Eat Squad Log #1: Panahar

Last night, Slick and I had a very memorable S.N.D. (Sunday night dinner) with some great friends.  Instead of the typical Buckhead/ Highlands/ Midtown - “What do you want” – “I don’t know what you do want” – “How about sushi” – “I had sushi yesterday” – dance, we opted for some bizarro Buford Highway fare.

So, we enlisted the help of our resident Buford Highway connoisseur, Mr. B:

Mr. B

Mr. B + his adorable wife chose very, very well.  We went to Panahar – which is the only Bangladeshi restaurant in Atlanta.  It. was. AWESOME.

Inside Panahar

The restaurant, itself, is a relatively small, unassuming, mirrored room housing roughly 16 tables.  When we arrived at 7:00 p.m. sharp, it was packed.  Panahar is BYOB w/o a corking fee (hello!) and the servers are attentive and knowledgeable about the menu.  While I consider myself to be a pretty comfortable restaurant-orderer in most cases, everyone at the table (including me) completely deferred to Mr. B and our server, Mirza, regarding what we should order.  We asked for advice and some kind of  ”group special” so that we could taste a number of items on the menu.  Mirza promptly took away our ordering privileges (which we were totally fine with) and simply told us what to get.  This was definitely the way to go. 

Three hours and four courses later – everyone left stuffed and satisfied.  The meal was surprisingly cheap and incredibly plentiful.  Our table was filled with food for the majority of the evening that I couldn’t even begin to spell or pronounce…which I loved. Using Panahar’s menu as a guide, I CAN tell you that we started with mango lassi to drink and halim soup and poori shrimp for appetizers.  Among other items, we had chicken teek-ka moshol-la (my fav.) and beef shaag poneer maang-sho (Mr. B’s fav.) for entrees.  Dessert was a delicious kulfi ice cream and a firni.  We left Panahar proud of ourselves for stepping away from the norm and eating outside of our comfort zone.

Dinner @ Panahar

First time diners at Panahar get a 25% off coupon for their next visit (Tuesdays – Thursdays).  Entrees range between $9 – $15 and tax is already figured into the price.  Since the restaurant is small and meals take a while, I strongly suggest calling ahead to make a reservation. 

As I sit here polishing off the last of my lukewarm Lean Cuisine, I can’t help but think about what a cool experience I had last night and how excited I am to discover more of Buford Highway’s quiet culinary gems.    Here’s to the unusual!

xx, L

Panahar
3375 Buford Highway
Suite 1060
Atlanta, GA  30329
404.633.6655
www.panahar.com