Of Naan and Kabab

Have you seen Anthony Bourdain traveling in Tehran on CNN? It was a vivid montage of people happily greeting an American, impressing upon me an amicable people, contrary to the antagonistic image often portrayed in media (which I am not discounting the legitimacy of).

And the food. The food – deliciously seasoned kababs and stews heavily textured with exotic spices, long grain rice tinted with saffron, and grilled naan, which I learned tonight, meant “bread” in Persian – was an entire cultural exploration in itself.

Persian, unlike other ethnic food such as Thai or Indian, has not quite penetrated mainstream, at least in Reno. At the invitation of Yelp's International Supper Club, I came to Naan and Kabab and no sooner than the first bite of the four course Persian meal, I felt like I've jumped on a magic carpet and traveled to a dining table in Iran.

I'm admittedly a lot ignorant in the realm of Persian food. Other than kabab, baba ghanoush, hummus and dolmas, no other dishes have a recall to me. But there is much to covet about Persian cuisine. And I was about to find exactly what at Yelp's International Supper Club at Naan and Kabab.

With recipes passed down from many generations, Chef Maurices’ Gormeh Sabszi (vegetables like fenugreek leeks, and beans stewed with spices) contain a history thousands of years old. Now let that sink in for a second. At least one thousand years!

But the one thing you can't leave without trying is their kabab. I have a suspicion I cannot shrug off that Persian kababs might be the best in the world. Among the kababs we sampled were lamb, white sturgeon (a fish which I believe is off-menu), and chicken. But my favorite has to be the beef that has been ground to almost a sausage consistency, called Beef Koobedeh, seasoned with exotic spices then skewered to be charcoal grilled with tomatoes and white onions – it was tender, juicy, and intensely flavorful.

Saffron is one of the most expensive spices in the world, if not the most expensive, and to me, having food made with it a gesture of generosity. Saffron comes from harvesting stigma of the saffron flower and to get an ounce of it takes a lot of flowers and a lot of delicate hands picking them. Like the touch of Midas, everything saffron touches turns to gold – both in color and flavor – such as Naan and Kabab's long grain rice, and a surprisingly delicate homemade saffron ice cream with pistachios and a crispy baklava on top. Golden, I tell you.

I’m not sure if I’m ever going to make it to Iran in my lifetime. I would like to think I would. But a plate of its food can be both a foot in the door or the next best thing.

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Naan and Kabab is located at 2740 South Virginia Street, Reno, NV. Yelp International Supper Club is an official Yelp community event. To sign up for events like these, head on over here.

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