Years ago I went with a friend to Sheherzade, the Persian grill branch of this trio of Iranian restaurants. My friend loved it, I thought it pretty good - I’m not a skewer or kabab fan really. I do love the sound of a good biryani though, so thought I’d go with my guy to Pomegranate - which features braised meats, stews with pilafs. So off we went last night.
It had been busy earlier and they asked me to come at 7:30. When I got there, there were a few tables and they seated us at the window and a very small table. I decided I’d better not order too much. Luckily, we are a ‘share an appetiser or two plus a main’ type couple so it wasn’t too cramped. Well, just a bit. We got big glasses of water along with our menus and decided against other drinks.
We ordered one appetiser and one main, plus torshi (pickles). We’d ordinarily order two appetisers but they all sounded quite similar so we held off, promising to order more if needed. I was alarmed when everything arrived at the table together and probably not more than three or four minutes later. We were a bit stunned but dug in.
Ordered (with site descriptions):
Kashk-e Bademjoon + Barbary Flatbread $12.00
A gorgeously aromatic dip of sautéed eggplant, softened, mixed with Persian whey (kashk), sautéed garlic, mint , walnuts and caramelized onion. Served with Barbary flat bread.
Adas Polo + Braised Lamb Shank $23.50
A saffron basmati rice pilaf of lentils, dates, raisins and barberries topped with caramelized onion. Served with braised lamb shank .
Pickled Pleasures $5.00
Shoor-o Torshi: Pickled Persian gherkins, aged garlic, shallots and a mixture of traditional vegetable torshi.
The dip was the better dish. It was served with very small ‘fingers’ of flatbread. The whey gave it a cheesy flavour. Quite nice.
The lamb was falling off the bone but somehow dry. We guessed it had been cooked way ahead - understandable. There was a little juice in the small dish it came in. It was fatty, pleasant. The rice wasn’t as pictured on their site. I liked it well enough. There were dried barberries heaped at the side but not much (if any) evidence of the dried fruit or nuts that were promised or pictured online. I’d like more gravy for that rice. There was a side salad of (not baby) spinach and some romaine with a too-vinegary dressing.
The torshi was two large pickled garlics, three tiny cornichons and a green chopped-up thing (unidentifiable) that I played with but he rejected. Not worth ordering, no matter how cheap. I was thinking about some lovely pink pickled turnip and peperoncini, etc - obviously not the right cuisine.
Our bill was $44.05. He moaned about the whole meal but then he is Hewhoisneversatisfied. I thought it OK. This was enough food for the two of us, as smaller eaters, but I was dreaming of a lavish dessert afterwards (we didn’t order one).
Yes, we are very discerning - I hate to be called fussy - but this gets a 6/10 from me and he may give it far less. Won’t be going back, even though it was pleasant enough. Oh, the service - the server was quiet, another person (chef? owner? anyone know?) came around to tell us about specials and explain a few things. Nothing to write home about but let’s say unobtrusive.
That’s that one done.
