#17 Javan

Posted on April 20, 2007
Filed Under Persian |

We continue our occasional Middle Eastern ventures with Javan, a Persian restaurant on Santa Monica Blvd on the west side. It’s my first time going to a Persian place, and I wasn’t expecting a place that was so posh…




So anyway, Persian food is all about roasted meats on skewers, saffron rice, roasted vegetables, etc. So I was definitely looking forward to ordering massive amount of lamb on skewers. First, though, the friendly waiter brought us this bread…




They had this brilliant idea of wrapping the buttered bread around some raw sliced onions. It was fantastic, the onion kicks up the flavor but the butter and bread immediately mellows it out, an excellent idea and surprisingly good for such a simple combination.




Mikey ordered this beautifully presented lamb stew. Fried lamb, split peas in tomato sauce topped with fried potatoes and a date. Tastes just as good as it looks.




I, of course, went for the lamb and ground beef skewers dinner. This was a bit expensive at $20. I originally thought the lamb would blow me out of the water, but it was actually the beef, with its amazing combination of spices, that really wowed me tonight. Just delicious. The saffron rice was an excellent compliment to the great flavors, very rich and fragrant. You can ask for half rice, half salad, which was a very nice balance.





We got some grilled tomatoes on the side, an excellent addition.






This was a really nice place with friendly people, lots of space so feel free to bring large parties. There was a grand piano in the middle of the room so there should be live shows on the weekends. The portions are pretty good for the price, the food was fine and tasty, and I’d definitely come back to try more dishes.

Javan
11500 Santa Monica Blvd
Los Angeles, CA 90025

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3 Comments so far
  1. boba gurl April 22, 2007 4:34 pm

    you are a good photographer

  2. sing ace April 23, 2007 5:48 pm

    this looks pretty cool. I really like the photography. Miss the cool Chinese food though :)

  3. #41 Gaby's Mediterranian : 50 Meals: One blogger. One Year. 50 Meals October 15, 2007 9:50 pm

    […] a long strip with spices blended in) grilled chicken, and lamb. I remember having kafta before at Javan and it was fantastic, Gaby’s version is on the dry side and wasn’t as good, but […]