Ashkan and Diana Taheri’s small Persian bakery and restaurant was nominated for a 2024 James Beard Award.
By Nikki Buchanan | Photo: Angelina Aragon
Opened: October 2022
Ashkan and Diana Taheri’s small Persian bakery and restaurant was nominated for a 2024 James Beard Award in the Best New Restaurant category, so naturally, I had to see what the fuss was all about. For this committed carbaholic, the fuss is, first and foremost, about the revelatory sangak – a thin, golden-brown sourdough flatbread, made with whole wheat, dotted with sesame seeds and baked on a bed of small stones, just as it has been for a thousand years ($6.95 for bread alone). Faintly crispy outside, spongy and chewy within, it’s phenomenal as a scoop for tangy, luxurious shallot yogurt (made in-house, $5.50) or as a wrapper for dreamy beef kebab jazzed up with tomato, onion, dill pickle and fresh herbs ($12.95). The bandari sandwich — hot dog chunks and onion cooked in a thick tomato sauce with turmeric and chile —seems Westernized and fun ($10.99), while dark, almost granular fesenjan — chicken stew flavored with pomegranates and ground walnuts — feels purely Persian (although it needs more chicken, $21.99). Bright yellow saffron rice pudding, decoratively sprinkled with cinnamon and given the crunch of slivered almonds ($5.95), makes a sweet, soothing finish.
Wild Card: Man up for classic Iranian street subs containing creamy lamb brains, tender beef tongue (my second favorite sandwich) or a combination of the two ($15.95-$16.95).
814 E. Union Hills Dr., 480-906-9757
