Sharezad:

Ben and I found ourselves in Westwood for lunch the other day after a quick trip to the Eames House. After learning about Tehrangeles and eating at Raffi’s I was craving some more Persian food. Shaherzad popped up with 4 stars on Yelp. Ben was game because he had never been to a Persian restaurant. The place was packed during lunch time. We didn’t have to wait for a table but I would guess there might have only been one empty table the whole time we were eating. Almost every table had a pitcher or glass of the thick yogurt drink, Dugh. I can’t drink a glass of milk so there was no way I am going to try a sour, thicker glass of white liquid. Ben was intrigued but not enough to order one. We did order the yogurt and shallot dip. That I can handle.

I love going to ethnic restaurants and being able to order off the special lunch menu because of the bang for your buck and you get try more than one thing. Have you noticed that most “American” restaurants don’t offer a lunch special. That has always bothered me.

Ben ordered the Baghali Polo, which was a lamb shank and rice with dill and lima beans. Ben said when he made a bite with lamb shank, rice, and yogurt his dish was great. He prepared me a bite and I agreed.

I ordered the lamb Tahchin, which consisted of rice mixed with yogurt and saffron with a layer of lamb. The tahchin is topped with barberries and served with a side salad. It’s like Persian lasagna, but maybe lasagna is more like Italian tahchin. I don’t know who invented the dish first. Regardless, I would order this over lasagna any day. The top was like deep fried rice that gave way to a creamy saffron flavored rice. The lamb was succulent and moist. The barberries on top were a little too sweet for my taste so I scraped them onto the side of my plate. The dish is so heavy that you only need about a third of the portion they served at Shaherzad. It is a must try and must split.

I didn’t have the kabab at Shaherzad so I can’t really compare the place to Raffi’s. Shaherzad is a must try in my book if you are curious about Persian food and think it’s only kababs and rice. The yogurt shallot dip was terrible compared to Raffi’s. It lacked the intense kick, but I also didn’t taste my food for twelve hours after my meal. To sum up the meal at Shaherzad, it was the perfect weekday lunch adventure. Be prepared to take a post meal nap if you finish all the tahchin.