Persian Tea Room

A basket of warm pita arrives with an emerald-green chutney of cilantro, jalapeno, garlic and vinegar. Try not to use all the bread when you spread on the chutney, because you'll certainly want some with the hummus, a must-order that's smooth and rich, spiked with tahini and garlic, a swirl of olive oil on top. Kashkeh bodemjan, sauteed eggplant with yogurt sauce, is a rich and satisfying starter, as is the baba ganoush (smoked roasted eggplant with tahini). Try the maust khiar, house-made yogurt enlivened by chopped cucumber and mint, another worthy pita topper. A mostly Romaine lettuce house salad, gratis with all entrees, is topped with a creamy yogurt-based dressing that transforms the fresh but ordinary greens and tomato into something much more enticing.

The restaurant's definitive dish has to be the Cornish hen kebab served with albalo polo, saffron rice studded with cherries. The bone-in pieces of poultry are marinated in a savory mixture, grilled and juicy. Chicken breast kebabs, a dish that all too often can be dry and dull, is succulent and full of flavor. It's served with basmati rice, every grain long and separate. It's rice you have to force yourself not to overeat.

Kebab barg, strips of beef, while thin, are flavorful and tender. Still, I prefer the kebab tikka, the beef cut into small chunks, their thickness making them a lot more moist. Lamb kebab, chunks of char-grilled and well-marinated, are very good. But if it's deep-down gratification you're after, go for the lamb shank, the bone-on meat stewed to soft, melting deliciousness.

Lunch is a certifiable bargain, at $8.95. That price includes a starter, either hummus or a mellow eggplant ratatouille topped with yogurt. A salmon kebab -- cubes of marinated grilled fish -- proved delightful. If you're not partial to strong flavors, avoid the stew of beef and fresh herbs with dried lemon. Called khoresht ghormeh sabzi, it's a dark and pungent melange. For an extra $2, you can upgrade from plain basmati rice on the side to zereshk polo (saffron rice with berries), a treat. Shirin polo, though, with its topping of almonds, pistachios, orange strips, carrot, rosewater and cardamom, is overly sweet, almost candy.

At the end of your meal, forgo the oily fried honey- soaked pastry and routine baklava. Instead, finish with the restaurant's namesake hot Persian tea, fragrant and flowery, served in a glass mug.

On weekends, the stage at the rear of the dining room becomes the setting for live music with belly dancing. I confess I haven't seen any of the shows. For me, the food is entertainment enough.

Reviewed by Joan Reminick, 4/2/04.