Muska, Nazifa, and Hilal Rahim run Bonjon Rumi together. Photograph by Ike Allen.DC’s Afghan food scene is dominated by a few female power players. There’s Shamim Popal, who oversees the kitchen at Lapis, and the mini-empire of four Afghan restaurants—including Bistro Aracosia and Afghania—run by Sofia Masroor and her three daughters, Taliha, Iman, and Zainab. Bonjon Rumi, a new Glover Park eatery from the same owner as Arlington’s wonderful fast-casual outpost Kabobistan, is similarly matriarchal. It’s run by Hilal Rahim, her sister Muska Rahim, and their mom Nazifa Rahim.  Open since Tuesday, October 22 in the former Surfside space, Bonjon Rumi is a handsome place, with a forest green color scheme, a full bar, and a rooftop dining area coming soon. The restaurant’s name, Hilal says, is an Afghan term for tomato, literally translating to “Roman eggplant.” “The name has a story, because my mom has a special recipe for tomato sauce,” Hilal says. “This restaurant is focused on the real Afghan food that we make at home.” Hilal came to the US to work in the consular section of the Afghan embassy during the war— her job disappeared suddenly when the Taliban took over Kabul in 2021. Soon after, she collaborated with her family to open Kabobistan in Arlington. Nazifa runs the kitchen, and Muska, a student at a Turkish university, is here temporarily to support the front-of-the-house at both restaurants.  The DC area has no shortage of Kabul-style kebab grills, and more than a few Washingtonians know their mantu from their aushak. But Bonjon Rumi’s lengthy menu delves deeper into the B-sides and regional peculiarities of Afghan cuisine. There’s aash, a verdant cold-weather noodle soup with herbs and beans, and chainaki, a rich lamb soup served—as dictated by tradition—in a teapot. The Bonjon Rumi Special is, surprisingly, a Russian-style cold salad appetizer consisting of neatly stacked layers of slow-cooked beef, potatoes, carrots, beets, Persian pickles, boiled eggs, walnuts, and dill.  Fried samosas, though stuffed with ground beef and savory spices, are dusted with powdered sugar, cardamom, and crushed pistachios so that they more closely resemble cannolis.  The Rahims also want to put care into the more familiar side of Afghan cuisine. Hilal prepares the classic lamb-shank topped, carrot-and-raisin-strewn rice dish known as kabuli palaw with traditional sesame oil. Kebabs are served on sizzling fajita trays. Dips like baba ghanoush and the yogurt-based mast-u khiar are showered with plenty of dried mint.  Some time in November, morning service will begin, and Hilal says it will involve the same elaborate, multi-course breakfasts we love from Kabobistan. Seek out the Chaikhana breakfast: a cast iron skillet of scrambled eggs, tomatoes, and onions, accompanied by kaymak (clotted cream) and honey, walnuts, homemade jams, an Uzbek samosa, fresh-baked naan, and chai. It’s a feast for $25.95, and poised to be one of DC’s most noteworthy morning meals. The post Bonjon Rumi Brings Afghan Home Cooking—and Bountiful Breakfasts—to Glover Park first appeared on Washingtonian.