Persian cuisine :: All Things Andy Gavin

Archive for Persian cuisine

Banquet Style — Flame International

May21

Location: 11330 Santa Monica Blvd, Los Angeles, CA 90025. (310) 444-0045

Date: September 30, 2021

Cuisine: Persian

Rating: amusing and vast place, solid food

This was a peculiar dinner. Jeffrey Merihue organized it, set the menu and then was suddenly out of town on the day of so Yarom picked up the organization (such that it was).

I’ve passed by Flame about 1000 times (on Santa Monica Blvd) and even eaten next door at Nanbankan. I’ve long wondered about Flame.

Turns out it’s one of those Persian large scale “event space” restaurants. Probably it’s used for weddings and other similar functions. I forgot to take good pictures of the inside so I have to use some (bad ones) from the web.

It has that Persian “overbuilt” look. Lots of marble and curtains and chandeliers, but really cheap (looking) construction.

Big space though.

And outside they had this HUGE patio/tent which was even odder. Initially they tried to put us here even though we were the only people in the entire restaurant but the problem was that the floor slanted quite considerably so one side of your chair would be about 2 inches lower than the other. We moved inside (took a bit of convincing to get them to do it though).

Hummus. I find Persian style hummus too thin.

Yogurt with cucumber (and some herbs).

Plain yogurt. Cucumber one was much better.

Shirazi Salad. The classic.

Lavash bread.

Roast Eggplant with crispy onions and tahini. Warm and delicious. This stuff was totally crack. I probably ate 1.5 plates of it myself.

A different salad, same basic ingredient except this one had lettuce.

Trout and salmon. Trout was nice and crispy.

Three kinds of rice.

Crispy rice with lamb. I liked this.

Lamb chops and koobideh.

Succulent game bird.

Fessenjoon given reluctantly at the last minute and with no protein — just the sauce. It was on our menu, but despite (or perhaps because?) we were the only guests they seemed in hurry to move us on threw. We had to request this, even though it was on our menu, and then they just brought a minuscule portion of the sauce alone (no chicken). It was tasty though.

Ghormeh Sabzi with nothing in it — just the stew. Same deal as above.

Blood Peach and Ume Sorbetto — Blood Peaches from Avignon with a bit of Joto Umeshu “Ume” (Japanese plum) Sake! — made by me for @sweetmilkgelato — #SweetMilkGelato #gelato #dessert #icecream #FrozenDessert #nomnom #dessertlovers #dessertporn #icecreamlovers #gelatoitaliano #foodporn #gelatolover #food #foodgasm #foodblogger #dessertgasm #desserttime #foodphotography #gelatoartigianale #gelatomania #dessertlover #icecream #icecreamlovers #sorbetto #BloodPeach #Ume #peach #plum #sake

Sweet Milk Signature Flavor — Italian Lemon Cookie Meringue Pie — Limoncello Zabaione base with lemon cookie flavor mixed with Italian Lemon Creme Cookies and Sicilian Candied Lemon and topped with house-made toasted Meringue — made by me for @sweetmilkgelato — #SweetMilkGelato #gelato #dessert #icecream #FrozenDessert #nomnom #dessertlovers #dessertporn #icecreamlovers #gelatoitaliano #foodporn #gelatolover #food #foodgasm #foodblogger #dessertgasm #desserttime #foodphotography #gelatoartigianale #gelatomania #dessertlover #icecream #icecreamlovers #lemon #LemonCookie #cookie #Sorento #Limoncello #Meringue #LemonMeringuePie

Mint tea.

Food was actually pretty good, and if one wanted to do a cheap banquet with solid Persian food this place might be interesting. Service sucked though and the space was giant but odd. I found it had it’s particular charms.

For more LA dining reviews click here.

We had lots of wines, but I don’t bother to photo them (except for my own) at this kind of casual dinner anymore.

By: agavin
Comments (0)

Posted in: Food

Tagged as: BYOG, Flame International, Gelato, hedonists, Iranian cuisine, Jeffrey Merrihue, Meat, Persian cuisine, Wine

Darya – Down the Silk Road

Dec30

Restaurant: Darya

Location: 12130 Santa Monica Blvd, Los Angeles, CA 90025. (310) 442-9000

Date: November 16, 2015

Cuisine: Persian

Rating: Overdone decor, solid food

LA has a tremendous Persian population, and with it a great collection of Persian restaurants.

Darya is located on Santa Monica Blvd, just across the street from Echigo.

The interior is pure Persian — circa 1980 something. Check out all that faux gilding. The columns are like painted foam. And what’s with the whacky Salvador Dali painting — although I kinda like it.

Bread in Persian restaurants comes with butter, raw onion, and radish.
It’s the super flat bread too, which means you can eat more of it.

Kashkeh Bademjan. Sauteed eggplants blended with yogurt, topped with caramelized onions, fried garlic, mint oil, and creamy kashk (whey) sauce.

Good stuff with the bread. Not only does this have a nice roasted eggplant flavor, but all those exotic additives really take it to the next level.

Beef Koobideh. Seasoned ground beef served with Adas Polo, steamed white rice mixed with lentils, raisins, and dates.

Fesenjon. Slow-boiled chicken topped with a ground walnut-pomegranate stew, served with a side of Zereshk Polo, steamed white rice mixed with barberries.

The stew is sort of halfway to a curry, a slurry of pomegranate and walnut. It’s delicious over rice. It’s spiced without being even slightly spicy, which is typical of Persian cuisine.

You can really see how Persian food stands midway in the continuum between Levantine food like Lebanese and Pakistani or Afghan.

The last time I was here before this was perhaps in 2004, and this was just a quick visit, but I’ll have to come back and sample the a wider selection of the menu. I like how you can sub out the regular rice for these more interesting rice combos too.

For more LA dining reviews click here.