I Found INCREDIBLE Afghani Food In the Most Unexpected Place!

I almost drove right past it. I was on a road trip from Sacramento to San Francisco on Interstate 80, passing through Vacaville—a town I had driven through plenty of times but never really thought of as a culinary destination. My son was asking me for Chick-fi-La, but it was my mamma’s birthday and deep inside I wanted to find a memorable place for her. Plus do you have any idea how many ingredients are in those processed Chick-fi-La chicken sammies? Look it up and you will be shocked. And then…I spotted Kohe Noor. Sometimes, you just have to follow your curiosity.

Kohe Noor is a family-run Afghan market and restaurant, and when I walked through the door, I immediately knew I had stumbled upon something special.The market was filled with ingredients and products that reflect Afghan food traditions, from Afghani walnut fudge and various dal to dried mulberries and roasted pine nuts in the shell. There was halal meat in the front, and a tiny bakery in the back where they were churning out surfboard sized fresh naan from their hand built oven. But then I saw a little door to the left, and when I walked through I felt like I was transported to an Afghani living room. Paintings of Afghani scenery and village people hung on the walls, with quaint gold doilies on the tables reminiscent of every Middle Eastern grandmother. An inner voice just called on me to “Eat Here!”

No one in our family had ever tried this cuisine before, and my mom and even my kids were a bit reluctant, but I just knew we were going to have the experience of a lifetime. I wasn’t wrong. The owner Abdul and his sister made us feel at home with their kindness and hospitality, while their kitchen served beautifully prepared dishes that felt distinctly like home cooking. There were fragrant and fluffy rice dishes flecked with carrots and raisins, tender fall-off the-bone chicken and lamb, pillowy soft dumplings, fresh bolani flatbreads filled with fresh herbs and vegetables and vibrant sauces to go with everything. Most importantly, the experience was enriched by a family behind the food who was happy to share their stories with us.

And here’s the funny thing: when I arrived, the restaurant was empty. There I was, sitting in this quiet little restaurant in Vacaville, eating some truly wonderful Afghan food and thinking, How many people are driving right past this place without ever knowing what’s inside? This is what I love about road trips. We tend to think of the best food destinations as being in big metropolitan cities. We plan our restaurants before we leave home. We search for the places with thousands of reviews and Instagram-famous dishes. But some of the most memorable meals happen when you don’t have a plan. Family-run restaurants in smaller towns can be especially rewarding. They’re often places where food isn’t just a product—it’s an extension of someone’s family, history and culture.

And there is another reason why I seek these places out. When you spend your money at a family-run restaurant or market, you’re not just buying lunch. You’re helping a family-owned business continue to exist. You’re supporting someone’s dream while helping preserve recipes and traditions that might otherwise disappear. And you’re telling a family that the food they’ve carried with them—whether from Afghanistan, Lebanon, Armenia, Iran, Palestine, Turkey or anywhere else—is worth sharing.

That’s why I think we should occasionally take the scenic route—not necessarily on the map, but in the way we choose where to eat. That choice is a revolutionary act, a vote against corporate greed and processed foods. So the next time you’re driving through a town you’ve never considered a food destination, look around. Take the turn. Walk through the door. Try the little family restaurant with the modest sign–you might just find something extraordinary. In the end my kids loved the food as well…they didn’t even ask about Chick-fil-A again.

I almost drove right past Kohe Noor. I’m so very glad I didn’t. To see my experience at this special place, click on my new video below: