Caspian Kabob
1729 Bank St., Unit 105, 613-800-1568, caspiankabob.ca
Open: Monday to Thursday 11:30 a.m. to 9 p.m., Friday and Saturday 11:30 a.m. to 10 p.m., Sunday noon to 7 p.m., closed June 20 to 28
Prices: Kabob main courses $10.99 to $21.98
Access: No steps to front door or washrooms
In Ottawa, where recent migrations have led to kabobs becoming the new shawarma, the kilometre-or-so stretch of Bank Street between Heron and Walkley roads could well be kabob central, with Afghan, Lebanese and Iranian restaurants vying to meet the neighbourhood’s skewered-meat needs.
Of those eateries, I’ve been returning most recently to Caspian Kabob which, like most of its rivals, is tucked into a small strip mall. Leaving aside the humble place’s claim to have the best kebabs in Ottawa, Caspian Kabob, which opened in October 2014, is noteworthy simply because it waves the flag for Iranian cuisine, which is in scant supply in Ottawa.
In addition to serving kebabs, which I do ultimately think are the main draw here, Caspian Kabob serves several stews, some pleasing eggplant dips as appetizers and remarkably fluffy basmati rice. The starch of choice here is meant to be customized with pats of butter and bits of radish or even raw onion, and offered in staggering portions almost certain to yield leftovers.
Iranian restaurants frequently refer to their cuisine as Persian and, indeed, there are dishes on Caspian Kabob’s menu that seemingly have connections to pre-Christianity Persia. Archeologists have found stone tablets at the ruins of Persepolis that date back to 515 B.C. that list pantry staples including walnuts, pomegranate paste and poultry. These are the key ingredients in fesenjoun ($12.99), one of several stews offered at Caspian Kabob. The rendition I tried here was tart and basic, with white-meat chicken somewhat overcooked and nestled in a thick sauce.
Walnuts and pomegranate paste also add their boost to an appetizer of pitted green olives (zeytoon parvedeh, $4.49). The restaurant’s most expensive “torsh” kebabs also feature a marinade of walnut, pomegranate paste and lemon juice applied to either chicken or veal. I’d report back on how they were, but they were unavailable two of the three times that I visited. A server summarized torsh kebabs ($16.50) as “more sour” — for the Persian palate, sourness is a prized aspect.
I’ve had the more ordinary and less sour kebabs and found them good to exceptional. Best were chicken kebabs, whether made of light meat ($15.49) or dark meat ($12.49), that were succulent and richly flavoured from long marinades in saffron, oil, onion and lemon juice. We were told we could add lime juice to chicken kebabs (for additional sourness, naturally), or ground sumac from a shaker on the table to our ground sirloin or veal kebabs (to add tanginess).
combo of ground beef and chicken kabobs at Caspian Kabob
If you were to go for my favourites, I’d recommend those chicken kebabs preceded by one of the smoky, eggplant-based dips ($4.99) eaten with wedges of pita bread. I preferred the savoury, luxurious kashk o’bademjan, that combined eggplant, onion and whey, topped with fried onions and mint, but miza ghazemi, which matched eggplant with onions, tomatoes and eggs, was also good.
Kashk o’bademjan Caspian Kabob
Mirza Ghazemi (eggplant/tomato/egg/onion dip) at Caspian Kabob
Ash reshteh ($4.99), a stew-like thick soup of herbs, lentils, onions and thin noodles was interesting but didn’t win us over. More substantial stews ($10.99) — ghorme sabzi, a concoction of herbs, kidney beans, beef and dried limes, and gheymeh, in which split peas and tomato sauce made the biggest impression — were thick and rustic.
Ash Reshteh (noodle soup) at Caspian Kabob
Gheymeh (stew of split peas, tomatoes, onions beef and dried lime) at Caspian Kabob
Shirazi salad ($4.49), a bowl of diced cucumbers, onions and tomatoes dressed with dried mint and lemon juice, was fresh and refreshing. Deeply pickled vegetables here were pucker-inducing.
Shirazi salad at Caspian Kabob
The lamb shank ($13.49) was strikingly cheap, but very simply prepared, short on the lavish pleasure that a more seasoned and fussed-over lamb shank can deliver. It came, though, with rice raised up a notch with dill and fava beans.
Lamb shank at Caspian Kabob
There’s just one dessert offered at Caspian Kabob: saffron-infused, floral ice cream that can tint your teeth yellow. For sweets, Plan B could be a visit to Le Roi Pastries and Bakery next door, which teems with enough baklava to send the mind reeling.
Persian ice cream at Caspian Kabob
Service has been attentive, friendly and willing to explain the customs of Persian cuisine to the not-so-well-versed. The restaurant was closed, to our surprise, when we first tried to visit, but open three other times as signs and its website had indicated. It is also to be closed June 20 to 28.
The more I learn about Iranian food, the more that I’m inclined to think that it’s a great and intriguing cuisine. Ottawa might still waiting for a great Iranian restaurant. But for now, a pretty good and eminently affordable one such as Caspian Kabob will do.
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Peter Hum’s previous restaurant reviews
