Smokin' Chokin' and Chowing with the King: Maman Zari

-Grubbing in Chicago
A Persian Tasting Menu in Albany Park

We recently drove over to Albany Park to get dinner. Usually this means some sort of international option as the Northwest side neighborhood is one of the city’s most diverse enclaves. It's home to the type of places that cater to locals from the same backgrounds be it Middle Eastern or Mexican and so forth. But we weren’t going to your typical Albany Park dining destination, the spot we were headed to is anything but typical. Maman Zari is most likely the first fine dining Persian tasting menu in the United States. It’s the product of a Milan born chef and his Persian friend, a former flight attendant.

Recently Opened in Albany Park

While a tasting menu is new to the neighborhood Persian food is not. This stretch of Kedzie was already home to a couple Persian restaurants both of which are connonly busy. The tasting menu comes with nine courses and will set you back $85. That’s a good deal at less than $10 a dish with the total being at least half the price of a typical tasting menu. There’s a wine pairing but drinks can also come ala carte. The cocktail menu is small but I enjoyed a take on the mojito called a Hamedan Mojito. It features white rum, falernum, Iranian mint vinegar syrup (sekanjabin), lime and soda. It hit the spot on a warm summer night. After that it was onto the tasting menu. I thought the overall flow of the dinner was pretty much on point. There was at least one instance where it took a bit of time to get to the next dish but other than that it was pretty smooth. Expect it to take around two hours from start to finish. Service was good if a little bit lax at times but more importantly the food was good.

1st Course: Kuku Zibsamani
(potato, zucchini, pickle, dalar)

2nd Course: Abdoogh Khiar

(cucumber, yogurt, walnut, raisin, lavash, fresh herbs)

3rd Course: Mirza Ghasemi & Sabzi Kordan

(eggplant, tomato, garlic, micro herbs, marinated olives, fresh bread)

4th Course: Salad-E Hendevaneh

(watermelon, mint, feta, balsamic pearls)

My experience with Persian food is mostly limited to kebabs and tahdig both of which make an appearance on the tasting menu but it does go a little deeper than the typical dishes you’ll find at the other Persian restaurants down the block. Highlights here were a smoky eggplant dish that comes served in a cloche filled with smoke. Vegetables and eggplant in particular take on great smoke flavor and this was a perfect example of them working in perfect unison. A one bite watermelon salad with fresh mint and salty feta cheese was the perfect palate cleanser in-between the vegtable and protein offerings. Both the branzino with a smoked rice and saffron beurre blanc sauce and the lamb kebab with a stovetop rice were really nice but I didn’t love the quail with pomegranate sauce as I’m just not a big fan of meat mixed with fruit. But my favorite bite of the night might’ve been the finale. Faloodeh is an icy Iranian dessert that’s commonly made with vermicelli noodles sitting in a semi frozen syrup made of sugar and rose water. The cheffed up version served at Maman Zari comes with a little ball of liquid lime on top that you pop and it oozes into the ice. It was the perfect ending to a really nice meal. I’m not sure how much longer the summer version of the tasting menu will be in play but I would imagine they keep a few plates from it when switching over to a fall and or winter menu. But tasting menus do seem to be at their best when summer is in full swing and produce is at its peak so best to take advantage of it while it’s still around plus the price is likely to increase at some point.