Meryl Smith Lawton

The New Food In Town | Finally, Old Strathcona gets a persian restaurant.

Sabzy
10416 Whyte Ave., 758-1005

Both of my regular readers will probably remember how, about a year ago, in an extremity of desperation over the inaccessibility of Persian food in this here town, I resorted to making my own — specifically a dish called koresht-e-fesenjan, a rich feast of chicken on the bone simmered in walnut-pomegranate gravy. Luck was with me that day and the recipe turned out all right, but it was a hell of a lot of work grinding all those walnuts and it left me no more capable of reproducing any of the other kabobs, pilafs, and stews I’ve come to love during those times in my life I’ve been near a Persian food vendor.

So the news that Sabzy, a Persian café, had taken up residence across from the Army & Navy on Whyte Avenue was long-awaited. Finally, someone else to grind the walnuts! What’s more, Sabzy boasts of its adherence to “Green Gourmet Culture” by featuring lots of organic and vegetarian options on their menu and by offering sabzy, a healthful traditional mix of fresh herbs, green onions, and radish, as an add-on to everything they serve. Also, the folks who run the place have fashioned a comfortably mod, exotic space out of the old Saffire Lounge. Plus, they provide free wireless Internet access, which would allow you to read the menu and schedule of specials they post at sabzy.net in case you’re too lazy to pick up a menu at the counter.

My visit was poorly timed, as I’d missed the fesenjan special by a couple of days, but the friendly counter guy endorsed the aab gosht ($6), a hearty soup of potatoes, beans, and lamb. That sounded good, especially with an order of must’o khee-yar ($6) — herbed cucumber and yogurt dip with pita. My co-diner opted for the koobideh kabob platter ($15) and some sabzy ($1) to wash it down.

We repaired to a high table near the door, the better to take the view of the cavernous, multi-hued room and the carousel of vibrant images of Iranian culture and cuisine on the widescreen TV near the till. My deep bowl soup and appetizer arrived expressly and I was compelled to share with my co-diner as her meal had not yet arrived. The soup was crammed with big potato chunks, garbanzo and pinto beans, and melty cubes of lamb shoulder in a subtly seasoned curry broth. The dip featured thick, creamy yogurt flecked with pepper and herbs and embedded with crescents of baby cucumber, served with crispy whole wheat pita triangles. The combined effect was quite satisfying.

My co-diner didn’t get too far into my food before her own arrived. The koobideh platter boasted two kabobs of blended lean ground beef and lamb arranged around a generous heap of saffron and basmati rice, plus a broiled tomato. Sabzy, the menu told us, is usually made with cilantro, parsley, basil, and mint, but our big bowl of sabzy was mostly cilantro and parsley with a few green onion segments and quarters of radish.

The kabob was tender and tasty, the natural flavour of the meat lightly complemented with onion and turmeric and zereshk, a sour condiment made from dried barberries, but it was even better with some of the yogurt dip and a stalk of raw green onion, chased with the chlorophyll refreshment of cilantro and parsley. Mysteriously the rice was both light and fluffy and saturated with butter. I wondered if the $15 price tag shouldn’t include a scoop of shirazy salad (diced tomatoes, onions, peppers, and herbs) for variety, and because the kabob and salad would taste good together.

In the end my co-diner and I were glad we shared our food, as they might have seemed a little wanting if we hadn’t combined elements of everything we ordered. But I look forward to testing those untested portions of their menu and I’m especially keeping an eye on their website for the next time they serve fesenjan.