Our sophisticated New York friends...had occasion to come to an event in Baltimore and they insisted on going to the Helmand. This Baltimore stand-by had been written up in the New York Times a few days before, setting up what I call the Obrycki effect: a New Yorker needs to have his out of town experience validated by his home town newspaper and will bypass truly outstanding local  restaurants in favor of ones that have been mentioned in the Times. As it turned out, the Helmand served us a very good meal. I loved the vanilla ice cream with figs. My only complaint was the fast pace of the service. One felt processed rather than coddled.

I've seen plenty of examples of the Obrycki Effect over the years. Nothing against Obrycki's, but for years it seemed as if there were no other crab houses in town, judging from what tourists knew about us.

And much as I like the Helmand, the idea of coming from New York to eat there seems strange. Are there no Afghan restaurants in the Big Apple?

The picture above was obviously (I hope) taken at the Helmand, not Obrycki's.