Khyber Pass Cafe
Aaron
This week a family friend came in from California and we decided to take her to someplace you wouldn't find in California. Seeing as the lutefisk buffet was closed on Mondays, we settled on a local eatery called The Khyber Pass, which specializes in Afghani food. Located on Grand Avenue in St. Paul, Minnesota, this place serves anyone and everyone. It tries especially hard to lure in college students from the neighboring Macalester College campus (students get 2 for 1 entrees)!
The front of the building is rather unassuming. With an alleyway on one side and a Dunn Brothers Coffee on the other, the building doesn't exactly show itself off to the passersby — a possible explanation as to why it was so empty. On the inside is a white-walled, tall-ceilinged room with a bar at the far end and small tables arrayed on the floor. Adorning the walls are Afghani dresses and carpets (carpets here are suspended from the ceiling and displayed on the walls, but the place has a wood floor), and also some National Geographic-style photos of Afghan villages and locals.
We took our seats and were tended to by a young waitress, who was insistant on constantly refilling our water glasses throughout the evening ... even though they weren't even half empty. Mandatory optimism? Anyways, we got our menus, and read over the entrees. We proceeded to butcher the pronounciations to the waitress, who managed to decipher our garbled language. Service was quick, and within 15 minutes we were chowing down on our meals. I had a curried chicken dish, along with some curried potatoes, on top of some rice, with perhaps a mouthful of salad on the side. Although portions were large, this "salad" could have easily been mistaken for a garnish. Most of the meals here consisted of curried meat and a starch atop a bed of rice, with the garnish salad on the side.
After washing down my food with a two-and-a-half dollar soda, we recieved the bill, which was pretty surprising. For four people, all ordering an entree and beverage, the total was 75 dollars! Although I wasn't the one paying (thanks, Dad), I felt sort of frustrated. The meals were tasty, but nothing fancy or gourmet! Most of the stuff you could find on an Afghani farmer's dinner table. Perhaps a fair price would be seven or eight dollars, but the tall prices (12 to 17 dollars for an entree) seemed way too high. Although filling and tasty, I left being sort of angry at the establishment, thinking its prices to be most unjust.
I'd like to say that I thought it was a pretty good place to eat, but incredibly expensive. In my opinion, it's really not a place to have a family meal or bring friends. Maybe a fancy dinner for two, or if you're really set on impressing guests, it'd be a decent choice. But if you're simply planning on tasty food for a reasonable price, you'd best find somewhere else.
The front of the building is rather unassuming. With an alleyway on one side and a Dunn Brothers Coffee on the other, the building doesn't exactly show itself off to the passersby — a possible explanation as to why it was so empty. On the inside is a white-walled, tall-ceilinged room with a bar at the far end and small tables arrayed on the floor. Adorning the walls are Afghani dresses and carpets (carpets here are suspended from the ceiling and displayed on the walls, but the place has a wood floor), and also some National Geographic-style photos of Afghan villages and locals.
We took our seats and were tended to by a young waitress, who was insistant on constantly refilling our water glasses throughout the evening ... even though they weren't even half empty. Mandatory optimism? Anyways, we got our menus, and read over the entrees. We proceeded to butcher the pronounciations to the waitress, who managed to decipher our garbled language. Service was quick, and within 15 minutes we were chowing down on our meals. I had a curried chicken dish, along with some curried potatoes, on top of some rice, with perhaps a mouthful of salad on the side. Although portions were large, this "salad" could have easily been mistaken for a garnish. Most of the meals here consisted of curried meat and a starch atop a bed of rice, with the garnish salad on the side.
After washing down my food with a two-and-a-half dollar soda, we recieved the bill, which was pretty surprising. For four people, all ordering an entree and beverage, the total was 75 dollars! Although I wasn't the one paying (thanks, Dad), I felt sort of frustrated. The meals were tasty, but nothing fancy or gourmet! Most of the stuff you could find on an Afghani farmer's dinner table. Perhaps a fair price would be seven or eight dollars, but the tall prices (12 to 17 dollars for an entree) seemed way too high. Although filling and tasty, I left being sort of angry at the establishment, thinking its prices to be most unjust.
I'd like to say that I thought it was a pretty good place to eat, but incredibly expensive. In my opinion, it's really not a place to have a family meal or bring friends. Maybe a fancy dinner for two, or if you're really set on impressing guests, it'd be a decent choice. But if you're simply planning on tasty food for a reasonable price, you'd best find somewhere else.