Sunday, September 25, 2005

Persian Grill, 9/25/05

Tonight we had dinner with my parents at the Persian Grill. I think. Or maybe its called the Persia Grill. Point being, this is place is so new they don't have their name down. Nor is it on the menu, nor was it on the check.

I've heard that going to restaurant in its infancy can have it ups and downs. Ups include the excitement of going somewhere new, the potential of freebies and maybe, just maybe, lower prices. Downs, however, can easily outweigh the ups. Bad food, bad service, overcrowded, undertaffed -- in short, too many kinks.

Persian Grill opened yesterday on 1st Avenue and 67th Street. So here we were, JB, my mom & dad and me hoping for a quick bite before they drove back to CT. Quick it was not.

Ordering was confusing. Our waitress was a sweetheart, but knew little English. "I'm from Russia" we learned after my mom probed.

The wine list was non-existent even though we had asked if they had wine when we walked in and were told yes.

As it turned out, they had a bottle of Mondavi that they were pouring from but had no liquor license. JB later figured out that the wine would then have to be free. (1 point for the new restaurant!).

But they only had red, and my high maintenance mother only drinks white. So JB went to the deli down the block and bought a 40, yes a 40, of Corona. If her Greenwich friends could see her now.

My mom and I split a 40 out of a paper bag. Classic.

But the food. When it finally came, it was delicious all around.

JB opted for mezzes, hummus, yogurt dip with mint, picked vegetables. He shared all willingly and then devoured it for himself.

I had the chicken kebab with grilled chicken, and my mom had the traditional chicken kebab. Both came with huge portions of rice. Really huge.

My dad ordered a main course for a change and had a pepper stuffed with lamb. He ate mostly the lamb and that was enough for him.

Mint tea was offered at not cost at the end of dinner. A nice touch. Especially since we found out at the end of the meal that they did not take credit cards or checks and between the four of us we had $15.

Overall, this place really has potential - wonderful food, genuinely nice staff and tame prices. Dinner for 4 came to $51 without tip.

I have a feeling it will be added into our repetoire...when a few more weeks have passed.

Until we eat again, KLB

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