A heartening story about the increased patronage of an Afghan restaurant in the San Francisco Bay Area.

September 25, 2001 10:27 AM

A heartening story about the increased patronage of an Afghan restaurant in the San Francisco Bay Area. Have you heard/seen/been a part of reaching out to Afghans and Muslims who are as shocked and against the terrorist attacks? "Ahmad and Rahimi say they are living in an extraordinary moment. When they expected suspicion, they found trust. When they worried about rejection, they found the embrace of friends and customers."
posted by msacheson (9 comments total)

Leslie's story of an afghani restaurant visit was the first great story I heard about this type of thing.

Dinah had a similarly good experience.
posted by mathowie at 10:36 AM on September 25, 2001

Damnit, I was going to link to leslie's story.

What, I'm not the only person that knows about hoopla.com? ;)
posted by jragon at 12:46 PM on September 25, 2001

There have been postings on various discussion lists that I'm on requesting that people patronize various Afghan restaurants as a show of support/unity. I just heard this morning that a muslim in my neighborhood (Hayes Valley) is basically in hiding for fear of reprisals and hasn't been seen much since 9/11. That's horrible.

Show your support. Patronize these restaurants. Have a chat with your Pakistani corner store proprietor, ask them how things have been...if only to show that their race, religion or what have you doesn't automatically associate them with terrorists in your mind. I'm heartened to say that I've seen a lot of this sort of reaction...it's a wonderful thing.
posted by xochi at 12:55 PM on September 25, 2001

I just ate lunch at Afghan Kebab House #3 in midtown Manhattan. I've ordered takeout a million times and this was the first time I've eaten in. I just happened to stumble upon it today, hungry, but suddenly I was self-conscious about it being a political act to go inside. It was wonderful to see that it was crowded at lunchtime, while just two blocks away on the street corner t-shirts are being peddled with a man in a turban (bin-Laden) in the sights of a gun, reading "public enemy number one."
posted by edamame at 1:16 PM on September 25, 2001

We ate in a wonderful Afghani restaurant in Vienna, VA last week - we were delighted that we thought to call ahead and reserve a table for six - otherwise we'd have been waiting for a good while. The food was excellent, the restaurant packed, and the owners said they hadn't had any negative reactions - even in their sister restaurant, in a community they felt was less well-educated as a whole.
posted by julen at 2:11 PM on September 25, 2001

The Saturday after the terrorist attack we decided to bag on P.F. Changs and go to Roya Afghan Cuisine in Walnut Creek, CA. Excellent lamb kabab!!! Though there was a little tension in the air, the restaurant filled up that evening. Very heartening...
posted by scottfree at 4:51 PM on September 25, 2001

Damn, does this mean I'm going to need reservations now to eat at The Helmand in S.F.?!
posted by Zurishaddai at 5:14 PM on September 25, 2001

Similarly, the same goes for Kabul Afghan Cuisine in Seattle. Compliments of The Stranger.

God Bless Middle Eastern Cuisine!

Furthermore, remember the wait at Country Buffet after McVeigh's boner?
posted by crasspastor at 5:29 PM on September 25, 2001

This article made me feel so good. I just had hummus and tabouli at the coffee house owned by the Middle Eastern guys on the busiest corner downtown, which hasn't really experienced any kind of business decline since the tragedy. (I'm teaching on a socially aware, militantly PC campus.) But I've been horribly mortified to read about the crap folks are going through in the rest of the country.
posted by mirla at 5:41 PM on September 25, 2001