Kabuli pallow is a classic Afghan dish served at Café Kabul. Seasoned pieces of lamb are served with rice and topped with carrot strips and raisins.
Every city nowadays is flooded with run-of-the-mill restaurants that promise the most authentic Italian, Chinese, Mexican or Indian foods.
And while there are certainly some fantastic options among the more common ethnic cuisines, Columbus also offers unique foreign foods far less likely to crop up in smaller towns.
Here’s a look at three area eateries that feature dishes from corners of the globe you may not have considered.
Afghan: Café Kabul
2831 Olentangy River Rd.
A family of Afghan refugees built Café Kabul from the ground up nearly five years ago.
“We were dedicated to opening up an Afghan restaurant in town,” says Shabib Luden, who has managed the restaurant since its opening. “There were no Afghan restaurants in town. That’s how we got started.”
Luden’s uncle, Noorgul Dada, came to the U.S. in 1986, and Luden followed in 1992. Getting their restaurant off the ground was difficult.
“We were here for about 10 to 11 hours a day,” Luden says. “Since we’re a family restaurant, at first the wives in our family taught us how to cook. We didn’t know how to cook.”
Some popular ingredients in Afghan cuisine include salt, pepper, red pepper, paprika, cumin, coriander, lemon, vinegar, chicken, beef and masala, Luden says, and the restaurant’s menu incorporates dishes that are popular in the majority of Afghanistan’s regions and also play to a variety of diets, such as vegetarian.
“The customers get a variety,” Luden says.
There’s kabuli pallow: seasoned pieces of lamb served along with Afghan rice and topped with raisins and chopped carrots. Customers can choose from a variety of kabobs, including marinated beef, chicken and lamb.
A sautéed eggplant side dish, served with tomatoes and pita bread, is popular throughout Afghanistan and is a customer favorite, Luden says.
Luden says Afghan food is a middle ground between Mediterranean and Indian foods.
“(Afghan food is) not mild or spicy, but if anyone wants it to be mild or spicy, we can make it that way,” he says.
Hours (Web only)
Monday-Thursday: 11 a.m.-9 p.m.
Friday: 11 a.m.-10 p.m.
Saturday: Noon-10 p.m.
Sunday: Noon-8 p.m.
Cuban: Plantain Café
77 E. Gay St.
Columbus offers a taste of Cuba right in its city center.
Owner Anna Steere and her family opened Plantain Café six years ago. Steere had left Miami, and her mother and stepfather followed soon after.
Her stepfather, Moises Perdomo, departed Cuba as a refugee in 1994 and is very much considered the heart and soul of Plantain Café. He is the primary chef.
“Everything is just made with so much love,” Steere says.
The kitchen doesn’t even have a freezer. Steere says everything is prepared fresh. Sometimes, Perdomo is working until midnight, getting everything in order for the next day.
One misconception customers have about Cuban food, Steere says, is that it’s spicy.
“(We use) green peppers, garlic, onions,” she says. “It’s very flavorful, but not spicy.”
A sofrito base is paired with the majority of Cuban foods. Popular items on Plantain Café’s menu include a shredded beef sandwich. The beef is cooked for 15 hours and then placed in a traditional Cuban wine for another three hours before it’s served. The masitas de pollo – fried chicken, Steere’s mother’s recipe – is prepared by placing chicken in a lime and garlic sauce overnight and, in the morning, frying it and topping it with cilantro.
The standout item on the dessert menu, flan, is another family recipe. It’s made from scratch and topped with caramelized sugar. True to the restaurant’s namesake, there are a variety of plantains to choose from: mariquitas, sliced plantain chips, tostones, smashed and fried green plantains, and maduros, sweet plantains.
Customers can try authentic Cuban sodas, too, such as Jupiña, Materva and Ironbeer.
“We have a small menu. It hasn’t changed a lot,” Steere says. “But we don’t want a mediocre dish. We want everything to be ‘wow.’”
Hours (Web only)
Monday-Saturday: 11 a.m.-8 p.m.
Sunday: 11 a.m.-3 p.m.
Polish: Hubert’s Polish Kitchen
59 Spruce St. (North Market)
Hubert Wilamowski moved from Poland in 2005 and created the North Market staple with a mission in mind: to honor his daughter.
“(We) decided to open up a Polish restaurant, so when my daughter passed away in an accident, my goal was to follow her dream,” Wilamowski says.
He also had an affinity for cooking. His entire life, Wilamowski says, being in the kitchen has been a passion.
“I liked the idea of a restaurant, even when I was in Poland,” he says.
And, like many immigrants, Wilamowski says he had a difficult time finding authentic Polish cuisine in central Ohio, though many residents have Polish relatives.
“They are more familiar with the food from older family members who might have prepared it (for them),” Wilamowski says.
Customer favorites include traditional pierogis stuffed with ingredients varying from potatoes, cheese, onion and butter. There are also cabbage rolls, filled with beef, rice, tomatoes and fresh garlic.
Fresh garlic is a popular ingredient in Polish cuisine, Wilamowski says, and while he’s not fond of overusing salt, he is happy to make his food a little saltier for customers who have a taste for it. He is, however, a fan of onion and mushrooms.
“When they’re fresh, they make a great flavor,” he says, adding that everything is prepared daily.
Polish cuisine is very distinct from nearby countries, like France and Italy, Wilamowski says. Polish food, which tends to be milder, has more in common with German dishes.
Hours (Web only)
Monday-Friday: 10 a.m.-7 p.m.
Saturday-Sunday: 8 a.m.-5 p.m.
Hannah Bealer is an assistant editor. Feedback welcome at gbishop@cityscenemediagroup.com.
Cultural Cuisines of Columbus
Some options for enjoying other types of ethnic food in central Ohio
-Caribbean: Ena’s Caribbean Kitchen, north Columbus
-Czech: Kolache Republic, Brewery District
-English: The Pub, Polaris
-Ethiopian: Lalibela Restaurant and Bar, east Columbus
-French: L’Antibes, downtown Columbus
-German: Hofbräuhaus, Grandview Heights
-Honduran: Merendero Catracho, food truck
-Indonesian: Aromaku, food truck
-Irish: Fado Irish Pub, Easton
-Japanese: Zen Noodle, Hollywood Casino, west Columbus
-Korean: Min Ga Korean Restaurant, northwest Columbus
-Nigerian: Drelyse African Restaurant, north Columbus
-Pakistani: Tandoori Grill, northwest Columbus
-Peruvian: Sí Señor! sandwiches & more, downtown Columbus
-Senegalese: Dabakh Restaurant, north Columbus
-Somali: Hoyo’s Kitchen, north Columbus
-Spanish: Barcelona, German Village
-Thai: Basil, Short North and Brewery District
-Vietnamese: Huong Vietnamese Restaurant, north Columbus
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-Authentic Irish pubs in central Ohio
-Cuban-American photographer Tony Mendoza
-How to keep consumption of Asian foods healthful
-Polish holiday cooking traditions
Story and photos by Hannah Bealer
