Your Fuzz Fu is strong.
I haven’t had the lamb yet, do you know the times they offer it at? I really love the lamb, but last I was there they did not offer it until 4pm-ish.
I stopped going to the Torrance location because it was pretty bad. I mean, over sauced, semi mushy, and rice soaked in greasy, oily, sweet sauce. It was like the complete opposite from the West LA location. I am glad to here things have improved as I have been avoiding the Torrance location.
Thanks for the update, I haven’t been there (Torrance location) in like 5-6 months.
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Hi @A5KOBE,
I had the same experience as you at the West LA location last year. I haven’t been back since.
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I think that’s really the bottom line. Shamshiri and, frankly, Sunnin are both obviously doing something right given that they continue to pack people in year after year.
To the extent I’ve had issues at either, it’s because they’re too popular. Like I said in my original post, it was very crowded at Shamshiri when I had my pale kebab experience.
That reminds me, I’m a big fan of the chicken bone-in lunch special at Farsi Cafe a little farther down Westwood. Not a big fan of the stews there, but that chicken is outstanding. The drumsticks are butterflied and marinated in such a way that they’re delicious.
as you walk in the front door, south is to your left.
it is in the southeast corner of the store
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Persian cuisine is lumped together in many eaters’ minds with Middle Eastern/Mediterranean - Americans at large have never been congratulated for their geographic prowess or cultural knowledge. I am almost positive that so many diners at places like Shamshiri had expected and requested such items (hummus, falafel, etc.) only to be disappointed that such things were not on a Persian eatery’s menu. And if diners ask enough for an item that isn’t on the menu, the owner would be passing up a great source of revenue if those items didn’t make it on to their menu, Persian or not.
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Perhaps this is an over saucing issue. I think the overly drench sauce just ruined it. Or perhaps Sergio was just not in that day. 
Well, I ended up getting food poisoning the day after posting my initial question here (
), and that sidelined me for most of the first half of this week. So I still haven’t actually had the chance to read most of these responses yet unfortunately. But in the mean time [now that I’m pretty much back to myself] I wanted to at least say that I’m very excited and grateful for all of the tips and comments above. So thank you so much everyone for all of the super-helpful feedback!
And FYI, just tonight my wife and I made our first attempt at working through some of these recommendations by going to Mega Pizza for dinner, and we were very happy with our meal. We split one of their Gyro Special pizzas (#10 I believe), and my wife also got and particularly liked their Persian Tea.
So I guess that means it’s one down, and a few hundred delicious places to go! Life’s good when you have a long list of great, relatively inexpensive dining recommendations scattered around L.A. to go check out and try…
Cheers. 
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Sure. And the pressure from diners was probably particularly acute being right by Sunnin and Zankou. I mean, it’s not a coincidence that Shamshiri serves their “shawarma” with garlic sauce.
OTOH, there are so many good, authentic Persian restaurants on Westwood. No reason to settle for a place that’s trying to be all things to all people, especially when it’s already so overcrowded.
So glad you enjoyed Mega Pizza! If you go back, try the Gyro Pizza Sandwich (#15). Big enough to split if you eat it with a salad.
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[quote=“Bigmouth, post:192, topic:3741”]
OTOH, there are so many good, authentic Persian restaurants on Westwood.
[/quote]Do we have the same brain? I was thinking that too. It’s what I wrote about Shimshiri… Name recognition.
But I don’t want to get hammered by the defenders. I really will try Shimshiri again 
.
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That reminds me: It’s time for an Attari & Saffron Rose bang-bang…
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That sounds interesting.
I keep meaning to watch that.
Had some good and reasonably priced crawfish etouffee at Ragin Cajun in Redondo yesterday.
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The hubster and I adore the food court at Mitsuwa by Venice. Usually one of us gets the much better than your normal supermarket sushi from the market, the other a big bowl of ramen from the food court - and then we steal from each others plates and bowls.
Sidenote, when you first walk in, on your right is a bakery. They have small sandwiches that are very very good. Like a japanese/italian tea sandwich. Yum!
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Yes, I love that they replenish the sushi all day long, and at closing time
it’s usually half-price. And they have rice bowls and picked vegetables,
too.
Have you tried the white bread they sell right next to the sushi case? I am
not usually a white bread person, but this bread is thicker and has a fine
grain, not mushy or soft. The bread also makes very nice croutons. They
sell half-loaves also, so that’s a nice money-saver if you don’t eat much
bread.
[quote=“bulavinaka, post:110, topic:3741”]
You live near K-Town and haven’t popped your Pollo a la Brasa cherry yet?!?!
[/quote]It didn’t hurt.
Wasn’t sure I’d like it when you described it as wood roasted, especially when I saw this.
Surprisingly, it tasted like it was just kissed with a hint of smoke. I don’t know if the beans were vegetarian. They tasted like they may have been cooked w/chix broth or butter, but they were really good.
Fresh salad with lettuce, red & yellow peppers, cucumbers, cauliflower, beets, radishes, tomatoes, and surprisingly bing cherries w/pit & stem.
Gotta’ have the Kola.
I’ve probably passed this place a hundred times. It’s a nondescript storefront, and I circled the block 3 times before figuring out where to park. Worth it! Thanks!
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