A Quick Trip to “Persia”

One of my favorite cheap ways to “travel” is to visit ethnic markets and restaurants.  Real travel isn’t in the budget this year, so hubby and I decided to take in some Persian markets and cuisine last Sunday and had a great time!  We’re lucky enough to live in a very diverse area, and enjoy the exposure we get to different lands and peoples even while staying close to home.  I hope you enjoy this peek into our recent adventure, and hope you’re inspired to visit an ethnic market in your area.

Our first stop was Wholesome Choice market, and while the store is more of a multi-ethnic international market, it had a lot of Persian food items – Indian as well.  We began in the produce department, and I drank in the gorgeous and unusual sights.  Discovering a new (to me) fruit or veggie is always fun!

Such pretty colors! 

Can you tell what this is? 

Yep – melon! 

Beautiful – and unfamiliar.  This is the fruit from a Rambutan tree, and I was relieved to read on Wikipedia that the fruit is peeled before it’s eaten!

As we made our way through the store we found some more interesting things.  I fell in love with an unusual jar of honey – it was filled with nuts, and was called Ari’s Aligned Nuts.  Gorgeous!  I didn’t purchase it, though I wanted to, because the jar was nearly $8 and I wasn’t sure I’d enjoy eating the contents.  I may head back for it at some point.  So pretty…

Ari’s Aligned Nuts (in honey)

Naturally there was a large selection of rice, spices, and grains.  Though the store features many “standard American” brands and products, there were some decidedly more exotic items in the store as well.  For example, they sell hookahs and the related hoses.  You won’t see that at Albertsons!

Hubby shopping in the rice section…

Hookah hoses on the household goods aisle.

We ended up purchasing an assortment of goodies, including some Persian sweets, and a yogurt/soda drink.

We also got some olives, lentils, and unusually-colored tomatoes. 

Our next stop was Caspian, a nearby Persian restaurant, and the food was delicious!  I ordered the Chicken Soltana, while hubby ate an assortment of goodies from their buffet. My meal portion was huge, and we both had the leftovers for dinner!

Chicken Soltana at Caspian – my lunch and our dinner! 

Tummies full, we proceeded to Super Irvine, a market that’s a stone’s throw from Caspian.  I oohed and aahed over the bags of rice near the door – they zipped open and closed, had handles, and featured appealing graphics!  I reluctantly walked away though – it was just too much rice for two people to use in a reasonable amount of time.

One of two signs on the Super Irvine storefront.

Moving on, I had to take a picture with the lavash bread (huge!) before meandering through the rest of the store.  Our purchases at Super Irvine included a bottle of pomegranate juice, and some feta cheese.

Big slabs of bread!

The last stop on our Persian adventure was a sweet shop called Assal Pastry, which was just down the way from Super Irvine.  Hubby was quick to pick out four cake-like pastries, and I selected something called Bamieh, which is likely deep fried dough drizzled in a sweet syrup.  Yum!

Bamieh

Some of the sweets we purchased – almond tarts, bamieh, and pistachio nougat.

Though our outing was brief, and was a mere glimpse into the Persian food experience, I’m really glad we went.  Trips like these give my senses a little jolt, and I cherish the new sights, sounds, tastes, and smells.  Exploring new things energizes my artistic and creative spirit, and though I still want to travel much farther afield, you can’t beat getting a dash of a “foreign” experience without having to pack a thing or experience jet lag!

Have you visited any ethic markets lately?  If not, are you hoping to?  I’d love to hear about it and welcome you to comment.  I also invite you to take a peek at my blog posts on Little India, a Korean market and Chinatown if you haven’t seen them already…

Warm regards,
Melody