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• Kabob Korner

This is the Kabob Korner's Manto dish. (Sam Riche for The Star)

The Kabob Korner's Chicken Kabob dish. (Sam Riche for The Star)

This is the Kurma Chalow dish at the Kabob Korner near Castleton Mall on 82nd street in Indianapolis. (Sam Riche for The Star)

After closing Kabul, the more formal Afghan restaurant he operated for 18 years, Nasir Ayoubi and a partner opened a little something entirely different -- the sushi bar and cocktail lounge Blu Martini. But in 2005, Ayoubi decided to taste a slower lifestyle and sold the place.

Days outside the restaurant business were too boring, he found, and in April 2007 Ayoubi dived back in with Kabob Korner, the fast-service restaurant with food worth lingering over.

The Food

Hit Kabob Korner in a crew of four and you can try pretty much everything on the focused menu. My peeps and I started with sambosa ($3) -- pastry packets filled with seasoned ground beef -- and aush ($2.50), a heartening noodle soup with veggies, beans and ground beef, but mostly noodles.

After the small salads (shredded iceberg, sliced black olives, tomatoes and cukes in vinaigrette) that come with each dish, we tucked into impressive entrees all around. The steamed dumplings called manto ($6.48) hold seasoned ground beef and sautéed onions. They crowd the plate and come topped with tomato and yogurt sauces.

Chicken ($6.48) and top sirloin ($7.41) kabobs are seasoned and broiled by a practiced hand, producing the most succulent and flavorful kabobs in town.

Kurma chalow ($6.48) has the meat off the skewer and is layered with basmati rice and spicy tomato sauce. It's offered with chicken or lamb, and I went for the latter, good-sized chunks of incredibly tender lamb.

If the eggplant ($1.75) is any indication, Ayoubi is as adept with vegetables as he is with meat (and the restaurant offers a vegetarian entrée of rice with veggies). Smoky, supple chunks of eggplant get dashes of Kabob Korner's steady condiments -- tomato and yogurt sauces.

The Service

Order at the counter and whoever is behind it (usually the gregarious owner himself) brings your order to you.

The Atmosphere

Purple and orange walls set a vibrant tone; shiny metal tables keep it up. The restaurant is small and casual but very spiffy. Practiced, congenial host Ayoubi ensures that each diner feels appreciated.

The Price

$38.22, including tax, for four. The food is memorable, the cost forgettable.

Next Time

I missed little (baklava, sides of spinach or lentils) from the small menu, and everything I tried was worth ordering again, and soon.

-- By Traci Cumbay / Star correspondent