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Afghan Veggie Sampler

Afghan Veggie Sampler at Pomir Grill on Shrewsbury Street in Worcester

Afghan Veggie Sampler at Pomir Grill on Shrewsbury Street in Worcester

New to the Worcester restaurant scene, Pomir Grill is a great addition to the Shrewsbury Street mix being the first restaurant to offer Afghan cuisine in the city. After dining here a few times, I have yet to be disappointed with the entire experience. 
This visit, I starting with a Kachula Cutlet appetizer that was described as, a potato pancake with ground beef. This cutlet was more of a meat pie with seasoned mashed potato on the outside and meat stuffing on the inside. It was definitely comfort food that went well with the three dipping sauces provided with the house bread. I had my heart set on a vegetarian offering that is served weekly as a lunch special; asked the waitress if that was an option for dinner, I was pleased that it would not be a problem. The veggie sampler consisted of the following items; Kadu Borani—a thick slice of butternut squash, with a tomato based sauce with a yogurt drizzle. Banjan Borani—a thick slice of eggplant served with tomato and yogurt sauce. Sabzi Chalaw—spinach served with onion and tomato. Also served with this vegetarian entrée were carrots with lentils in a tomato sauce and a fried potato dish with peppers. These five items were served with a brown rice with raisins and carrots. Everything was extremely well prepared and flavorful. As a non-vegetarian, it is rare for me to like a meatless dish enough to order it as a main course, but the food here is exceptional. While Pomir Grill offers a number of dishes off-kabob-style along with traditional Middle Eastern food, the hidden gems here are the less familiar dishes. Pomir Grill is a nice addition to the Worcester dining scene, offering interesting and slightly different dishes, a good variety of vegetarian and vegan dishes and a warm family restaurant feel. -DO

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Mantu

Mantu from Pomir Grill on Shrewsbury Street in Worcester

Mantu from Pomir Grill on Shrewsbury Street in Worcester

As a new member to the Foodies, I was apprehensive at first about Pomir Grill and Afghan cuisine since it differs so much from the food I’m used to. However, I was incredibly, and delightfully, surprised! The food ended up being not only delicious, but also excellent comfort food. First, the venue: it was a quaint, one-room place, and our group dominated the available tables. The service was wonderful, and they were very helpful with explaining their dishes. Although I opted to try their Afghani black tea (very good!), the restaurant is BYOB, which appealed to the majority of the group. As for my meal, I couldn’t have picked something better. The pasta was more like wantons rather than ravioli, which prevented it from being too filling. Each ‘wonton’ is filled with beef, and the beef sauce reminded me very much of chili. Overall, the meat was cooked perfectly, and the garlic sauce (which I believe is yogurt-based) really topped the whole thing off. The dish was a little more meat-heavy than I’d anticipated, but not overwhelmingly so. The flavors are different from my usual, but subtle. It is definitely an easy place to expand your taste buds without going too far outside your comfort zone. It is a nice addition to “restaurant row,” and I’ll certainly recommend it to others! -EF