388129 Wed Apr 04 02:00:32 -0700 2007 12 1 San Francisco Bay Area 0 2448730 Two weeks ago I had a chance to follow-through on my curiosity about Deezi Café, meeting my brother there for dinner. Part of the reason I chose it of the various newer Persian spots in the South Bay is that a few years ago we had patronized the earlier occupant at that address, Nevsky, a Russian restaurant and wondered how it might have changed. Dinner at Nevsky - http://www.chowhound.com/topics/22260#82366 The street side sign still says “Nevsky” with Deezi Café indicated above it. The interior now has a cleaner and less cluttered look with more attractive lighting. The samovars and full bar have been retained, as well as the set-up for live music. And on this night, we were treated to solo guitarist performing with band-in-a-box. The atmosphere was festive and noisy even though the restaurant was only half-full. As each customer arrives, the manager runs over to greet the new party and clangs a dinner bell mounted near the kitchen. Image of tahdig with ghormeh sabzi, complimentary flatbread with fresh herbs, feta cheese, butter and onions, mirzaghasemi, kaleh pacheh, koubideh (added a side of rice pullao), and bastani http://farm1.static.flickr.com/179/432106675_f3fd5af78b_o.jpg When our complimentary baked-to-order flatbread and plate of sabzi came out as soon as we put our menus down, William surmised that the gong show was not just a welcome but a signal to the kitchen to fire another round of bread in the tandor. The hot bread was huge, bigger than a dinner plate, accompanied by dewy fresh basil, feta cheese, raw onion, and butter. Both of us marveled that the lightly charred flatbread could be both crunchy outside and densely chewy through the middle. For appetizers we had mirzaghasemi and tahdig with ghormeh sabzi. My first experience with mirzaghasemi so I have no platonic ideal, nevertheless, I really liked this mash of eggplant and will be very happy if the renditions in my future are as tasty. Very smoky and softly creamy eggplant with a bit of citrus and tomato tartness enriched with hardcooked egg yolk, what's not to like? The ghormeh sabzi was a bit heavy on the dried lime character for my brother, whereas, I thought the seasoning was just right and appreciated that the kitchen didn’t spare on the fenugreek. However, the rice was more hard than crispy with some pieces plain inedible. Earlier we’d been served the tahdig with gaymeh in error, and that rice looked better to us than our dish. The kaleh pacheh was ordered more to extend our offal experience into lamb tendon than anything else and turned out to be a marvel. Our waitress described it as boiled lamb tongue, tendon, and cheeks in its own broth, and recommended it highly "if you like meat". Imagine an earthy lamb version of bollito misto with a heavier, more gelatin-rich stock base or perhaps pot au feu meets consumé de borrego and this would be it. Each morsel was the optimal texture --- softened tendon with just enough resistance to the bite, fork-tender whole tongue, and slightly firm cheek meat with a bit of chew to it. William was really impressed by the lamb cheeks but found the tongue a little too gamey. The broth was so deliciously satisfying in its lamb-y simplicity. I did find myself wishing for some salsa verde for the tongue. Instead, my brother said he’d take it home and give it a shot of sriracha sauce. The koubideh was also excellent, hitting the medium rare we requested without sacrificing any of the sizzling char of the grill. This had a bit more onion blended into the fine-textured ground beef that added extra savoriness, and the extra fattiness paid off in more flavor. Beautiful rice (ordered as an additional side) with long, separate grains, and the only complaint was that we had to wait too long for some sumac for our table. Two apps and two mains is a huge amount of food here and we’d eaten much too much. But I couldn’t leave without trying the housemade bastani (Persian ice cream). Quite heavy on the rosewater and flavored with saffron and pistachio, this had a firm texture that was somewhere between Indian kulfi and American ice cream. We were very glad we ordered dessert. Service was swift and friendly. To-go boxes appeared without our asking for them. With tea, a couple dough's (very good too), tax and tip, the bill was a little over $50 for the two of us, and we had enough food for another diner. Deezi Cafe 1740 South Winchester Blvd. Campbell, CA 95008 Between Hamilton Ave. and Latimer Ave. (408) 379-1126 http://deezicafe.com/index.html Persian Restaurants in the South Bay? http://www.chowhound.com/topics/380345 Wed Apr 04 02:00:32 -0700 2007 10039 Melanie Wong 1 2448742 It's still, there, I hope? We will be staying nearby in July. The web link for deezicafe.com/index.html goes to a web hosting site ad. Wed Apr 04 02:24:17 -0700 2007 2448730 49726 Anonimo 2 2448743 The website link was working a week ago, so I hope they remember to re-register the domain. Be sure to call ahead, it's a somewhat new business, and who knows? Campbell does have other Persian restaurants if its the cuisine that interests you. Wed Apr 04 02:26:29 -0700 2007 2448742 10039 Melanie Wong 1 2449837 I am wondering if the waitress described the Kaleh Pache correctly to you. It is my understanding that it means and is sheep head and feet not just tongue,cheeks,jowls.Perhaps, Deezi tweaks it a bit though. Wed Apr 04 10:25:37 -0700 2007 2448730 44946 foodseek 2 2451673 Yes, I've heard that it can have the whole head and especially the brains. Our waitress's description was of how the dish is prepared at this restaurant to give us an idea of what to expect. You can see the photo in the link in my original post. I've heard that it's more common as a breakfast dish, would you know about that? Oh, and I just called the restaurant to confirm it's still open and made them aware that the website is down. Wed Apr 04 17:13:50 -0700 2007 2449837 10039 Melanie Wong 3 2451967 I have heard that some enjoy kaleh pache for breakfast although the only time it is served in my family is a noon meal on a Sunday. My male relatives get together in the winter at my uncle's once a year where my uncle prepares the kaleh pache and I believe the only side dish is vodka-plenty of vodka. For breakfast, Haleem is popular made of oatmeal cooked for a long time with beef or chicken. Some like it with sugar,cinnamon,or yogurt on top. I think these are acquired tastes-my husband is crazy for haleem not so much for kaleh pache. Wed Apr 04 19:05:49 -0700 2007 2451673 44946 foodseek 4 2452021 Interesting, thank you! Wish the website were working as this restaurant also offers beef and some kind of grain haleem. I had wanted to order that too but it was sold out. Is there anywhere else around here where that serves it? Wed Apr 04 19:23:18 -0700 2007 2451967 10039 Melanie Wong 5 2455534 I have never ordered it at a Persian restaurant in San Francisco-have not seen it on the menu at Maykadeh or Alborz. I have seen it on the Indian/Pakastani restaurants menus,Shalimar and Pakwan. From the description it is a bit different than classic Iranian recipe-I believe Shalimar's is with wheat,lentil and lamb. Thu Apr 05 18:38:13 -0700 2007 2452021 44946 foodseek 6 2458082 Since I've had the Pakistani version at Shalimar and Darbar, I was curious about the Persian take on the dish. Shalimar's had a gooey texture, I think someone told me it had barley in it. Fri Apr 06 16:19:27 -0700 2007 2455534 10039 Melanie Wong 1 2477443 We went yesterday, and I tried to order the lamb heart, liver, and kidney kebab. Alas, they were out! My husband had the kaleh pacheh (lamb tongue, cheek, and tendon stew), which was excellent, although neither of us could really get past the tendon texture, especially since it didn't seem to have any flavor of its own. Oh well, the cheek and tongue were worth it by themselves. I ended up ordering the koubideh which was good (and generous!!), but a bit greasy for my taste. I also felt it needed something for a flavor contrast, like a yogurt sauce. I'll experiment for lunch today, since we had filled up on bread and soup before the koubideh arrived, so most of it came home. (We didn't even order appetizers!) Fri Apr 13 08:21:31 -0700 2007 2448730 19542 Karen_Schaffer 1 2917827 Hey, thanks Melanie to the pointer to this place in another post. I'll give it a try the next time I'm in the area. The website seems ok as of this time. I'll have to check out the dough which is my latest Persian interest. Thu Sep 06 16:13:07 -0700 2007 2448730 10264 rworange 1 2921113 How does Deezi compare to Shalizaar, Maykehdeh, and Chelokababbi? Fri Sep 07 16:08:10 -0700 2007 2448730 10992 katya 1 4708406 Relocated to San Jose. Sat May 23 00:44:16 -0700 2009 2448730 10039 Melanie Wong