This comes from our 2017 Cheap Eats list, our guide to inexpensive ethnic dining in the region.
Persian
Main meats: Lemony chicken or Cornish game hen (joojeh); grilled minced lamb or beef (kubideh).
Served with: Saffron-tinted basmati rice and grilled tomatoes.
Find them at: Moby Dick House of Kabob, 7027 Wisconsin Ave., Bethesda; 301-654-1838.
Turkish
Main meats: Cubed lamb, beef, or chicken (shish kebab); lamb and veal sliced from a vertical spit (doner kebab).
Served with: Lavash or salad and rice.
Find them at: Cafe Divan, 1834 Wisconsin Ave., NW; 202-338-1747.
Afghan
Main meats: Yogurt-marinated lamb chops (chopan kebab); fried patties of ground beef or lamb (chaplee kebab).
Served with: Naan and a tangy cilantro chutney.
Find them at: Bamian, 5634 Leesburg Pike, Falls Church; 703-820-7880.
Pakistani
Main meats: Spiced ground beef or lamb molded onto sword-like skewers, then grilled (seekh kebab); marinated bone-in chicken tikka.
Served with: Naan, salad, and yogurt sauce.
Find them at: Ravi Kabob House, 350 N. Glebe Rd., Arlington, 703-522-6666; 250 N. Glebe Rd., Arlington, 703-816-0222.
This article appears in the July 2017 issue of Washingtonian.
Ann Limpert joined Washingtonian in late 2003. She was previously an editorial assistant at Entertainment Weekly and a cook in New York restaurant kitchens, and she is a graduate of the Institute of Culinary Education. She lives in Petworth.
