Yummy Reviews - Alborz Persian and Greek Cuisine

Sultan Sanctum	Yummy's Rating :  Starters/Appetizer :  7.1 Soup/Salad :  8.9 Main Course/Sides :  5.7 Desserts :  7.6 Spirits/Beverages :  4.4 Service :  8.3 Decor/View :  7.8 Cleanliness :  10.0 Distinguishing Originality :  7.2 Memorable/Forgettable :  7.0 Summary :  7.4
Address	Driving Directions
Presentation Lamentation...
Andy and Sabrina	Bill, Arnie and Daniela
Alborz Persian & Greek Cuisine 2672 Del Mar Heights Road Del Mar CA 92014 (858) 792-2233    Packaged as a whole, tonights excursion was just OKAY. Samples of ethnic foods, from two countries renown for their culinary contributions to the world, drew their fair share of applause and snickers both.    Exterior entrance to the restaurant could use sprucing up. Interior dcor was well designed. Palatable color schemes provide a restful, welcome feel.    Quartered, Armenian lavash sesame crackers (think pita) were served toasted. BIG points for this! Merchants take note: cold bread leaves a tepid impression.    Andy, Sabrina, Bill, Arnie and Daniela partook of a new format for grading restaurants. Yummy Diego will now be a collective critique. Cumulative scores are added up, based on comment cards filled out by every reader in attendance.
Shiraz grapes originate from Persia	intoxicant and intoxicating!
Scoring for spirits could have been bumped UP by offering more drink preparation options. Cocktails--including a Bloody Mary--were generally well received. I do NOT recall the mostly decent (in job performance) Server asking whether Mary was to be served mild or spicy. He never bothered to ask the guest if Mary was to arrive with a salted rim.    Cordial Owners, make a decision. Either allow the South African Shiraz to mature or use it for cooking wine, because it was FAR FROM READY. Red was dead, greener than Kermit the Frog.    Grecian Ale MYTHOS was an Olympic champion. With a designated driver, I wouldve happily ordered several steins. Good marks for serving me a refrigerated mug.    Belly Dancer DILEK added a dash of spice to our meal. She weaved through the large crowd with long-flowing garments, the likes of Barbara Eden. Nothing too racy in her performance to make the ladies in attendance turn flush, nor make the men perspire. Check out her website at www.turkishdancer.com (click link). It was a true compliment to an Arabian-themed evening.
One of many featured Musicians	works honoring native soil
A second performer who does not use their surname, Musician HOVIK was all over the map with his choice of cabaret tunes. Food can transport the soul. We began a culinary journey that would ship us to Iranian and Greek portsby way of the Mexican Riviera! I do NOT want to hear Latin tracks while trying to enjoy Hellenic hearth. Minstrel, we want to hear songs that are related to the foods being tried preferably sung in native tongue.    On this subject, guests are looking for the perennial magic carpet ride when paying Alborz a visit. The public-at-large is being provided a disservice if ownership waters down its ethnic angle. Thats the whole point! If I want to eat Mexican, I go somewhere else.    In fairness, a variety of entertainment performs at Alborz.    On the subject of artwork augmenting such an experience, adorn your walls with MORE Greek antiquities. If I were spending money on a cruise to both countries, I would want to spend EQUAL TIME at each stop.    ESPECIALLY considering that the Greek food reviewed tonight scored summarily higher than the food from Iran.
Dolma	Hummus
Cooked grape leaves filled with rice, tarragon, split peas, green onion, basil, parsley, and herbs, known as Dolma, were by consensus appreciatively savored. Here are the benefits of scoring-by-committee: for me, they were nothing special. Reader scorecards painted a different level of sophistication.    Best grape leaves Ive had, triumphed Andy.    Dolma was excellent. Best Ive ever had, wrote Arnie.    Dolma presentation could be better, countered Bill. Larger rolls and neater rolling.    Abandon using plastic sauce containers except for orders-to-go, in the future. All this money obviously spent on smart cosmetic interior design and upkeep, ERASED by tacky visuals on the plate.    Purposefully cold Hummus appetizer scored reasonably well, a full point below the aforementioned cooked starter. I favored this mixture of finely ground garbanzo beans, thick sesame seed paste (Tahini), fresh lemon juice, oil and garlic.    Dj vu!    Abandon using plastic sauce containers except for orders-to-go, in the future. All this money obviously spent on smart cosmetic interior design and upkeep, ERASED by tacky visuals on the plate.    P.S. The sauce for both appetizers seemed the same, WHY     Sloppy plates diminish desire and decrease appetites. Good-looking dishes should be a STANDARD across the board and not an exception.
attractive presentation most welcome	TWO SPOONS UP lentil du jour
By contrast, Persian Shirazi salad was attractive and pleasant in taste.    Good for you as well this one, rabbit food mostlycombination of fresh chopped cucumbers, tomatoes, parsley, onions and lime. Roughage for the pipes, a welcome zesty and light fare.    The salad is very fresh, observed Daniela.    Arabesque Tabouleh salad proved more interesting. The combination of Bulghur wheat, finely chopped onions, tomatoes, and mint has been served for AGES, well before Jesus came to redeem us.    Tabouleh was very fresh, affirmed Arnie.    Sabrina and I appreciated more the Alborz chicken and lentil soup-of-the-day, with citrus notes. It merited TWO SPOONS UP.    Served piping hot and it was very tasty, she wrote.
BEST DISH Gyros	dry meat, dry rice
It was no contest. The pride of Athens, tonights BEST DISH REVIEWED was bestowed upon the gyros platter. Each bite of minced, sliced lamb and beef was succulent, expertly seasoned.    Tzatziki is an Apollonian, yogurt-base sauce that usually features minced garlic, grated cucumber, vinegar and fresh dill. Served in tandem with the gyro, by tradition.    Plastic containers for the sauce AGAIN repaid a visit.     Chef, LOOK at your plates before they go out. Render them HANDSOME. Dont just PLOP the food on the plates before handing them to the Servers.    I feel like Im eating from a trough, complained Bill.    If Im making beef skewers at a BBQ using thick chunks of expensive tenderloin, each partaking guest of mine will be asked at what temperature theyd like the meat cookedcommon sense. Twenty-five years, Ive worked in this hospitality business. Experience has shown me that foreigners from many regions TEND to request their meats cooked longer. Several Shish Kebob platters were ordered by Team Yummy tonight, ALL served well done. Waiter, why have you not been permitted to offer options    Cook the steak less well done. It took away flavor, suggested Sabrina.    Kebobs would look better on a skewer, recommended Arnie.    Meat was a little overcooked, was Danielas opinion.    Bill made an observation we all agreed with regarding main courses featuring aromatic, parched white rice. Put your starch on a separate plate in order to improve the visuals.    Rice is scattered everywhere, almost without care. Entre design would benefit by giving rice its own bowl, said Bill.
OUTSTANDING sweet rice	A favorite around the world
Shirin Polo was a generous helping of boiled chicken and delicious sweet rice. Between the white rice of earlier and the sweetened Basmati confection, a DRAMATIC improvement. For both, the kitchen at Alborz uses the same grain. Atop this bed, mixture of slivered almonds, pistachio nuts, orange marmalade and saffron.    This was the best segment of food sampled, for Bill.    It so happened that this exquisite rice was paired with poultry, but it could easily be offered with other meats, or on its own. Bill added, The chicken started uninteresting of flavor, yet tender and juicy, but finished with a burst of flavor.    Pastry was delectable. Butter-Lorded Phyllo Baklava was a baked marvel. Crunchy, chewy, with chopped nuts between layers and drenched with spiced lemon and honey syrup.    Lasting impressions hovered above average. It was a memorable occasion, despite shortcomings. Assembled friends were eager to expand their taste buds from the mundane. Goodies for Foodies! www.alborzinc.com