TASTE
Michael Spencer , left , and Areej Khan co-own A Part of Roseville , a supper club , caterer and erstwhile cafe on Roseville ’ s Vernon Street .
“ My mom is basically the inspiration for the restaurant ,” says Naseer Roshan . The family , originally from Afghanistan , lived in Iran and Uzbekistan before arriving in California in 2007 . Inon took pride in mastering the cuisines of every country they passed through : Uzbek samsas ( related to Indian samosas ) baked in clay ovens , Persian rice with the bottom crisped just right . “ Whenever she learned something , she tried to perfect it ,” Roshan says .
When the family moved to the Capital Region , Roshan and his siblings were entranced by its smorgasbord of restaurants . “ We never had Mexican food before . Burritos , tacos , guacamole ; we fell in love ,” he says . He runs down a list of other dishes that won them over : alfredo sauce , minestrone , sourdough bread , Panda Express . “ That ’ s a beautiful thing about California : You can really have any kind of cuisine you want .”
Open since February 2020 , Madar serves food that reflects both the Roshans ’ Central Asian roots and their Californian adolescence . Here , chapli kebab — a spiced ground beef patty popular in Afghanistan and Pakistan — becomes a brioche-bunned chapli burger , consummating the resemblance between the two street foods . Chapli also adorns the Khan Fries , commingled with mint chutney and herbs , while fried
chicken tops the Sultan Fries . The chicken , gilded with nigella seeds and sesame , is Roshan ’ s favorite item on the menu and the recipe he ’ s most proud of developing . Another contender is his mother ’ s Uzbek samsa , the puff pastry made from scratch as she insists .
Making space for others
Roshan plans to help other immigrants , including some of the thousands of Afghan refugees who have recently arrived in the Capital Region , chart their own paths to entrepreneurship . He is researching the logistics of opening a bazaar where vendors can rent space for a low price and test out food concepts . “ We have a lot of people who were doing small businesses back home ,” such as selling tea or falafel on the street , he says , but regulations and fees make it more difficult to start a street food business in the United States . “ This will be an opportunity for them to bring back their creative side and share whatever they ’ re passionate about , whatever they ’ re good at .”
A Part of Roseville recently rebranded to focus on a similar goal . Originally called A Part Cafe , it dropped cafe service in November to adopt what Khan calls a “ community-led model .” For an hourly rate , new entrepreneurs and other community members can now make the Vernon Street space their temporary home . In the kitchen , vendors prepare food for farmers markets , while the front of the house hosts popups and other events , including A Part ’ s own supper club . At these ticketed meals , Khan and Spencer become dinner party hosts again , the role that first sparked their restaurateur ambitions .
“ It feels like we ’ re finally fitting into what we were supposed to be doing ,” says Khan . “ We ’ re making a space for people to make food , cultivate ideas and projects , and connect circles .”
Jennifer Fergesen is senior editor for Comstock ’ s magazine . She writes about food for publications around the world and has received awards for her reporting on the restaurants of the global Filipino diaspora . See her work at jcfrgsn . journoportfolio . com and globalcarinderia . com .
Check out photos of the Capital Region ’ s most interesting restaurants and food businesses : Follow @ comstocksmag on Instagram .
32 comstocksmag . com | February 2022