Paradise

Paradise is a new Persian restaurant on Broadway, just a bit north of Hollywood next door to Ras Dashen.
The decor makes "over the top" rise to new heights -- Persian surrealist psychedelic; flourescent lights, paintings that glow in the dark, hubcaps lining the wall near the floor. The entire restaurant is an installation. I think it makes Gulliver's decor look austere and minimalist (though for some reason Catherine thinks I am exaggerating a bit.)
Some of the menu is fairly predictable -- hummus, baba ghannouj, stuffed grape leaves (begetarian or beef) among the appetizers, assorted kebabs among the entrees, but there are also some very unusual items, some of which we ordered. For starters, we had an ash-e-reshteh soup -- "lentil, onion, garlic, vegetables, herbs and chickpeas" as described in the menu, but also with Middle Eastern pasta, very thick and served in the kind of dish that restaurants use to serve onion soup au gratin. The soup was almost all vegetables and hardly much liquid, but very tasty. The hands down winner was the kashk-o-bademjan, the hot eggplant appetizer with "onion, mint, mixed with aged dried yogurt, mayonnaise, and dill" according the the menu, and garlic according to my tastebuds. This one is for Antonius' book of vetgetable stews -- absolutely heavenly (no pun intended ...)
For entrees, we had fish, described as "oven baked white fish filet topped with lemon garlic juice"; it was the darkest white fish I have ever eaten, and wonder whether it wasn't pickeled mackerel (it tasted fairly vinegary). I doubt we will be ordering this one next time, though it is certainly out of the ordinary. We also had the most unusual of all the dishes, a very unusual one for any restaurant, their specialty I gather, called Dizi. The cook broght it out in a small metal container, just hot from the oven (he was wearing gloves) and proceeded to pour the broth out of the container into a soup dish. The result was a rather fatty but very flavorful broth to be eaten with a kind of flatbread (Iranian matzoh?) which you crumble into the broth like oyster crackers, and a red cold pickled vegetable mix including (we were told) carrots, tomato, dill, basil, parsley, cilantro and who knows what else, the purpose of which, according to the cook, is to cut the fat. It works; just a little of the pickled vegetable mix makes the broth go down perfectly. Along with the broth go, of course, the main ingredients of the dish -- "lamb, potato, tomato, onion, garlic, and spices" according to the menu, but also with chickpeas and perhaps beans. These are shaken out of the container and mashed to make a thick puree, the lamb is shredded rather than cubed. I have never had anything like this; it is quite spectacular.
For desserts, they didn't have any of them on the menu, but served us two pieces (one order) of baklava for $2.95 -- quite enough for two.
The take out menu says that they are wating for a liquor licence (the owner is definitely not a fundamentalist!), but for the moment you can bring your own. We didn't, as we went on the spur of the moment, but order their yogurt drin and also one of two fruit shakes, this one with banana, melon, and strawberry -- very thick and fruity (they did not go light on the fruit) and not too sweet. The other shake is melon, strawberry, and orange. I had the turkish coffee, which is not too sweet and liberally laced with cardamom.
For the decadent, they offer a nargila, aka hookah, aka hubbly bubbly for $14.95; "ask for the flavors we offer".) They have a belly dancer Fridays and Saturdays and 9. For the time being, they are only open for dinner.
The prices are very reasonable, and there are vegetarian options for those whose ide of paradise does not include meat.

Paradise Restaurant
5848 N. Broadway
(773) 275-6372

Words can't convey this astonishing environment created out of the fevered imagination of Samad Ahmadi, who spent eight years transforming this garagelike space. His wife, Arovo, does the cooking. One could say that the food is anticlimax, but that wouldn't be doing it justice. In any other setting, the Persian and Turkish dishes would good enough to focus your attention on your plate.

The red eggplant salad, a chunky melange of eggplant, tomatoes and bell peppers dressed with olive oil and herbs, was unctuously delicious. I also thought the soups, brought simmering to the table in ceramic crocks, quite wonderful. They included a savory yogurt-rice potage fragrantly laced with mint and cilantro, as well as the ash-e-reshteh chapulin describes.

However, I was less enamored of the dizi. Ours was brought out prepared from the kitchen, unlike the tableside service chapulin received. The rich lamb broth, with the toasted shards of flatbread, was fine, but the mashed lamb course seemed very strong-tasting. The accompanying homemade torshi was quite delectable, a mouth-puckeringly piquant relish.

Much of the rest of the menu consists of kebabs and they were terrific: moist chicken breast in the joujeh kebab; the koobideh, or ground beef, kebab, showing a nice hand with seasoning; shish kebab, made with beef tenderloin; kufteh kebab, meatball skewers; and doner kebab, a mixture of lamb and beef (if served with yogurt sauce, it becomes "iskender kebab").

G Wiv has posted a photo of the interior, but it barely scratches the surface.

Paradise Restaurant
773/275-6300
www.samadparadise.com
5848 N. Broadway St., Chicago

Was the rice dilled a la Reza's or do they happen to serve crunchy rice (I can't remember the name, but rice cooked in the pot with butter 'til it forms a nice golden crust on the bottom)? It's so easy to find at Persian restaurants in Tehrangles (LA), but for the life of me I've never been able to find it at the Persian restaurants in Chicago. It's always made me a little skeptical of their authenticity!

It's called tahdig, and it's the hallmark of a Persian cook; my daughter in law is Persian and bought us a Persian rice cooker from Pars in Andersonville that does a terrific job of cooking a big brown crunchy-on-the-outside rice cake -- when the rice is ready you take the metal pot, loosen the rice mass on the edges and turn it upside down so you wind up with a sliceable cake. We alternate between the Persian cooker and our Zojirushi Japanese rice cooker.
>>Brent

Thanks for reminding me of tahdig's name, Brotine. I had a Persian boyfriend who introduced me to it (and taught me how to cook it in a regular ol' pot). He lived in LA, and was disappointed by the "Persian" restaurants he tried here in Chicago, but Pars Grocery definitely met with his approval!

I've eaten at Paradise a couple times since my initial visit. Like others I wasn't really wowed by the cooking, and actually found their rice subpar. But I will stress again that everybody should go at least once to check out the place. And given the right intoxicant, maybe go repeatedly.

I went to Paradise for a group banquet. The inside continues to grow in a weird and wonderful outsider fashion. I wish that I had thought to take a camera to document the room. For those from New York, it is a much larger version of Mombar, the remarkable Egyptian restaurant in Astoria.

Unfortunely the food (at least at our banquet) was rather standard issue Middle Eastern cuisine (as was the menu). The meats were unfortunately dry and the Dolme somewhat mushy (I'm sure it was not made fresh), although the Hummus was bright and the Baba Ghannouj appropriately smoky. Appetizers were significantly better than the meat platter. (Perhaps individual entrees would have been better). But the owner Samad Ahmadi was very hospitable. Were the food to be more distinguished and/or innovative this would be a destination restaurant, part of my regular rotation.

As it is, everyone should visit once.