As a public service announcement - now open Monday for lunch and dinner. This will eliminate the confusion/frustration of a certain LTH'er who has a habit of driving over there on Mondays.

Skokie's loss - Evanston's gain...
http://www.chicagotribune.com/suburbs/s ... story.html

Hopefully this means they'll solve the kitchen ventilation challenge. We love Kabul House food but the grill smoke, not so much.

Diannie wrote:Hopefully this means they'll solve the kitchen ventilation challenge. We love Kabul House food but the grill smoke, not so much.

Ha - I was thinking the same thing. *fingers crossed*

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KH is still running on all cylinders, despite the annoying ventilation issue. My dinner tonight was as good as any other visit.

No updates on the move date to Evanston. The host this evening told me that they're having "permitting issues."

A recent-ish article from the Trib - http://www.chicagotribune.com/suburbs/s ... story.html

Dave148 wrote:KH is still running on all cylinders, despite the annoying ventilation issue. My dinner tonight was as good as any other visit.

No updates on the move date to Evanston. The host this evening told me that they're having "permitting issues."

A recent-ish article from the Trib - http://www.chicagotribune.com/suburbs/s ... story.html

Damn. I was there for lunch over a month ago and at that time they said the new place would be open in 3 days. Permitting issues do indeed suck.

I've forgotten if this has been posted above but is this a move or a second location?

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ronnie_suburban wrote:

Dave148 wrote:KH is still running on all cylinders, despite the annoying ventilation issue. My dinner tonight was as good as any other visit.

No updates on the move date to Evanston. The host this evening told me that they're having "permitting issues."

A recent-ish article from the Trib - http://www.chicagotribune.com/suburbs/s ... story.html

Damn. I was there for lunch over a month ago and at that time they said the new place would be open in 3 days. Permitting issues do indeed suck.

I've forgotten if this has been posted above but is this a move or a second location?

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Based on what I've read, it is a move.

Yes, they're moving.

Called today. They're still in Skokie, at least for this week. I was told they're waiting on inspections (close to permits but not quite the same thing) from the City of Evanston before they can move.

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The ribbon-cutting ceremony is scheduled for June 14th at 4:00 pm.

http://business.evchamber.com/events/details/kabul-house-ribbon-cutting-18449

Was driving by the new Kabul House on Saturday around 6:00. Decided to check it out. The place is huuuuge with multiple rooms and waiting areas. The hostess informed us that there would be a 45 minute wait for a table so I can't comment on the food but it is no longer the homey storefront of old. Sad.

Marija wrote:. . . I can't comment on the food but it is no longer the homey storefront of old. Sad.

Isn't that kind of a knee-jerk reaction to these hard-working owners having some genuine success? I'm happy for them and wish them all the best, even if the new location is no longer close to my office.

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I was in Chicago this weekend and had Saturday lunch at the new Kabul House and it was not very busy. Order the lamb kebobs and a lamb shank was delivered....
the lamb kebobs showed up a bit later. I guess I just don't like highly seasoned grey lamb.
Overall, I was underwhelmed with the place.

mhill95149 wrote:Overall, I was underwhelmed with the place.

It was so much better when it was just a lowly store front on Oakton, lol.

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...or a 'lower' lowly storefront on Dempster near McCormick.

... or before that, an even a lowlier storefront on Main St. east of Chicago Ave. in Evanston.

Stopped by for dinner last night at around 5pm. The parking situation is a bit tricky as they have two storage containers in the lot taking up a bunch of parking spots.

Obviously, there's a lot more seating here vs previous locations. Plenty of staff. There's a private enclosed dining space. The dining space directly off of the front door requires a small step up to enter. They've got tape across the step cautioning folks to watch their step. Kind of a goofy design. They do have space on the main level that requires no stepping up. Nice washrooms. Most important...no more exhaust aromas coming from the kitchen. Proper HVAC works wonders.

The menu is essentially the same as the previous location. Our server pointed out a new item...Barg Kabob. It's a butterflied filet mignon. Our group of four ate well.

FYI - reservations accepted for groups of six or more. They're also on Groupon.

Yes, I think it's safe to say that the parking lot is not big enough to support all the tables in the restaurant. Unlike the previous location in Skokie, there is no immediate street parking out front either, you have to go another half a block and park on a residential street

The one time I visited to get take-out, the lot was full and there were two more people who double parked. This was a Wednesday night, so likely not even peak business.

I am also hoping that if business continues to go well that we may see additional menu offerings.

If they just continue to execute at the same level as they did in Skokie, I won't complain. But I like their food so much, I'd love to have more to try.

Incidentally, the carry-out version of the food were as good as I remembered which I hope means that this will be a pretty seamless transition.

These posts represent fortunate timing, because TODAY the LTH Evanston Lunch Group™ is having lunch at Kabul House at 12:30 pm. All are welcome and it's not too late to join us! Additional details are here.

gastro gnome wrote:
Incidentally, the carry-out version of the food were as good as I remembered which I hope means that this will be a pretty seamless transition.

It's just as good. And I believe there are a couple of new salads (or at least I hadn't noticed them at the old location). The pomegranate dressing seemed awfully thick and sweet to me.

My main objection is that the portion sizes have almost doubled. Every customer was carrying out multiple styrofoam containers.

cilantro wrote:My main objection is that the portion sizes have almost doubled. Every customer was carrying out multiple styrofoam containers.

Based on the (excellent) lunch that we just had there, the huge portion sizes largely consist of immense quantities of rice with every kabob dish. That's what was in the carry-out containers we took with us; we ate all all of the appetizers and all of the meat/fish part of the kabobs (whose portion sizes were adequate but similar to what we've had at their previous location).

It was an excellent Evanston lunch Monday, 7/10. Food is great, but the new Kabul House still has a few rough edges:

a) The credit card processing was down (which could happen to any place, anytime).

b)The reservation system wasn't working (they accept reservations for parties of six or more, but when I called their phone number, and entered # for reservations, the system hung up on me). If it keeps happening, the workaround is to call the number (847) 674-3830 and enter 1, for takeout. At least then you get to a real person, who can take reservations.

c) As mentioned above, the parking lot is small and parking can be difficult; it was for us at lunch, which was doing decent business, but certainly wasn't packed. However, it looked like there may be street parking on McDaniel Ave, which ends in a cul-de-sac just south of t he parking lot. To get to it, you need to take Fowler (just east of Kabul House) south to Crain St, then north on McDaniel. Here's a map:


But these are small quibbles. The food is great, and well worth the little bit of effort it might take to get it, IMHO.

There also appeared to be street parking available on McDaniel on the other side of Dempster.

nr706 wrote:a) The credit card processing was down (which could happen to any place, anytime) . . .

b)The reservation system wasn't working . . .

c) As mentioned above, the parking lot is small and parking can be difficult; it was for us at lunch, which was doing decent business, but certainly wasn't packed. . .

Credit card processing was working without issue and we just walked right in today at about 11:30, so I cannot speak to their reservation system. Eerily, we were the only people in the place - even until 12:15 when we left, so obviously, parking (in the strip that abuts the building to the west) was not a problem. And the food was very, very good. Maybe it was a touch under-seasoned compared to what I was accustomed to on Oakton but it was all really nicely cooked. I'm sure they're hoping for more lunchtime business.


Koubideh and Chicken Thigh Combo with Dill Rice

I also tried the beef skewer ordered by one of my companions and thought it tasted better than I expected. It should not have surprised me that it was cooked perfectly because that's Kabul House's calling card; a nice exterior char, and pink and juicy within. I'd never had this before and don't remember beef being offered at the Oakton location. Another difference between the new digs and the former location is that soups are no longer included with entrees . . . at least not yet. When we asked about this, our server brought out a couple of bowls for us and told us that they were on the house, which was very kind of him (especially since we didn't request them or grouse about them no longer being included).

This location is more of a hike for us now but as we were running an errand in the neighborhood, we made a point of stopping in for lunch. We'll definitely be back.

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ronnie_suburban wrote:Credit card processing was working without issue and we just walked right in today at about 11:30, so I cannot speak to their reservation system. Eerily, we were the only people in the place - even until 12:15 when we left, so obviously, parking (in the strip that abuts the building to the west) was not a problem. And the food was very, very good. Maybe it was a touch under-seasoned compared to what I was accustomed to on Oakton but it was all really nicely cooked. I'm sure they're hoping for more lunchtime business.

Our monthly LTH lunch group ate there this past Monday. We arrived at 12:15 for our 12:30 lunch. Throughout our time there, the dining room was well over half full (even without our party of nine); in fact, I remarked that they were doing quite a good business for lunchtime, considering the fact that their location is not walkable for lots of office workers the way central business district locations are. Why it would be so busy on a Monday and not on the Thursday of the same week, I have no idea.

Their credit card processing was not working on Monday.

As I remarked in the thread for Monday's lunch, I thought every dish we had was excellent. This was the best LTH lunch I can remember.

How does this place compare to Kabobi Grill at Kedzie and Lawrence? Was just there for the first time last week and it was really good.

shakes wrote:How does this place compare to Kabobi Grill at Kedzie and Lawrence? Was just there for the first time last week and it was really good.

Completely different food. Both are great, but not the same.

stevez wrote:

shakes wrote:How does this place compare to Kabobi Grill at Kedzie and Lawrence? Was just there for the first time last week and it was really good.

Completely different food. Both are great, but not the same.

Exactly what I was going to say. However, one thing they happily have in common is that, at least in my experience, both cook their meats properly and do not cook them into dry oblivion. I'm so sick of places that cook their skewered meats into dried-out, lifeless choking hazards. Meat shouldn't need lubrication in order to be ingested. Across all their locations I can remember, Kabul House has always nailed this.

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I wouldn't say it's *completely* different food. Both places serve kabobs and koubideh, as well as stewed dishes like lamb shanks in tomato sauce; both feature the standard accompaniments like basmati rice, tomato lentil soup, and chopped salad; both even used to have ghormeh sabzi, although KH doesn't list it on the current menu.

I agree that the preparations are different enough that it's hard to compare the two, but the food is quite similar, actually.