I’m a little picky when it comes to Iranian restaurants. As an Iranian-American, I grew up with home-cooked Persian food: fragrant basmati rice, herb-flecked stews, grilled kababs, and tons of fruits and vegetables.
There are a few noteworthy restaurants in the Bay Area, but I never had a favorite in San Francisco until Lavash opened up in the Sunset District a few years ago. I knew I was in the right neighborhood when I realized I could smell the smoky aroma of kababs on the grill more than a block away from the restaurant. I recently visited for dinner with my friends Rebecca and Laura, excited to introduce to them the often-overlooked (but delicious) world of Persian cuisine.
We started with an assortment of appetizers. First came the sabzi panir, which is a platter of fresh herbs, walnuts, cucumbers, feta cheese, and flatbread to roll into tiny, fresh bites. Next, we ordered kotlet, or ground beef, onion, and potato patties. These are one of my favorite picnic foods, but they served us just fine in a restaurant too. Lastly, we sampled the kashk-e bademjaan, a super garlicy eggplant dish similar to baba ghanoush. (For those curious to try it at home, I’ve posted my recipe here.)
No Iranian feast is complete without doogh, or yogurt soda, so we ordered a couple glasses. “Are you sure you want to order this? It’s an acquired taste,” said our friendly waitress to my friend Rebecca. Doogh is salty, minty, and popular throughout the Middle East and South Asia in various permutations. If you’ve never tried it, you must.
We each ordered a different kind of kabab as our entree, and I had the kabab barg. Barg is sliced beef fillet that’s been seasoned with saffron (and often marinated in lemon and yogurt, lending it a tender and piquant flavor). This came served with a bed of saffron-flecked rice and a grilled tomato. I felt like I’d been transported right back to my childhood.
For dessert, we split an order of makhloot, a decadent treat that’s half Persian ice cream (think rosewater, pistachio, and saffron) and half faloodeh, any icy rosewater-flavored thin rice noodle dish drizzled with lime juice. My mouth is watering just thinking about it.
Lavash is what I’ve been waiting for: a solid Iranian restaurant that’s centrally located and serves good quality fare. Home-cooked fare may still be at the top of my list, but Lavash is the next best thing.