Sometime over the past year, another Persian place opened on the Danforth and we didn’t even notice it. Kababi is wedged into a small block that is chock full of eateries. The inside is fairly non-descript and they also have a Cafe TO patio.
The menu offers a few options that we haven’t tried at other restaurants, so we selected some of those. Ash Reshteh is a thick soup with lentils, chickpeas, red beans, spinach, and soft noodles, garnished with crispy fried onions and garlic, mint, and kashk (a sauce made from strained yoghurt). Very pleasant and comforting, if not a standout in terms of flavours.
Kashk-e-Bademjan features creamy roasted eggplant, mixed with kashk, fried onion, garlic, mint, served with flatbread. Also quite enjoyable.
The most intriguing item on the menu was a soup of sheep’s head and trotters. Our server tried to dissaude us from ordering this and in the end we decided not to, uncertain about the risk of prion disease from eating sheep brain. So we went with Kabab Torsh, a skewer of juicy veal tenderloin, marinated in pomegranate sauce and walnuts, served with saffron barberry rice, grilled tomato, and a mild grilled chili. This was the best dish of the evening, with smokey and tangy meat.
We also had Tahdig with Ghormeh Sabzi, which had buttery, crispy rice pieces served with a stew of veal, herbs, and beans. Although the crispy rice was fun, the stew didn’t have as much flavour as other versions, having less herbs and preserved limes.
So good overall. Maybe not as good as Herby a block away, but some different dishes and the pomegranate veal kebab was great.
