Still catching up on good restaurant reviews. For reference, here are my past reviews:

Maison du Couscous (excellent Moroccan food in Bay Ridge), Biscuit (Brooklyn's best Carolina style BBQ), the Bourgeois Pig (a quirky wine bar near Washington Square Park in Manhattan), Cafe Steinhof (Authentic Austrian cuisine in Park Slope), and BB Sandwich (NYC style Philly Cheesesteak sandwiches with a balsamic touch near Washington Sq. Park), and Palo Santo, wonderful, if not cheap, Latin America cuisine in Park Slope.

I was introduced to "Persian Grill" (real name Ravagh, but no one seems to call it that) in Midtown by a then co-worker who was a religious Shi'ite, born in New Jersey, raised in India and with relatives in Iran. He knows his Iranian (Persian) cuisine, and he saw this as an excellent example of it. His single complaint about the place (I agree, but my Bulgarian co-worker disagrees) is that their pita bread is the standard American crappy pita bread, rather than the wonderful authentic Persian bread. That said, Ravagh Persian Grill is one of the best places in Midtown.

11 E 30th St, New York 10016
Btwn 5th Ave & Madison Ave

Phone: 212-696-0300

From Uzbek to Turkish cuisine you have one basic wonderful theme: what I call "meat and onions on a stick" cuisine, commonly called "kebabs". I LOVE meat on a stick cuisine. There are variations onf meat on a stick cuisine, depending on the relative emphasis on bread vs. rice as an accompaniment. Turkish tends to be largely bread, Afghan and Uzbek emphasizes rice. Persian is slightly more rice emphasized than bread, particularly when the wonderful Persian bread is ignored in favor of crappy American style pita bread.

Persian Grill serves wonderful kebabs. From the chicken kebab to the Sultani kebab (two types of meat) to the large (for 2-3 people) combination plate, the meat is perfectly seasoned and perfectly cooked. Half the time I go here I order a combination kebab with whoever I am with to get the maximum meat exposure. This place is very authentic in that there is a dried pomegranate condiment that is on all tables. You are supposed to apply this liberally (yes...LIBERALLY) over all meat or rice served. It adds a wonderful sweat/sour accent to all the food. My Shi'ite friend adds it in HUGE quantities to the rice and lighter quantities to the meat.

In addition to wonderful kebabs, Persian Grill has wonderful stews. I will highlight Khoresh Fesenjan, made with crushed walnuts, boneless chicken, and pomegranate paste. This is one of the best stews I have ever had, though I do wonder if it would be even better with lamb, though they don't offer it this way. I personally think that lamb would go better than chicken in the dish. Chicken merely absorbs the flavor of the walnuts and pomegranate sauce. Lamb would add to it, I suspect. But this is an amazing dish that MUST be tried. Sure, come here and order the kebabs. But then come again to order this stew. You will be torn each time afterwards between the kebabs and this stew.

The waiters often recommend another stew with supposed medicinal qualities. I have yet to get beyond my love of their kebabs and the Khoresh Fesenjan stew. But someday I will take the medicinal advice of the waiters.

Cost is $10-15 for a main course. Flavors are simple but exquisite for the kebabs, complex but exquisite for the stews.

Recently took an Israeli to this restaurant, and he was very familiar with the meat on a stick cuisine. He considered this one of the better examples he had tried. There is a single vegetarian option, a veggie kebab, which is probably good since the veggies served with the meat are good. But this is a place where the meat is the thing.

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