We try to use food to educate our diners about Afghanistan, about our culture. My goal is to create a dining experience that it is both educational and pleasant. We want people to come here and leave with good feelings in their hearts about Afghanistan and the people who live there.

One can serve society in different ways. My wife and I have chosen to do it this way. We are both working here in the restaurant. I am the host and my wife is working back in the kitchen preparing the food. So this is a family restaurant. And it is our family's gift to the community.

Once . . . in the wilds of Afghanistan, I lost my corkscrew, and we were forced to live on nothing but food and water for days.

The most immediate need is getting additional food into Afghanistan. So that has to be the top priority.

During one of my treks through Afghanistan, we lost our corkscrew. We were compelled to live on food and water for several days.

Once you become an elaborate and well-developed culture, anything from Rome or the Etruscans, for that matter, the food starts to become a representation of what the culture is. When the food can transcend being just fuel, that's when you start to see these different permutations.