Shamshiri's Menu Full Of Tasty Temptations

Restaurant review

XX Shamshiri Restaurant, 6409 Roosevelt Way N.E. ($$) Iranian specialties. Lunch ($4.95 to $6.45) 11:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Tuesday through Sunday. Dinner ($7 to $14) 4:30 to 10 p.m. Tuesday though Friday and Sunday; until 11 p.m. Saturday. Closed Monday. No alcohol. Major credit cards. No smoking. Reservations: 525-3950. -----------------------------------------------------------------

"To fast and lead a frugal life

Was all I ever needed.

But the Food of Life's temptation

Is too much - do not ask!"

Translated from a Persian poet, that telling quatrain leads off the menu at Shamshiri, an Iranian restaurant recently arrived on the strip of ethnic eateries across from Roosevelt Square.

It's as good an introduction as any to the splendid excesses within. And the reasons I ate there five times before reviewing it.

Owner-chef Bob Behmanesh opened Shamshiri (the name means "sword") about four months ago, and it has been host to the local Iranian community since, along with the equally popular Caspian Grill a few blocks distant on University Way.

Several of us, including a native of Iran, dropped in on Shamshiri, a few days after it opened. From the point of view of evaluating the restaurant, that was too soon. The food was grand, the welcome was warm, but the service was inexperienced and the dinner was disorganized.

There have been changes. The welcome is still gracious; the food is, if anything, better. And the waitstaff is smooth, attentive and swift.

It all starts with rice, bread

Persian cuisine - one of the oldest culinary disciplines on earth - is both simple and complex; fundamental and ornate. Like the cooking of India, which it slightly resembles, it is both rice- and bread-based.

Meats and vegetables augment the central serving of rice. But they can be an elaborate augmentation. Like many of the cuisines of that part of the world, the food is best enjoyed by a sizable gathering, when a variety of colorful dishes, stews and relishes adds to the canvases of white rice.

It is marvelous rice, described in the menu as basmati, although on one occasion I thought it was Iranian, which is more fragrant and subtle.

You start with a basket of napkin-covered warm flat bread, cut into wedges. Add to that a portion of Panir O'Sabzy ($3), which is a feta cheese garnished with fresh herbs (typically mint, flat-leaf parsley, radish leaves, chives, coriander and green onions).

Next might be a Torshi ($2.50) of pickled vegetables or a Must-O-Khiar ($3), a mix of drained yogurt, herbs and cucumber, somewhat like an Indian riata.

Three vegetable soups are offered ($3 to $4); an unctuous treat, the Ash-e-Joe: green vegetables, lentils, barley and beans topped with Nano Dok, sauteed onions and mint. You could feel the vitamins descending to your fingernails.

Main courses are divided into three categories: kabob entrees, "House Stews" and a series of "Polos" or polous, rice dishes baked or sauced with meat, vegetable or seafood complements.

Kabobs simple and delicious

The kabobs ($7 to $14) are classically simple. The plate is filled to the edges with fluffed basmati rice, accented with a sprinkling of golden tumeric-braised grains. A row of meat that has been removed from its swordlike flat skewer is arranged across one side, and a brilliant red, whole-broiled tomato is added.

I've tried several: the Barg Bareh ($9.45) is truly choice. The heart of the lamb tenderloin is sliced longitudinally, cut into flat sections, marinated in ground onion, saffron, black pepper and mint and placed on the skewers for a quick grill.

Chicken Barg ($5.95 at lunch; $9.95 at dinner) gives similar treatment to breast of chicken. The grilling is done in a matter of minutes.

The House Stews (Fesenjon, Khoreshts and Bodemjons) suggest a kinship with Indian curries, but with a different set of spices. The Chicken Fesenjon, for example, is a subtle, lovely blend of walnut puree in a pomegranate sauce slathered over a tender, front quarter of chicken. The dark, tart but slightly sweet sauce sings with the rice as they combine.

Allbalou Polo ($7.95) achieves the same sweet-tart effect, but here the base fruit flavor is sour cherries, melded with basmati and served under baked chicken.

Lunch is a good time to sample Shamshiri. Prices are modest for large portions ($4.95 to $6.45) for most of the same dishes served evenings - and one of the superb soups or a salad is included.

Don't miss the Persian Ice Cream ($2.50), laced with pistachios, rose water and vanilla. Take most of the main course home in a box, if you have to. But try that ice cream. At least once. Or twice.

(Copyright, 1994, John Hinterberger. All rights reserved.) John Hinterberger, who writes the weekly restaurant review in Tempo and a Sunday food column in Pacific, visits restaurants anonymously and unannounced. He pays in full for all food, wines and services. Interviews of the restaurants' management and staff are done only after meals and services have been appraised. He does not accept invitations to evaluate restaurants.