About Restaurant Openings Around DC
A guide to the newest places to eat and drink.
Afghania. 2811 M St., NW
The Masroor family already rules DC’s crowded Afghan food scene: Sofia Masroor and her three daughters, Taliha, Iman, and Zainab, run Bistro Aracosia in Palisades, Aracosia McLean, and Springfield’s Afghan Bistro. This month, the woman-run Afghan empire expanded again. The Masroors opened Afghania on M Street in Georgetown on March 5.
Georgetown regulars will already find the name familiar: Afghania’s sign has been up over the modest storefront for nearly three years as the family dealt with delays in permitting and Covid-related roadblocks.
Searching for something to distinguish Afghania from the area’s other Afghan eateries, Masroor landed on what she calls “Afghan frontier food,” the meaty, rugged cuisines of the landlocked nation’s mountainous borders with Pakistan and Central Asia. Afghanistan has long been a crossroads of culture, and these borderland dishes share their heritage with Iran, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, and Punjab.
“Afghanistan is so diverse, with so many cultures that have been there throughout time,” Masroor says.
Like the Masroors’ other restaurants, Afghania has extensive vegetarian and vegan options. But the menu delves deep into smoked, grilled, and slow-braised meats. Shinwari karahi, a dish common to both sides of the Afghan-Pakistani border, is a simmered stew of smoked meat (chicken, lamb shank, lamb shoulder, or veal shank) with masala, tomatoes, chilies, and pickled onion.
Do Piaza, another stew with ancient roots in both Iran and India, offers the same selection of smoked meats, stewed with split peas and served over Afghan bread.
“If you go to Afghan restaurants, you have your typical qabuli pulao, your dumplings, and your kabob, so we wanted to also introduce other dishes that people aren’t familiar with,” Masroor says.
Of course, Afghania is also serving its own pulao, with smoked bone-in lamb or veal shank served over basmati rice cooked with carrots, raisins, and pistachios. Chapli kabob, the classic Afghan hamburger-like grilled patty of beef, tomatoes, onions, and spices, can be served beside rice or as the Afghania burger on a brioche bun with herb chutney.
Afghania is a more intimate space than some of the family’s other locations, with a similar vibe and style of service— white tablecloths, low lighting, framed portraits of Afghans in traditional dress, and a small full bar.
Of course, if you’re not looking to try any Afghan frontier-inspired smoked hunks of meat, you can always sample our favorite aushak and mantu dumplings from the Aracosia menus here, too.
