Persian Olives

Zeitoon means olives in Arabic. And I learnt today that Zeitoon also means olives in Persian.

But for today, Zeitoon is the name of a Persian Restaurant with two locations - North Shore and West End. 

I had the honour of being invited by the most charming Persian friend to try Zeitoon.

The prepared in-house Doogh is really good. Heavy in cream and salt, probably not the healthiest drink option but a taste worth the risks.

I was skeptical about ordering Humus in an Iranian Restaurant.

But it was a pleasant surprise. Definitely not authentic, but made with an Iranian twist (with cumin and dried mint) and beautifully presented.

The Friday special is Ghormah Sabzie, one of my favourite Iranian dishes.

But privileged to have it home made for me (Read The Real Ghormah), I decided to skip it and try something different and new to me.

Gheimeh Stew is beef cooked with split peas and tomato sauce, with eggplants and then topped with french fries.

Amazing discovery. Very sophisticated flavour with a touch of perfume-like spice.

I was so glad to have tried this dish. Now should I attempt making it? (Maybe not)

All the stews come with a huge platter of perfectly made basmati rice. They have the choice of half rice/half salad which I think is the way to go next time.

The dessert options are limited though. Baklava (not an authentically Persian dessert as far as I know); Persian ice cream (which may be worth a try) and Bamieh (which we ordered but not worth the $4.50 for this mini plate).

 

Zeitoon 

1795 Pendrell Street

Vancouver, BC

www.zeitoonrestaurant.ca