Azizam, a pop-up restaurant created in 2021 by Cody Ma and Misha Sesar, has finally established a home in the heart of Silver Lake, Los Angeles with refreshing dishes that put Persian home-cooking on the map.
The smash green olives and yogurt dip with beets (borani) were hands down our favorite vegetable dishes.
The signature olive saltiness was accompanied with a sweet note from the ethnically relevant use of pomegranate molasses.
The seasonal yogurt dip has an eye-catching bright pink hue with dashes of mint oil, shallots and garlic. This dish is a jack of all trade: grab a bag of lays to begin dipping or dig in with fresh Barbari bread, or if you’re feeling extra adventurous put some on the kuku sandwich for extra creaminess.
The mama’s fried potatoes are savory and hearty break from the refreshing vegetable dishes. The complimentary chatni sauce adds dynamic flavor – acidity, hints of habanero spice and sweetness find a surprisingly harmonious relationship.
The chicken and rice was everything you want out of a comfort food– simple, reliable and tasty.
Definitely a must try.
Azizam’s flagship dish the kofteh tabrizi, which I have forthrightly dubbed the larger-than-life-meatball, is something that can’t be found everywhere because it’s high maintenance. As Ma explains, “There are lots of ingredients in it: five to six herbs, rice, split peas– and the thing is you have to do a lot of preparation to make it all. Then you stuff it with fruit….then we braise it and we cook it for two to three hours…” The kofteh tabrizi includes walnuts, apricots and dried barberries
The three sharbat serve three distinct desires: the albaloo spritz for the sweet fiends, the tamreh for a tea-like drink with a small kick of sweetness and the sekanjabin spritz is the middle child providing a mixture of fizziness and sweetness.
Finally the shrini napoleoni is a soft multi-layered napoleon cake filled with pistachio, cream, and strawberry, meyer lemon, and rose jam.
Written by Jason Escobar | Illustrated by Rina Shin