Operated since 1998, with few locations in New York City, Ravagh Persian Grill is, according to one of my co-worker who is Iranian-American, the best Persian restaurant in the city. So we had to try it and did so on a Saturday evening. With its two floors, the place slowly filled up as the evening went by, with quite a lot of Iranian patrons, a good sign that this place had some authenticity. Food wise, we were there for a treat, with large plates coming in front of us, enough for this diner and another. My eyes went directly to the kebab section that is definitely more geared towards non-vegetarian diners, but if you are vegetarian, you should not be disappointed by the vegetarian kebob plate that was composed of grilled vegetables, basmati rice and hummus, delicious with the Persian bread they served with the meal. On my side, I admit that I was looking forward to try their sultanI kebab, composed of barg (marinated strips of sirloin) and koobideh that is a skewer made of chopped beef that is grilled on an open flame. Both were delicious, juicy and tasty. My dish was also served with basmati rice, but we also asked for plain tadig, the burnt crust of the rice aka soccarrat for paella lovers. Good but a bit tough, it is probably better accompanied with some stew. Anyway, we ate the rice with mast khiar, a yogurt based side with cucumber and mint. I should also mention the Doogh I drank, a classic Persian drink made with yogurt diluted in water, salt and mint, that is either house made (what I had) or from a can, if you prefer carbonated.

Dessert is not to be missed. Of course you can get a baklava or some ice cream, but my favorite is the zoolbia bamieh, some Persian donuts made with rose water and saffron. If you like jelebis that are Indian sweets, you will love the zoolbia. Crispy and very sweet, it is perfect with Persian tea, but will definitely increase your sugar level...