Where to Find Savory South Asian Breakfast in the DC Area

Kabobistan

“Breakfast must have something to do with happiness,” declares a sign outside this Afghan spot, which Hilal Rahim opened in 2021 after the Taliban takeover meant she’d lost her job in the consular section of DC’s Afghan Embassy. True to its name, Kabobistan does serve solid kebabs—generously spiced and charred—but that sign shows how devoted Rahim is to the most important meal of the day.

At $22, the multi-course “Chaikhana breakfast” is an affordable luxury. First, a steaming cup of milky Afghan chai arrives. Next, a tray of tiny clay dishes, each with an element of the traditional breakfast: rich kaymak (clotted cream), honey, walnuts, syrupy marmalades made with apples and carrots, a beef-filled Uzbek samosa—plus freshly baked naan and paratha. Just as you’re about to dig in, the main dish lands: a sizzling cast-iron skillet of soft-scrambled eggs with tomatoes, onions, and spices. It feels like a spread you should be eating in an Afghan grandmother’s living room, not on a metal table in a nondescript space across the street from a Wendy’s.

Soon, this Arlington spot will be joined by a Glover Park sibling, an Afghan restaurant from Rahim called Bonjon Rumi (2444 Wisconsin Ave., NW), serving the same destination-worthy breakfast.

Eggholic

India’s huge array of egg-based street food—still relatively little-known in the US—makes for a great breakfast, but it isn’t necessarily limited to the morning meal. In fact, the downtown DC outpost of this fast-growing Illinois chain stays open until 11 pm on weekends, doling out hard-boiled-egg curries, searingly spicy scrambles, fluffy rice pulav, and chaats. Bhagyesh and Lay Patel, the chain’s Gujarat-born founders, decided in 2019 that Americans were ready for their homeland’s “eggetarian” fare—though the M Street outpost, which opened in June, is among the first outside of suburban South Asian enclaves.

Unless you’re familiar with Gujarati street food, much of Eggholic’s menu will seem a bit mysterious. It’s split into “eggetarian” (many Hindus consider eggs non-vegetarian, a fraught issue in India), vegetarian, and chicken. Eggs take on an impressive variety of shapes and culinary roles: boiled and then pan-fried in Indian spices (egg bites); simmered, still runny, with shredded green pepper and cheese (lachko); tucked into fried rice that’s green with mint and curry leaves (green egg rice); scrambled with a coconut-onion gravy (malvani bhurji); even fried into an omelet that is itself stuffed with seasoned boiled eggs (lapeti).

Looking to branch out from eggholism? From the vegetarian menu, we especially love the Mumbai-style “grill sandwiches,” toasted white-bread triangles with vegetarian fillings such as paneer masala and samosa cheese. Of course, you could also opt for a filling of masala eggs.

This article appears in the November 2024 issue of Washingtonian.

Ike Allen

Assistant Editor