On Santa Monica Boulevard in Los Angeles sits Darya an unassuming Persian restaurant with fantastic food! I was born in Iran and moved abroad when I was 2 months old so I adore PERSIAN cuisine. To me it is my comfort food and when I found out that that I was traveling to LA for business I had to get my food fix. There is a very large Iranian-American community in LA so one of the best cities in the US to savor tradition Persian cuisine. Los Angeles is often called “Tehrangeles”.

Darya meaning ocean in Farsi is a casual venue but when the food started arriving I was in food nirvana! The kabobs are varied, mouth- watering and delicious. I had boneless chicken kabob that melted in my mouth seasoned with saffron and lemon. I am obsessed with fine rice and the choices of flavored basmati rice that accompany the kabob are varied at Darya. I had basmati rice with Fava beans and dill (Baghali-polo). My colleagues had rice with mixed green herbs (Sabzi-polo) with their Lamb kabobs. As an appetizer with had the saffron rice crust with herb stew over it (tadegh with gormeh-sabzi).

We even saw an academy award winning movie star with her Iranian-American Husband and family so we had a “star sighting” in LA while devouring our delectable Persian food. We topped of our dinner with fresh brewed tea with Persian pastries. We truly had reached a zenith of food nirvana that one rarely finds on business travel. Food truly brings cultures together and demonstrates that people of cultures can co-exist when dining!