Anchor ads are not supported on this page.

4S Ranch Allied Gardens Alpine Baja Balboa Park Bankers Hill Barrio Logan Bay Ho Bay Park Black Mountain Ranch Blossom Valley Bonita Bonsall Borrego Springs Boulevard Campo Cardiff-by-the-Sea Carlsbad Carmel Mountain Carmel Valley Chollas View Chula Vista City College City Heights Clairemont College Area Coronado CSU San Marcos Cuyamaca College Del Cerro Del Mar Descanso Downtown San Diego Eastlake East Village El Cajon Emerald Hills Encanto Encinitas Escondido Fallbrook Fletcher Hills Golden Hill Grant Hill Grantville Grossmont College Guatay Harbor Island Hillcrest Imperial Beach Imperial Valley Jacumba Jamacha-Lomita Jamul Julian Kearny Mesa Kensington La Jolla Lakeside La Mesa Lemon Grove Leucadia Liberty Station Lincoln Acres Lincoln Park Linda Vista Little Italy Logan Heights Mesa College Midway District MiraCosta College Miramar Miramar College Mira Mesa Mission Beach Mission Hills Mission Valley Mountain View Mount Hope Mount Laguna National City Nestor Normal Heights North Park Oak Park Ocean Beach Oceanside Old Town Otay Mesa Pacific Beach Pala Palomar College Palomar Mountain Paradise Hills Pauma Valley Pine Valley Point Loma Point Loma Nazarene Potrero Poway Rainbow Ramona Rancho Bernardo Rancho Penasquitos Rancho San Diego Rancho Santa Fe Rolando San Carlos San Marcos San Onofre Santa Ysabel Santee San Ysidro Scripps Ranch SDSU Serra Mesa Shelltown Shelter Island Sherman Heights Skyline Solana Beach Sorrento Valley Southcrest South Park Southwestern College Spring Valley Stockton Talmadge Temecula Tierrasanta Tijuana UCSD University City University Heights USD Valencia Park Valley Center Vista Warner Springs

Afghan Pizza? Zia's Shows How

Nine at night in Normal Heights: Khaled Waleh is trying to explain just what Afghan pizzas are.

This place, Zia Gourmet Pizza (3311 Adams Avenue, Normal Heights, 619-284-4320) is his vehicle to bring Afghani tastes in food to a town that has only heard about its wars.

http://sandiegoreader.com/users/photos/2012/mar/30/21874/

Zia's: Afghan-flavored pizzas for Normal Heights

http://sandiegoreader.com/users/photos/2012/mar/30/21875/

Me, I've just had a delicious $3 slice of potato pizza...

http://sandiegoreader.com/users/photos/2012/mar/30/21876/

http://sandiegoreader.com/users/photos/2012/mar/30/21877/

While Khaled's regular customer Daaiyah chomps...

http://sandiegoreader.com/users/photos/2012/mar/30/21878/

Khaled's li'l sister Somiyah brings a combo plate of Eggplant pizza and New Yorker turkey pastrami pizza.

http://sandiegoreader.com/users/photos/2012/mar/30/21879/

Me, I’m hooked on the look of this Eggplant pizza. “It’s the most Afghan of them all,” Khaled says. “Eggplant is one of our main foods, and so is the Indian-style raita salty yogurt we put in. And the cranberries.”

Wow. Cranberries and yogurt in a pizza? Definitely a South Asia thing.

I pick it up and bite in. Oh yeah. Any doubts evaporate. Squishy eggplant, scallions, tomato, those cranberries, red sauce, mozzarella, and splotches of the savory yogurt sauce. The combo is, well, rico suave. And the yogurt, cranberry eggplant combo makes you think of Persia, Afghanistan, Pakistan, India. Who knew, what stories a pizza tells?

http://sandiegoreader.com/users/photos/2012/mar/30/21880/

Zawzaw the Burmese chef with owner Khaled

There’s so much more to tell. Khaled is working on a cool lounge behind his main pizza room. And soon, they’ll be getting a wine and beer license…d’argh! Too much to tell. Check for a full Tin Fork, soon as I can.

Here's something you might be interested in.
Submit a free classified
or view all

Previous article

Gonzo Report: Jazz jam at a private party

A couple of accidental crashes at California English

Nine at night in Normal Heights: Khaled Waleh is trying to explain just what Afghan pizzas are.

This place, Zia Gourmet Pizza (3311 Adams Avenue, Normal Heights, 619-284-4320) is his vehicle to bring Afghani tastes in food to a town that has only heard about its wars.

http://sandiegoreader.com/users/photos/2012/mar/30/21874/

Zia's: Afghan-flavored pizzas for Normal Heights

http://sandiegoreader.com/users/photos/2012/mar/30/21875/

Me, I've just had a delicious $3 slice of potato pizza...

http://sandiegoreader.com/users/photos/2012/mar/30/21876/

http://sandiegoreader.com/users/photos/2012/mar/30/21877/

While Khaled's regular customer Daaiyah chomps...

http://sandiegoreader.com/users/photos/2012/mar/30/21878/

Khaled's li'l sister Somiyah brings a combo plate of Eggplant pizza and New Yorker turkey pastrami pizza.

http://sandiegoreader.com/users/photos/2012/mar/30/21879/

Me, I’m hooked on the look of this Eggplant pizza. “It’s the most Afghan of them all,” Khaled says. “Eggplant is one of our main foods, and so is the Indian-style raita salty yogurt we put in. And the cranberries.”

Wow. Cranberries and yogurt in a pizza? Definitely a South Asia thing.

I pick it up and bite in. Oh yeah. Any doubts evaporate. Squishy eggplant, scallions, tomato, those cranberries, red sauce, mozzarella, and splotches of the savory yogurt sauce. The combo is, well, rico suave. And the yogurt, cranberry eggplant combo makes you think of Persia, Afghanistan, Pakistan, India. Who knew, what stories a pizza tells?

http://sandiegoreader.com/users/photos/2012/mar/30/21880/

Zawzaw the Burmese chef with owner Khaled

There’s so much more to tell. Khaled is working on a cool lounge behind his main pizza room. And soon, they’ll be getting a wine and beer license…d’argh! Too much to tell. Check for a full Tin Fork, soon as I can.

Sponsored
Here's something you might be interested in.
Submit a free classified
or view all
Previous article

Afghan Ambassadors

His one piece of advice to his son: “Don’t start a restaurant. You’ll never be able to relax.”
Next Article

Tandoor's Indian Buffet

Ask a Hipster — Advice you didn't know you needed Big Screen — Movie commentary Blurt — Music's inside track Booze News — San Diego spirits Classical Music — Immortal beauty Classifieds — Free and easy Cover Stories — Front-page features Drinks All Around — Bartenders' drink recipes Excerpts — Literary and spiritual excerpts Feast! — Food & drink reviews Feature Stories — Local news & stories Fishing Report — What’s getting hooked from ship and shore From the Archives — Spotlight on the past Golden Dreams — Talk of the town The Gonzo Report — Making the musical scene, or at least reporting from it Letters — Our inbox Movies@Home — Local movie buffs share favorites Movie Reviews — Our critics' picks and pans Musician Interviews — Up close with local artists Neighborhood News from Stringers — Hyperlocal news News Ticker — News & politics Obermeyer — San Diego politics illustrated Outdoors — Weekly changes in flora and fauna Overheard in San Diego — Eavesdropping illustrated Poetry — The old and the new Reader Travel — Travel section built by travelers Reading — The hunt for intellectuals Roam-O-Rama — SoCal's best hiking/biking trails San Diego Beer — Inside San Diego suds SD on the QT — Almost factual news Sheep and Goats — Places of worship Special Issues — The best of Street Style — San Diego streets have style Surf Diego — Real stories from those braving the waves Theater — On stage in San Diego this week Tin Fork — Silver spoon alternative Under the Radar — Matt Potter's undercover work Unforgettable — Long-ago San Diego Unreal Estate — San Diego's priciest pads Your Week — Daily event picks
4S Ranch Allied Gardens Alpine Baja Balboa Park Bankers Hill Barrio Logan Bay Ho Bay Park Black Mountain Ranch Blossom Valley Bonita Bonsall Borrego Springs Boulevard Campo Cardiff-by-the-Sea Carlsbad Carmel Mountain Carmel Valley Chollas View Chula Vista City College City Heights Clairemont College Area Coronado CSU San Marcos Cuyamaca College Del Cerro Del Mar Descanso Downtown San Diego Eastlake East Village El Cajon Emerald Hills Encanto Encinitas Escondido Fallbrook Fletcher Hills Golden Hill Grant Hill Grantville Grossmont College Guatay Harbor Island Hillcrest Imperial Beach Imperial Valley Jacumba Jamacha-Lomita Jamul Julian Kearny Mesa Kensington La Jolla Lakeside La Mesa Lemon Grove Leucadia Liberty Station Lincoln Acres Lincoln Park Linda Vista Little Italy Logan Heights Mesa College Midway District MiraCosta College Miramar Miramar College Mira Mesa Mission Beach Mission Hills Mission Valley Mountain View Mount Hope Mount Laguna National City Nestor Normal Heights North Park Oak Park Ocean Beach Oceanside Old Town Otay Mesa Pacific Beach Pala Palomar College Palomar Mountain Paradise Hills Pauma Valley Pine Valley Point Loma Point Loma Nazarene Potrero Poway Rainbow Ramona Rancho Bernardo Rancho Penasquitos Rancho San Diego Rancho Santa Fe Rolando San Carlos San Marcos San Onofre Santa Ysabel Santee San Ysidro Scripps Ranch SDSU Serra Mesa Shelltown Shelter Island Sherman Heights Skyline Solana Beach Sorrento Valley Southcrest South Park Southwestern College Spring Valley Stockton Talmadge Temecula Tierrasanta Tijuana UCSD University City University Heights USD Valencia Park Valley Center Vista Warner Springs
Close

Anchor ads are not supported on this page.

This Week’s Reader This Week’s Reader