Afghani Pizza with Spicy Beef
posted by Seanfen on Oct. 20, '08 at 10:18 AM

If you're trying their food for the first time I'd go for the pizza (I like it with spicy beef) as it's amazing. That may help you warm up to some of their other dishes. And I'm positive that each time you go you will like it more and more!   Rating: *****

100% AWESOME
posted by LeviS on Oct. 7, '08 at 3:19 PM

I have tried an extremely vast variety of ethnic foods and I have to conclude that Crescent Moon has the best food I have ever eaten in my life. I think it is mostly due to the quality of this food. Everything is handmade and fresh which is really important to me. The food has just the right amount of spice for flavour not overpowering the natural taste of the food. For example their eggplant is so delicious that you crave it the next day - week after. I have no doubt that they have the best pizza I have ever eaten and they have very delicious kabobs and rice. The people there are some of the nicest but there is no table service. That is not going to stop me however, from going there and recommending Crescent Moon to everyone.   Rating: *****

The Amazing Afghani Pizza
posted by alexism on Aug. 14, '08 at 11:41 AM

When asked where to find awesome unique pizza, I consistently direct folks to Crescent Moon Bakery. They start with a loaf of flavorful, olive-oily afghani bread, which is the shape of a football, but flat. Then it's covered in a tangy, tomato garlic sauce and topped with cheese and any other toppings of your choosing. The pizza is baked, cut into rectangles and served piping hot with an addicting spicy green condiment.

Warning: once you try it, you won't be able to get enough!   Rating: ****

nom nom nom nom nom...
posted by backally on Aug. 14, '08 at 11:14 AM

It is perhaps a bit misleading to the general public to call it a Crescent Moon a bakery, seeing as how it functions pretty well as a restaurant (albeit a restaurant where you have to order and pick-up your meal at the counter), but DAMN do they know their way around a kitchen!

To those easily overwhelmed by the numerous menu photos, the staff members are willing to guide those of us with poor decision-making skills when thrown into a situation with TOO MANY appealing choices towards the tastiest of the offerings. I?d never had Afghani food before, but was very excited to try it, seeing as how I LOVE other local offerings that represent that region of the world (see: Babani?s Kurdish Restaurant, Caspian, Holy Land Deli).

Each time I?ve been, I ordered a dish of their ?Plates? menu, which generally consist of a meat or vegetable dish (accompanied by aromatic rice topped with candied raisins and carrots), and a salad. I ordered the excellent Chicken Tikka skewer ($5.99) on the side of a Pataan Plate ($9.99). I really enjoyed the beef kourma included on that plate, but was underwhelmed by the gyro meat / salad that accompanied it. The Tzatziki sauce was watery the first time I tried it, but the second time it was much-improved. Hey, we ALL have bad nights every so often! The Spinach Plate is a decent option for those not digging? on meat, but I?d never order it again because they do meat dishes WAY too well to screw around with a meatless dish. The Sultani Plate ($14.99) totally rules. The bite I had of another diner?s Baklava was absolutely incredible. Better than either Babani?s or Caspian?s baklava, according to my mouth.


BTW, their Sheer Chai drinks are really quite special. The Sheer Chai Smoothie ($2.99) just gets better as it melts and releases the flavors, and the hot Sheer Chai ($2.49/$2.99) makes me happy in ways I didn?t know food could. And since they have free Wi-Fi, you could totally be that dude. You know, the one who sits there for hours, nursing his drink while doing homework. Then come dinnertime, order the hell out of some food.

Eating here feels like you?re in on a great secret only the locals are hip to. Parking is easy, it?s kid-friendly, everyone friendly. Eat there and be happy.   Rating: ****

afghani comfort food
posted by kbyoung83 on Aug. 13, '08 at 9:15 PM

It's sort of hard to describe this place as "authentic" since I've definitely never been to Afghanistan or anywhere close, but it certainly seemed to be. Both times I've been there, it's been fairly packed but not super crowded both times. Standard cafeteria-style decor, but with murals and rugs and paintings on the wall and a big flat screen TV showing sports games.

The menu is a little sassy, telling you to beware of unique taste sensations. Well, the tastes were sensational but you will probably be okay. I had the house pizza (football shaped!), which comes with green peppers, Afghani style beef (sort of similar to gyro meat), and a tomato sauce that's got a little kick to it. Nice chewy crust, and for $9.99 it will feed two. The house salad has a nice lemony dressing and lots of olives. I also recommend the sheer chai smoothie, definitely made with a house chai recipe with lots of cardamom that is ground up in the smoothie- yum, if you like cardamom, which I do. One of the two times they put a little chocolate sauce on top, which was really tasty, ask for it. The chai smoothie ($2.99) would be worth stopping in for in the afternoon of something if you live nearby.

The service was good for a place where they call your number and you pick up the food from the counter. Both times they greeted me warmly. But don't let the cafeteria style ordering fool you: as my date for the second trip described, it's pay at the counter prices for sit down quality food.

They also have a nice selection of nuts and baked goods available to take home.

check out www.crescentmoonfoods.net   Rating: ****

Casual With a Focus on the Food
posted by jdholan on Aug. 13, '08 at 4:48 PM

The Crescent Moon Bakery is restaurant, bakery, and meeting/banquet room rolled into one. The restaurant area is simple, casual, and open. Order and pick up food at the counter; grab silverware and napkins from the rack. There is middle-eastern-type music playing in the background and painted murals in the dining room. Atmosphere is comfortable and the space is good for small conversation or chatter from larger groups. The menu has pictures of just about every dish, which is helpful when the names are unfamiliar. Read the descriptions to know what you're getting. Prices range from $5-6 for smaller plates (fries extra), to $12-16 for larger entrees. I had the Buz-Kashee Plate ($13.99), which was wonderfully tender goat stew and tikka chicken with peppers. The goat was chewy but not tough and the chicken was juicy with a mild marinade. Both reheated nicely as leftovers. It came with spiced long-grain rice topped with raisins, carrots, and slivered almonds, a couple pieces of pita, and a deliciously light side salad - a perfect palate cleanser, but needed more pepper for my taste. A great mix-and-match of flavors entree. The Turkish coffee ($1.99) is dark and hot with great cardamom sweetness. We had to try the baklava, which was surprisingly different. The walnut paste wasn't nearly as honey sweet as others I've had, and it had just the right amount of cinnamon and cardamom to even the flavors. Definitely worth the 5 minute drive out of downtown.   Rating: ***