Kabul --- The Herat Restaurant sits in the heart of Shar-e-Naw district, an upscale area of shops and offices.

Once you step inside, if the sun still has enough warmth, make your way through the restaurant and out a back door. You'll emerge in a huge courtyard roughly the size of a city block.

There, you find fig trees, potted geraniums and a curious collection of animals. A ram with a fine rack of horns grazes in the grass. There are chickens, peacocks and turkeys in mesh cages. White ducks bathe in plastic bowls before waddling up to your table.

This courtyard menagerie reflects the eclectic tastes of the owner, a businessman from the western city of Herat who has operated this restaurant for many years. Before 2001, the Herat was often frequented by Taliban soldiers and government officials. Today, lots of Karzai administration bureaucrats dine here.

When I first arrived in Kabul back in early September, the Herat and other Afghan restaurants were closed during the holy month of Ramadan. I typically joined my Afghan colleague, Hashim Shukoor, in fasting through the day.

Since returning from my time with U.S. soldiers in southern Afghanistan, when most of the cuisine involved Meals Ready to Eat, I have relished the chance to sample traditional Afghan fare.

So late last week, Hashim and I joined Feda, a former Taliban fighter, for a leisurely lunch at a courtyard table. Feda had joined the forces of a Mujahadeen commander loyal to the Northern Alliance. But his leader had a falling out with that group and switched over to the Taliban.

The 32-year-old Feda stuck with this Mujahadeen commander in a fighting career that began in his early teens and continued sporadically for many years. It finally ended when U.S. bombers routed the Taliban in late 2001.

After the air attack caused heavy casualties, Feda and many other Taliban fighters retreated to Kabul, where he opted to rejoin his family and retire from fighting.

In the years that followed, Feda struggled. He didn't have much education or many opportunities for employment here in Kabul. He is disdainful of the Karzai administration and still has some affection for the Taliban. He says they would do a much better job restoring order to this nation.

I mention that the Taliban tried to banish music and that he likes to listen to the Afghan tunes that play on the radio here.

Fedah said that even while fighting, they secretly listened to the music and did not seem too upset by the inconvenience.

As we talked, a young waiter, Amadshah Hashemi, arrived to bring our food. Hashemi works here most every day of the week for up to 18 hours, taking home about $180 a month. And he's held the job for the past five years.

On this day we started with a bland but tasty vegetable soup, and then moved on to heaping platters of rice, mutton, carrots, raisins and spices known as qabli. We also dined on chicken kebabs and meat dumplings known as manto.

Feda ate with great gusto. I figure he had more than his share of days when food was in short supply, although he said the Taliban generally had pretty decent food in reasonable quantities.

I was curious to know more about Feda's days as a Taliban fighter.

But Feda wanted to talk about women. He already has a wife, a cousin who was picked out by his family. He married her when he was only 13 years old.

They have four children but the marriage has soured, and they sleep in separate rooms.

So now, Fedahis looking for love. Divorce is a difficult thing in Afghanistan. Instead, Fedah contemplates taking another wife.

Feda asked me about American women. I told him that he wouldn't find too many interested in a being a second wife in Afghanistan.

We finish our meal, then order tea that comes with a plate of candy that resembles a kind of fudge.

Fedah coaxed the ducks closer, and fed them a few scraps of cabbage.

As we end our lunch, I remind Fedah of something he once told me, How he wished he had died during his years of fighting. That would have been better, he said, than drifting through life in Kabul without steady employment.

But on this day, perhaps buoyed by all the good food, Fedah said he's glad he's alive. He hopes to find a good job - even if that means leaving Afghanistan

We paid our bill, and left the courtyard to reemerge in the busy streets of Kabul.