Fine Dining

If you’re tired of City View Pizza or blowing your money at the Draught Horse, here is an opportunity to try something new.
The Aromatic House of Kabob, a small corner restaurant at 113 Chestnut Street in Olde City, has the ambiance of a café in the Middle East. While serving some of the best Persian food around, they offer one of the greatest gifts known to mankind, the BYOB.
“I’d say about 60 percent of our customers take advantage of it,” said waitress Helen Mojgani. She also stated that on the weekends, Aromatic serves about 150 to 200 patrons each day.
My dinner party was greeted warmly at the door and told to sit anywhere we wanted. We chose the couches against the front wall, which along with the Persian music and dimmed lighting created a relaxed vibe. The earth tone color of the walls and Persian rug added to the feeling.
A basket of pita bread was complimentary. As for an appetizer, we ordered kash-bademjan ($5.95) which is a mixture of sauteed eggplant, grilled onions, garlic and boiled yogurt. The falafel ($4.95) was rather bland.
The entrees we ordered were a good sampling of the menu. The aromatic melt ($5.95), was a vegetarian sandwich served on pita bread with melted feta cheese, mushroom, tomato, spinach and onions. A good amount of food for the price.
When you come to Aromatic, you should make sure to get a kabob. Each of the traditional dishes comes with a choice of bread, rice, salad or baked potato. Combo II ($14.95) was one kubideh (ground sirloin) and one joojeh (lamb chunks), along with rice. This was served on pita bread with lettuce, tomato and onion.
The aromatic kabob ($16.25) combined the best of all their dishes. It included chunks of lamb, chicken, tenderloin, char grilled tomato, green pepper and lettuce. I ordered the baked potato which was served with mushroom, spinach and feta cheese.
I can honestly say that the aromatic kabob was the most fulfilling meal I have eaten in years. The secret to what makes Aromatic so good is their special house dressing. And luckily for us, the beer we brought, Tupper’s Hop Pocket Ale with its rich, hop-heavy flavor, complemented our food choices.
And in the end, a BYOB should be about good food and good drinks, all at a reasonable price.