Persis Grill
2288 Tenth Line Rd., Orléans, 613-824-9978, persisgrill.ca
Open: Monday to Saturday 11 a.m. to 9 p.m., Sunday noon to 9 p.m.
Prices: kebab-based plates $12.49 to $22.99
Access: No steps to front door or washrooms
Unless you live in the new, expanding communities off of Tenth Line Road in Orléans, you will likely think that the trip to Persis Grill involves a bit of a trek.
Even my relatives who live 10 minutes away in Chapel Hill don’t think the Iranian eatery, which opened in January in a Tenth Line Road mall-in-progress, is all that close. Me, I’ve twice made the half-hour drive to Persis Grill, and each time I’ve felt well-rewarded by tasty, interesting, affordable and generously portioned food.
That’s not to call the food here haute cuisine, or to ignore a few quibbles. But on balance, I do wish I lived closer to Persis Grill, or that it sold food closer to my house.
Dinners here have begun by stressing the eatery’s hospitality, with not only on-the-house platters of sliced, crisp nan bread, but also complimentary bowls of soup that were nothing fancy or exotic but still much appreciated. We’ve had a fine broccoli soup and a gingery carrot soup that was perhaps a little over-thickened.
Broccoli soup at Persis Grill
Among the warm appetizers, we’ve enjoyed the mirzaghasemi ($5.99), a savoury mash made mostly of barbecued eggplant, tomato and egg, and dolme barge-mo ($6.99), a foursome of well-seasoned, rice-stuffed vine leaves, perked with a sweet-and-sour pomegranate sauce.
Warm eggplant dip at Persis Grill
Stuffed vine leaves at Persis Grill
At another dinner, we opted for cold appetizers ($19.99 for four) — thick Balkan yogurt topped with cucumber, solidly made hummus, olives coated in pomegranate and ground walnuts to add tanginess and nuttiness to saltiness, and a bowl of finely chopped pickled vegetables.
Hummus at Persis Grill
After any appetizers, some kind of kebabs here, all made with halal meats, have been inevitable. Whether they’ve been white- or dark-meat chicken, ground beef, beef tenderloin or lamb chops, the lean, skewered meats were given complex but not overpowering flavour overlays with their marinades, most of which are yogurt-based. Then, the meats have emerged eminently juicy from the grill. We thought a little better of the the cheaper kebabs over some of the deluxe items such as the lamb chops and tenderloin, which cooked to medium had strayed just a bit into chewiness.
A platter of beef and chicken kebabs at Persis Grill
Beef and chicken kebab at Persis Grill
Lamb chops at Persis Grill
Seafood options were reliable, including grilled shrimp ($18.99) that were succulent and well-flavoured and a moist, appealingly grilled salmon filet ($18.99).
Grilled shrimp at Persis Grill
Grilled salmon at Persis Grill
Beyond its grilled items, Persis lacks some of the dishes that appeal to me at other similar restaurants, such as ash reshteh (Persian noodle soup). The fesenjan stew ($16.50), a thick gravy of pomegranate paste and walnuts, in which chunks of chicken breast were submerged, was rich and flavourful, although its chicken was a little dry.
Fesenjan stew (chicken in pomegranate and walnut sauce) at Persis Gril
All of these items came on large plates, flanked by fresh salad and basmati rice. The rice was exceptional at our first visit, but a little less fluffy and fresh during our second. Upgrading the rice for a few dollars — so that it was either boldly saffroned and studded with barberries and coriander seeds, or garnished with a mix of nuts, cranberries, carrot and orange zest — definitely boosted our enjoyment.
Rice with saffron and barberries at Persis Grill
Of the desserts we’ve had, the satisfying baklava ($1.99) and a hefty ball of spiced, saffron ice cream ($4.99) were made in-house. Other options — a gooey chocolate lava cake ($8.25), a slab of cheesecake ($5.25) — were amply-portioned and, above all, sweet.
Saffron ice cream at Persis Grill
Chocolate lava cake at Persis Grill
Like many a strip-mall eatery, Persis Grill is large and high-ceilinged with dark ductwork overhead. Along its side walls, however, the large bas-relief carvings reproducing ruins at Persepolis have pride of place and make you wonder if you’re still in Orléans.
Service has been fast, no-frills and attentive. The restaurant is licensed and has a small selection of wines and beers, but also allows guests to bring in their own bottles and pay a $7 corkage fee.
End each night we’ve visited, the restaurant has been packed with walk-ins and reservations by 7 p.m. Chef Ali Shojaee this week told me with obvious pride that the restaurant is similarly busy each night, and that 80 per cent of his business is non-Iranians who are sharing their enthusiasm for his food by word of mouth.
Shojaee said that he’s been cooking at restaurants from Toronto to Vancouver to Mexico for 25 years and that he stresses fresh, natural, daily preparations in his kitchen, eschewing MSG and other chemical shortcuts.
He added that he lives in Ottawa’s west end and has a 20-minute commute seven days a week. “I’m good with it,” he said. “The time I come to work and the time I leave, there’s no traffic. It’s not that bad.”
If Shojaee can make cross-town trips daily to Persis Grill, I guess it’s not too much for the rest of us to do the same to enjoy his food.
phum@postmedia.com
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