half-a-chicken wouldn’t be that small, right? But it was kind of large for a duck. I don’t know – I’m still baffled to this day.

6) g ordered the filet. There’s no way that somehow, out of every steak house or restaurant that we’ve gone, that L2 is the only one capable of serving 16-oz filets for under $25. Her steak was huge. And the shape wasn’t very filet-esque – it was flat and wide, looking more like a piece of sirloin or something like that. It also wasn’t filet-mignon tender. Verdict – not filet mignon.

Were we confused? Yes. Were we angry? Absolutely not! It was a comedy from the moment we stepped in. But, if you think about it, the food wouldn’t have been that bad had they just been truthful on their menu. Take away all the crap that’s on there; pretending like you have it isn’t impressing anybody. Also, you don’t have to serve duck and filet – you can serve chicken and sirloin! Actually, I recall that the food was cooked well! g enjoyed her cow, and I enjoyed my poultry; it tasted just like it should (if it was what we thought it was).

Interestingly, their website is down right now. Are they closed? No idea. In any case, I really can’t recommend L2. It was fun when we went, but I don’t think we’re going to go back to give it another chance. Sorry L2.

v says: Kabul, the first Afghani restaurant in Philadelphia, is not your run-of-the-mill Old City byob. Its seasoned menu brings you options that have endured 20 years of the Inquirer critiques and Zagat ratings. Our visit this summer was equally as good, if not better, than our first visit. The server (read: owner) and host (read: owner’s daughter/family-friend) make you feel at home from the moment you walk in. There is an attention to detail evident in the service, as they meet your every need from start to finish. As someone who enjoys cooking with new ingredients, tasting each course presented me with a new challenge – to guess the dominant spice in each dish. The Kabul Combination allows you to sample any three appetizers on their menu which consist of Sambosas (fried pastries), Aushaks (steamed dumplings), and Bulanees (stuffed turnovers), each filled with everything from chick peas to ground beef. We partook in something from each category and found everything quite good but not amazing. For the second course, the Aush, a noodle and vegetable soup, and Shorba-E-Dal, lentil and onion soup, had extraordinary taste and are highly recommended.

For the main course, I worked my way around the table, and found all the dishes flavorful. The saffron rice, an option for many of the dishes, was my least favorite. Of course this is no surprise since it is intended to be sweet, and I just don’t do sweet. The Kabab-e-Mauhi (Salmon Kebab), accompanied by the brown rice, was the best dish of the night. The fish was well-prepared and the rice… wow! As soon as I tried it, I burst with delight and made sure everyone got a taste. My first words after trying it were, “You may think I am crazy, but this tastes like Christmas.” We each attempted to guess the secret ingredient. Nutmeg? No. Cinnamon? No. Cloves? Yes. It may sound odd, but it was a great combination. Instead of ordering directly from the menu,I asked the owner to recommend a vegetarian dish. The Dal he served me was light, yet filling. Even without meat, I found this entree quite satisfying. a, as usual, had a lamb dish which was excellent though not as memorable as the Salmon. The lamb was well seasoned, but could have been of higher quality. We ended our meal with the Baklava, split four ways. Who can resist phyllo dough and pistachios with rose water sugar syrup? It too, was good, though not as good as Zahav’s or Kanella’s.

Don’t forget to print the online coupon or visit restaurant.com before dining here!

t says: g and I went to Kabul a long, long time ago. It was one of the first restaurants we visited when I moved to the area in 2005. It was quite tasty, but I remember no specifics. We’ve been too lazy to go back. I’m glad you seemed to also have a positive experience. I wish places like this got more respect in the “popular Philly dining scene”, as I’d go here over a shnazzier place like Continental any day. I do want to say, however, that we have had better Afghan food elsewhere. But not in Philly. In Baltimore. The Helmand. It’s really good. If we had to choose only one Baltimore restaurant to eat at for the rest of our life, that would be it, hands down.

t says: I went back for those peach-cobbler-ified pancakes I mentioned at the end of our last Cochon post.  Holy crap.  It’s basically peach cobbler on top of insanely fluffy pancakes.  If you can’t handle your sugar, don’t eat this dish.  I was going to take a picture, but I lost control of the muscles in my arms, forearms, and hands, as they were possessed with the singular goal of shoveling peaches, pecans, crumble, ice cream, and pancake into my mouth.  I may have blacked out from the time I started eating to the time I finished.  Now, don’t get me wrong … personally, I’m more of a banana man, so if I had to choose only one breakfast dish to eat so much of that it’d cause my stomach to actually rupture, the French toast pictured in the last Cochon post would win out, but damn these pancakes would have put up a gnarly, dirty fight.  Now maybe if the pancakes also had a piece of bacon on top … ?

t says: There’s a website called groupon.com where they have daily Philadelphia-centric “specials”.  For instance, you’ll pay $25 for $50 worth of services or stuff.  Today, it’s James.  Check it out here.  We’ve never been, but g’s been meaning to go for a long time.  We just bought one – I hope it’s delicious!

EDIT:  All gone!!  The day has passed.  We nabbed two!