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A few blocks from the Queens Botanical Gardens, this normally hectic—and Taiwanese—stretch of Main Street takes an abrupt turn towards Southeast and Central Asia. Neon-lit dim sum palaces are replaced by sari boutiques and halal butcher shops, and every other storefront seems to be a kebab restaurant. With its mirrored walls, framed tapestries and tablecloths, Choopan is a little more polished than your average kebab joint, but it’s the Afghani dishes that draw local families here. Thick, dill-seasoned yogurt is featured prominently: in the creamy dressing over an iceberg-lettuce salad; in a cool, salty drink laced with cucumber; in a drizzle over a plate of sautéed eggplant. A squirt of the topping definitely helps the various lamb and chicken kebabs, which are flavorful but can be a bit on the dry side. The dish of ashak—delicate, almost translucent dumplings stuffed with minced leeks in a rich meat-and-lentil sauce—is a unique treat, as is the refreshing firnee, a milk pudding dessert with cardomom and chopped pistachios. — Stephanie Rosenbaum

Ashak, $5; kofta kebab, $9; choopan kebab, $12; firnee, $2.50