We visited Balaboosta's Einat Admony to learn how to make gondi, a Persian chicken and chickpea dumpling, which she'll be serving at a special Passover Seder. The dish is an unforgettably delicious and totally comforting alternative to Ashkenazi matzo ball soup. More
Pars tends to play it safe. There's an in-house belly dancer named Valeri, according to the website, but she only comes out on Saturdays. The menu offers a strong selection of proteins, but mostly in the form of kebabs. Some boldness appears in the decor, via white-washed walls adorned with sparkly vests and caps, lamps bedecked in intricate beadwork, and a long bench covered in woven cloth. Perhaps keeping it mild is a political strategy as much as a culinary one here. More
It's hard to convince anyone to go to the Upper East Side for a meal; the argument has to be compelling, as there's probably not much food there that you can't get elsewhere at an equivalent or better level. It happens, however, that the Upper East Side is home to some of the best Persian restaurants in Manhattan. On a Saturday night when we fancied a taste of Iran, we trekked across town to Persepolis on Second Avenue, and we were glad we did. More
I was excited to find that out in the East 70s is a small hotspot of Persian cuisine. A little calculated digging led me to Persepolis, one of the most popular of the Persian restaurants in the area, which also offers a decent vegetarian selection. Persian cuisine may not be that easy to come by, but as a huge fan of Middle Eastern food I had a very good feeling about it. More
