Meat and Rice
Monday, August 1, 2005 22:54I’m a big fan of meat. I love cooking it and eating it. I’m of the opinion that meat tastes best when it is juicy and perhaps a little raw. Along those lines, I wholeheartedly enjoy Persian food, which cooks its meat along those lines.
While I am an avid supporter of Javan, my good friend is of the opinion that Shamshiri is just as good, while being a little less expensive. Finally, he convinced me to abandon my loyalty for one night and go to Shamshiri.
I ordered the Beef Koobideh, which consists of two skewers of spiced ground beef. My dish came with the usual 
grilled tomato and saffron-scented rice. To my pleasant surprise, I also got a side of grilled peppers and onions. Before digging into my meal, I applied a generous shaking of the berry-flavored seasoning that comes at each table and cut up the tomato and mixed it with the rice. I was finally ready to eat.
My first impression of the beef was that the spices didn’t overwhelm the beef taste, which was a good thing. The mixture of the spices and beef flavor worked in unison to offer that unique Middle Eastern flavor. If you want to tone down the flavor a bit, eat the meat with the rice. The rice itself was so tasty that I could have eaten it by itself.
My only complaint was that the meat was a little drier than I prefer. At Javan, the meat is literally dripping with juice. It wasn’t quite the same at Shamshiri, but it was close. What makes Shamshiri attractive is that the dishes are a couple dollars cheaper than at Javan while offering a similar heaping portion of food of similar quality. Most people I know can’t finish each dish, which means that for around $12 dollars average, you can get between 1-2 meals of delicious food, which for any cost-conscious diner, makes it all the more worth while.
Shamshiri
1712 Westwood Blvd.
Westwood, CA 90024
By Jeff (see more of his posts).
Xericx says:
August 1st, 2005 at 11:11 pm
I like the Lobia Polo…good stuff…having the tomatoes, beef and green beans in the rice is awesome!
Jeff says:
August 1st, 2005 at 11:39 pm
Totally agree, Loubia is awesome. There are so many dishes that I could write about, but it would end up being the length of a dissertation. Of course anything with Lamb also has to be added to the list of great Persian dishes.
Pauline says:
August 1st, 2005 at 11:46 pm
Jeff, I don’t remember the name of the restaurant, but there is a great Persian restaurant on the SW corner of Bundy and Santa Monica that has been there for years and years. (Last time I drove by, I think I still saw it there.) The restaurant is a bit obscure outside looking in because of the heavily tinted windows, but inside, it’s a really nice, comfortable restaurant. I used to go there all the time when I lived within walking distance, and the meats I’ve had there were always well seasoned and never dry. Once while I was describing to a friend about the wonderful food at this place, a Persian man overheard me and joined me in raving about it all.
Since it’s not too far from Javan, maybe you can try this one too, and let me know if you like it as much as I did.
Jonah says:
August 2nd, 2005 at 6:53 am
Pauline, is it Darya?
Pauline says:
August 2nd, 2005 at 7:55 am
Yes!!! Was racking my brain last night for the name of the place! Thanks, Jonah.
Dylan says:
August 2nd, 2005 at 9:53 am
so which one should try first? Shamshiri, javan or Darya? the first time i had persian food was in New York. great stuff.
Jeff says:
August 2nd, 2005 at 10:07 am
Well between Shamshiri and Javan, I would definitely say Javan. And get the lamb combination, medium-rare. Quite possibly the only meal that I have never been disappointed with. Not sure about Darya, having not ever been there.
Holzfallen says:
August 2nd, 2005 at 3:21 pm
Is the berry-flavored spice sumac?
http://olivefarm.com/index.php/Herbs-&-Spices/Sumac-Spice/action/itemdetail/item_id/718
Jeff says:
August 2nd, 2005 at 4:04 pm
That looks like it. Thanks for the info.
Xericx says:
August 2nd, 2005 at 9:04 pm
I went to Darya once. They had horrible hummus.
he says:
August 3rd, 2005 at 11:42 pm
There’s another Shamshiri in Glendale, a small one. But might wanna check out Raffi’s hidden somewhere near galleria.
CJ says:
August 19th, 2005 at 1:06 pm
Javan, then Darya, then Shamshiri. That is the order of the big Westside Persian restaurants.
As for the hummus at Darya, that’s not surprising considering hummus has nothing to do with Persian food. The fact that they offer it at all is suprising.
Arwin says:
October 2nd, 2005 at 4:31 pm
I think the beef koobideh is better at Shaherzad than at Shamshiri. Shaherzad has better bread too. It is just a bit farther north on westwood — 1422 Westwood Blvd.
Asieh says:
October 28th, 2005 at 6:43 pm
I think the bread is way better at Shaherzad than at Shamshiri, and Javan.