I recently visited Gilaneh Grill House for the first time.
While I had driven, cycled or walked past the place on a few occasions and had tried to make a note in my mental calendar to check it out some time, its location on the far southern strip of Pemberton Avenue, a principally industrial and wholesale business part of town with a strong focus on the automotive sector, failed to keep it top of mind for me.
The restaurant is unassuming from the outside, a two-storey house with a large covered patio on the ground floor and an entrance around the side; from the road, it is hard to get a sense of what awaits you inside.
I would never have guessed, for example, that smack in the middle of the dining room is a tile pond with bright orange fish swimming around a bouquet of brilliant pink flowers set in the centre. I would also not have anticipated the intricate, ornate bas-relief sculpture that adorned most of the walls, or the imposing marble columns that give the room a certain gravitas.
Gilaneh’s interior design is conversation-worthy and demonstrates just enough restraint to avoid being kitschy; it is definitely more Caspian Sea resort than themed Vegas lounge.
For the first time in forever (to borrow a lyric from the soundtrack of a certain Disney film that is in heavy rotation in my five-year-old daughter’s circle) I felt transported by a meal, like I was thousands of miles from the dreary North Vancouver winter outside.
I decided to run with this feeling of being elsewhere and avoided anything remotely familiar to me on the menu, side-stepping beef kebabs, grilled Cornish hen and lamb rack shashlik and opting instead for a series of complex and fragrant dishes explained to me by the very accommodating service staff.
My meal began with a generously portioned glass of doogh, in this case an uncarbonated drink of yogurt seasoned with salt, pepper and mint. I have had doogh before (it is often available in bottles at Persian take-out joints) but it has generally been carbonated.
I have to say I prefer the still version, its velvety yogurt texture is better preserved without the CO2 and makes for a decidedly more quaffable refreshment.
As I sipped my doogh, a cold appetizer of Borani Bademjan, or yogurt with eggplant, arrived, accompanied by a basket of flat bread, a handful of flat leaf parsley sprigs, a moderately hot, marinated chili pepper, and two dainty squares of smooth and briny sheep’s feta. Seconds later, a hot appetizer called Mirza Ghasemi was presented.
This latter is a traditional preparation of grilled eggplant with garlic, onion, tomato and spices, sort of like ratatouille, but with a wonderfully pronounced, perfumed tartness from the aubergine.
I was won over by its tremendous depth of flavour, achieved in no small part through the use of slowly, meticulously caramelized onions.
The Borani Bademjan, made from decadently thick yogurt, took on a faintly smoky quality from the finely chopped, grilled eggplant it contained.
The small squares of sheep’s feta, presented as more of a garnish than a feature, were exceptionally tasty and lent a welcome element of saltiness to the first course. The two dishes, priced at $3.99 and $5.99 respectively, represented exceptional value relative to the quality and quantity provided; both would easily have been suitable for two diners.
For my main course, I selected Ghormeh Sabzi, a herb stew that vies with a handful of other foods for the title of Iran’s national dish.
Tender cubes of lean beef are immersed in a thick and coarsely textured sauce of vibrant green herbs, including fenugreek leaves, the essential, defining ingredient.
The dish was proficiently seasoned, but nevertheless presented subtle, reserved flavours; no ingredient emerged as dominant and my taste buds, which had braced themselves for an explosion of bold tastes, actually had to work hard to identify and appreciate the individual ingredients that created the delicate balance of the stew.
A giant portion of long grain rice, both white and saffron-infused, was served on a platter alongside the stew.
Once again, the portion was generous and I ended up taking half of my meal home, along with an order of Persian baklava for dessert, a sweet and heavily perfumed treat featuring toasted pistachios and rose water syrup.
My meal of two appetizers, a main, dessert and doogh, was $28 before gratuity. Gilaneh Grill House is located at 222 Pemberton Ave. in North Vancouver.
gilanehgrillhouse.com
Chris Dagenais served as a manager for several restaurants downtown and on the North Shore. A self-described wine fanatic, he earned his sommelier diploma in 2001. Contact: [email protected].
