Walter's

Walter's Restaurant Review:

What started as a coffee shop in the early 1970s has grown over the decades into a charming and intimate restaurant with a rambling collection of dining areas. The menu is eclectic --- kebabs, pastas and steaks --- but the real reason to go is the Afghani specialties. While a few are permanently on the menu, a more extensive list is featured on Friday and Saturday nights. Representative dishes include aash (a richly flavored soup of meat broth with noodles, garbanzo beans and low-fat yogurt); bowlanies (appetizers that resemble won tons, filled with meat, potatoes and onions and deep fried, served with yogurt sauce and accompanied by a spicy mint chutney with jalapeños); and entrées such as kabuli pilaf (chunks of lamb topped with rice pilaf, carrots and raisins served with eggplant and yogurt sauce). Beef short ribs, lamb chops and veal piccata make for more traditional larger plates. The dessert menu features favorites like tiramisu, almond cake and chocolate mousse cake, and there is a thorough list of specialty California wines.