New Afghan Restaurant Calls Manassas Park Home

If you were making the drive to Manassas or Centreville for your Afghan food fix, well, you can start saving your gas.

restaurant, located at 8448 Centreville Rd. in a shopping center behind Guapo’s, opened just last month, said Sue Abbassi, marketing manager for the restaurant.

Abassi said her relatives operate the Kabob Corner and bring with them decades of restaurant experience.

The owners chose to conduct business in Manassas Park because it’s a good location and the rent is reasonable, she said.

They want to introduce Manassas Park’s diverse population of Americans and Hispanics to Afghan food, she said. “They try it and they love it and they keep coming back,” she said. “We had someone come in in the morning and then once before we close.”

Kabob Corner is different from fast-food restaurants who use sub-par ingredients and cook with a lot of grease and fat, she said. “I would like to say that all the food is fresh and made from scratch, no preservatives, no additives,” she said. “The oil we use is soybean oil or canola oil—it is the best.”

 The food is truly wonderful, she said.

“Sometimes I look at the menu and I’m not even hungry and I think, 'Mmmm,' she said, laughing.  “Once you come here and have our mouth-watering kabobs, they are addictive. You’ll want more and more.”

For those who aren’t familiar with Afghan cuisine, Abbassi suggests having kadu, which is sautéed pumpkins with herbs and spices. “It’s got a little sweet flavor to it,” she said.

An eggplant-based dish called bouranee baunjan is also very good, she said.

Those who love to eat meat should try the chopan kabob, which is marinated lamb ribs, she said. “It’s really tasty and tender, you can’t go wrong with that,” she said. “When I was pregnant with my son, that’s all I craved.”

Kabob Corner uses special metal skewers that cook the meat on the inside, Abbassi said.

The restaurant only uses Halal meats, which is meat that has been prepared in a manner permissible in the Islamic faith.

 The restaurant also uses a Tandoor clay oven to make the traditional Afghan bread, also known as naan, which is used to prepare gyros. The restaurant also serves the basmati rice which is very good and flavorful, she said.

Kabob Corner offers catering and delivery on orders $10 or more. Orders can be made online at kabobcornermanassas.com.

The restaurant is open Sunday-Thursday 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. and on Friday and Saturday until 10 p.m.