Last night we went to an unusual restaurant: Stand Up Kebab, located in South Davis. It’s open only on Friday and Saturday nights, and the rest of the time the owner runs a car-repair garage (attached to the restaurant) as well as a used-car lot.
It’s an unprepossessing place. You order outside and they bring you your food inside.
The long table below had three people who were either tired, drunk, or dead. They may have been workers at the garage, but they eventually returned to life and left.
But the food was good, and here’s what we ate. Beers first, of course:Persian (Iranian) ones:
We started with an unusual Persian soup called Ash e Reshteh. I discovered the ingredients from Wikipedia:
Ash reshteh or ash-e-reshteh (Persian: آش رشته) is a type of āsh (Iranian thick soup) featuring reshteh (thin noodles) and kashk (a sour dairy product, made from cooked or dried yogurt) commonly made in Iran.
It was absolutely delicious:
This was followed by a typical Iranian meal: kebabs. We had both chicken kebabs and lamb/beef kebabs, served with sauce, pickle, and plenty of rice. I’m not sure why there was a pat of butter on my plate
Lamb and beef kebabs:
And for a postprandial treat, we repaired to a store in downtown Davis that sells boba tea and mochi donuts. We had green-tea donuts; specimen below:
Persian food is the best (and I am not Persian!). Sample some in LA around the UCLA area (Little Persia) or Pasadena!
Hi Jerry,
As an Iranian, I thought maybe I could answer what you said about the butter. When enjoying kebab, it’s common for us to add butter to the rice. This not only acts as an oil, making the rice easier to eat, but it also imparts a rich flavor that we appreciate. For beverages, we typically pair kebab with Ayran, known as Doogh in Farsi. If you’re open to it, you might want to give it a try next time.
Looks delish, particularly the interesting soup! Great ambiance, too.
Mmm, noted – ideas for dinner materialize…
Why was there a pat of butter on your plate? Because butter makes everything better!
I had the opportunity to spend ten days in Iran back in 2000. The food while pleasant enough, I thought was fairly bland.
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A local Persian restaurant we have … I live in rural area … has the lamb and beef kebabs pictured above, with some butter as well.
Thank you for posting this article and the great description and photos. For rom, who thinks the food is bland, Iranians have a whole host of pickles and side dishes that complement each dish. For example, sumac and raw white onions are normally served with kabobs. Sumac is a reddish powder that is sprinkled on top of the rice and kabobs and adds a slightly sour taste. The food is not spicy but uses lots of herbs (as in the ash e reshteh) and saffron. The butter is optional for the rice.