by Mike T.
I recently went back to the Afghan Market to check it out and see how it has changed, so I think it is a good time to tell the (outside) world about this unique and exotic place.Walking into the Afghan Market is like walking into a bazaar in the Middle or Near East, or at least that is how I imagine it is like from Casablanca or Raiders of the Lost Ark. Women in traditional clothes are there perusing the aisles with their little ones looking for imported groceries and sweets or partaking in the large selection of bulk dried fruits and nuts.In the middle of the store is an in-house halal butcher shop, selling all manner of meats. Next to this area is a small kabob restaurant with an alcove of an eating area offering a menu of Afghani appetizers, kabobs and a few entrees. The kabobs are pretty solid, and certainly fresh. They also offer a full line of pizzas to eat in or carry out under their pizza-store-within-a-kabob-restaurant called "Charlie's Pizza." I'm not sure how the non-halal toppings for the pizzas jibe with the rest of the restaurant, but it's there. Much of the food is to go, probably because it feels so strange eating in the cozy eating area which is almost hidden from the rest of the store. Eating there would make for an interesting date, that's for sure.And in the far part of the store, there is a virtual marketplace of non-edible wares consisting of everything from clothes to music to hookahs to (flying?) carpets.This place is quite the scene, and so if you are into exotic foods or temporarily stepping into a foreign land without a passport, you will be well-served here!N.B.: To find this place, you have to drive up the driveway next to the 7-11 to the next set of stores up the hill.
