Rumi's Kitchen, Persian Perfected

Warning:  The following may be inappropriate for children under the age of 13 and those who think Kublai Kahn was a guard for the 1986 Milwaukee Bucks

Rumi’s Kitchen takes Persian Cuisine to the next level.  Much like when Phil Jackson started coaching Michael Jordan’s Bulls.  You knew Jordan was great, but Phil took him (and more importantly the team) to the next level.  Rumi’s did the same with Persian and made it upscale and more importantly, they put their unique signature brand on it.  

Phil got these Hall of Famers to buy into, "The Whole is Greater than the Sum of its Parts"

Phil know you had to start with the fundamentals and building blocks.  In Rumi's case, they start with an impressive array of their appetizers.

Their shrimp seasoned with garlic, black pepper & saffron with a creamy feta sauce

Not a generously portioned dish but an incredible one.  The saffron makes it stand out from other shrimp.  In today's NBA, it's more of the Derrick Rose of the group.  Small but powerful!  It's a strong runner for our next app of the year.  As D Rose will probably end up the "Most Improved Player of the Year."

D Rose is going to bring the noise this year

 The Mirza Ghasemi is smoked eggplant with tomato and garlic was a delicious surprise.

I didn't expect my eggplant to be a dip!  But we  loved it.

The Dolmeh minced beef with rice, herbs wrapped in grape leaves was the best grape leaf wrap I've ever had!  

Granted, there is very little competition in the Grape Leaf space

The Hummus rounded out the apps.  The hummus was very good, not quite Cafe Agora good, but good.

Combined, these app's are the strongest we have had at any restaurant.  They really set the up the table (in this case meal) like my man Chris Paul.

Nobody dishes like CP3.  The Clippers should be strong this year.  But then again, they're the Clippers.

Every main course comes with a different rice.  

Rice Heaven

And we all liked different ones, though the dill (far right) was our least favorite.  The saffron offerings were the best.

And then there were the meats.

The lineup from left to right:
1. Lamb Kabob 2. Chicken Barg 3. Roasted Salmon 4.( and batting cleanup) Chilean Sea Bass

The Sea Bass was my favorite.  Granted, it's my favorite fish, but it was cooked to a moist perfection and the spices on it were perfect and not at all overpowering.

Beth and Leslie liked the Salmon best and I can't argue that because it was delicious and had that perfect hint of saffron.  The lamb was great too.  But if you are a self respecting Middle Eastern Restaurant, you can't f*ck up the lamb and have any street cred.  The chicken was a little dry and thus was the least eaten meat on the platter. 

The waiters hand may or may not have been on my ass

For dessert, they recommended the "authentic" ice cream sandwich.  It was god awful.  The bottom line is this, Middle Easterns and Asians make horrible desserts.  If you are east of Greece and want dessert, you are screwed.  I'm sure Marco Polo must have bulked up on the Tiramisu and then Baklava on his way to China.  I imagine a fresh Tiramisu in ancient Persia was worth at least 10 virgins to Kublai Kahn.

I love how Kublai always had an entourage around him in any rendition.  He would fit right into the NBA!

Of course Kublai Kahn was the inspiration for this modern day villain and this iconic William Shatner scene.

And Shatner owns possibly the best belly dancing scene in TV, Persian inspired of course

Overall, this was an outstanding venue.  It's unique, the decor was extremely upscale, the service was impeccable and the food was delicious.

Today's Footnote:  If you haven't noticed, I'm very excited for this NBA season.  Here are my predictions:

MVP:  Lebron, he'll have to carry his team more than the last two years, so his stats will be a career high.  But Kevin Durant will give him a run for his money and may average 35 points a game in November. Derrick Rose will be #3.  Dark Horse Candidate:  Demarcus Cousin's will finish in the MVP top 10

Comeback Player of the Year:  Derrick Rose, with Pau Gasol at #2

Eastern Conference Finals:  The Bulls over the Heat.  Since LBJ will have to carry his team this year, the deep and talented Bulls team will prevail as we  watch LBJ run out of gas.

Western Conference Finals:  The Houston Rockets over the LA Clippers.  I can't stand Dwight, but he's in the perfect spot with guys with actual courage, so he can do his rebounding and blocking all day.  If Blake Griffin stays healthy, they could win though.  James Harden will be the difference in this series, though they will have one hell of a time containing Chris Paul.

World Champs:  The Chicago Bulls.  They have the bodies to battle and get into the head of D Ho and the athletes to bother James Harden just enough.  This will be the Derrick Rose Coming out party.