Kabob House brings Middle Eastern flavor to Woodstock
Kabob House owner Umer Butt is shown with his mom, Raheela, at left, as customers check out their food at the Woodstock Village Green on Sunday. (Gareth Henderson Photo)
Until recently, a home-cooked Pakistani lunch wasn't available in Woodstock. Now, the Kabob House, a Hartland-based business, is bringing a taste of the Middle East to the Village Green every Sunday and Monday, from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m., under new temporary permitting on the Green meant to boost food options on those days. This is the third business to take part in the program.
The Kabob House is owned by Umer Butt, who is originally from Pakistan and now lives in Hartland with his wife, Kristina Farooq, who grew up in Hartland. The Kabob House sets up its tent each Friday at the Hartland Farmers Market, but they were recently invited to give Sundays and Mondays in Woodstock a try.
"The response has been good," Butt said on the Green, where he and his mother, Raheela, were serving food Monday.
Speaking by phone recently, Kristina noted, "It's just fun to be at a new location and be a part of something different."
The food, which is made fresh each day, includes beef and chicken kabobs, samosas and some drinks including mango lassis. Sometimes, he might arrive with baryani, a special dish Raheela makes, with rice, chicken, and some spices. There's also a vegetarian and vegan version of baryani as well. That dish is Kristina's favorite, and one she'd always get the time she was on vacation and met Umer in Florida, where he ran a restaurant.
"We'd go there every day; I always got the chicken baryani," she said.
The couple was married in Florida in May 2020. Eventually, the restaurant closed during the pandemic, and they moved to New York and then, last December, to Hartland. The Kabob House debuted at the Hartland Farmers Market when the market opened May 28 this year.
"The goal is one day to have a restaurant, but for now it's just the Kabob House, and we're just really enjoying it," Kristina said.
The Kabob House is the latest culinary addition to the Green on Sundays and Mondays. This new permitting for the Green was prompted by staffing shortages in the restaurant sector, resulting in fewer eateries being open on Sunday and Monday, and this new effort was meant to fill in that gap during the summer and fall. This year is the program's trial run; it's not clear if it will be back in 2022.
With the Kabob House and The Lazy Cow there on both days, and Ana's Empanadas there on Mondays, the amount of permits allowed has been reached. If any further businesses are interested in a permit, it will require a meeting of the Village Trustees, according to Trustees Chair Jeff Kahn.
— Gareth Henderson
