Shandeez Grill Persian Cuisine, Austin, Texas

Mediterranean restaurants are rather sparse in Austin. And they don’t last forever, but then what does? Ted’s Greek Corner downtown was a great place to take my Mexican friends because Ted and his wife both spoke Spanish and treated everyone like family. But Ted’s succumb to the high-rise developments, and so did his corner. I love that Greek diners usually have hamburgers and fries, too, because if you take someone there and they just don’t want lamb, sesame and eggplant, they can fall back on American classics. And now that I have a documented allergy to sesame oil, it works for me too.

Shandeez Grill Persian Restaurant in northwest Austin has those elements (except for the burger but I bet they would rig one up if you asked) and the added appeal of Persian cuisine. I’ve had a Groupon for months that we actually tried to use a few weeks ago but they’re closed on Sunday. That was the day we ended up taking Shakti to Star of India. The Groupon expired the next day, so it was the last day to use it or lose it. And we didn’t lose it; rather we WON it!

The location is a good 20 miles from our home, so we definitely had a trek to make. I didn’t have breakfast so I was really hungry. It’s in a little strip center that has a wedding chapel and a Filipino store/kitchen/restaurant that advertises “plane tickets” among other wares in big stick-on letters in the window. We were the only guests for a good 40 minutes, leading me to wonder what could be so wrong with the place. 11:20 and nobody’s there save the cook and a tiny little server who tells us to sit wherever we like? Well, it’s okay, because the decor is pleasantly Persian and the TV has a groovy Middle Eastern music channel with no commercials. They really did a good job with the interior considering it’s a shotgun space in a strip mall.

Our hostess/server was very nice and attentive. She had to make coffee because nobody is expected to order it after breakfast when it’s going to be 104 (again.) She made us confirm more than once that we didn’t want an appetizer, but I said no because there were little plates on the table that made me think she would bring us a little pita or something to munch on. We didn’t get any, but that’s okay, too, because our entrees were FAN-BLOODY-TASTIC!

I had the Mixed Kabob, which was ground beef and saffron chicken. Ground beef is just that until you flavor and/or cook it to perfection, which they did, and the chicken breast was so tender I could almost cut it with a fork yet it wasn’t stringy like stewed chicken meat. It was served on a bed of balsamic rice that was saffron-yellow mixed with pure white, all of it long-grain, tender and not sticky; in short, rice like I never could cook even if my mom showed me how to over and over again. Santi had the Chicken Soltani plate, which was the same chicken as my kabob but had a seared steak companion of which I was quite envious. Again, it was tender but not in an overcooked fashion, and was quite delicious.

The menu at Shandeez is fairly simple, with each section divided between Greek and Persian selections. This is particularly helpful for hogs like me, who want to eat everything but have to avoid certain ingredients. There are also group-meal options, meaning dinners designed to serve parties of three or four. I didn’t notice if they had alcoholic beverages at the time, being that we had had quite enough Friday night, but they've got the usual soft drinks, tea, coffee, as well as bottled water and juices on their menu. They’ll also do a pot of tea for you. I like to get a cup of hot green tea, let it steep for a good while and then pour it into a large glass of ice.

Thumbs up for this place. If you don’t like it, I think you should go to the little Filipino store next door, buy one of those plane tickets they advertise in the window, and fly over to Persia to see if you can find something better.  Don't forget they hang queers there, too, so you'd better butch it up. Oh, and I need a new rug, something in earthtones.