As Middle Eastern food cognoscenti know, the best Persian food is indeed found in the front corner of Pizza Paradise on 18th Street. The Taste of Persia operation is small but mighty: A few rice pots and chafing dishes are all chef Saeed Pourkay needs to create his ethereal version of ash reshteh. The stew, luxuriously thick and bean-studded, will make you forget about pepperoni pies altogether.
Are you hunting for a Persian restaurant? Middle Eastern restaurants may have become ubiquitous in New York, but one specific cuisine is still sorely underrepresented: yep, Persian food. The marinated meats and soups of the Iranian people (and its diaspora), cannot be found on every corner, but the restaurants that specialize in it have grown cult followings for good reason. From a tiny one-man shop located inside a New York pizza place to homey neighborhood spots on the Upper East Side, these are New York’s best Persian restaurants.
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