Persian in Summit

[Curlz]

Anyone know anything about this place? One of my co-workers casually mentioned "Oh yeah-there's a new Persian place in Summit..." He didn't have much more than that, other than he walked past over the weekend and the door was open and it smelled wonderful.

Is it open? Anyone been?

[PaulaJK]

Negeen's Persian Grill occupies the storefront space of an older Chinese [Phoenix]restaurant on the Short Hills end of Summit town. The interior has been freshened and an effort has been made with the colorful decor. Unfortunately, in its current state, I doubt it will survive. Why? you ask. Well, our party of 4 approached with enthusiasm. Old friends, we welcomed the opportunity for conversation but not the 45 minute wait that it took to acquire basic appetizers. The room temperature water in our glasses did not help.

The menu has many offerings. The hummus was decent although under spiced as everything seemed to be. A small basket of pita bread accompanied it but it took ages and ages for the solitary waiter to respond to our request for more.

At the end of an hour the appetizers had just recently made their appearance. Among them, the yogurt & spinach appetizer was adequate but the pickled vegetables seemed to consist mostly of vinegar laden cabbage. We still had quite a portion of these remaining, when staff announced that our entrees were ready and must be served now.

I had ordered lamb chops, insisting that they be rare or give me a 2nd [pre selected ] choice. The waiter said that the grill was very hot, for the beef...huh? I suggested that the answer was to remove the items sooner. Of course it was unwise of me to proceed and predictably , the lamb chops were totally well done and dry. On the other hand, my friend's cornish hen had red areas, causing her to leave a goodly portion of her dinner...the combo of filet mignon and chopped meat appeared never to have seen a skewer as it was so flat and the 'chuncks of veal' was unappealing,not least of all for its topping of [?canned] potato sticks. The salad was generous in size but accompanied by the sole salad dressing offering that everyone voted 'vile'.

We tried to hang in there...........through the additional wait........for dessert & coffee. The waiter arrived announcing they had but 3 desserts. Persian ice cream? "Hard to describe." Did the baklava have walnut or pistachios? "Yes, nuts."

The latter well said, we departed sans dessert and coffee. Only the lovely Persian rice will be happily recalled.

Edited March 19, 2009 by PaulaJK (log)

[scarlet knight]

Ouch! We enjoy Lalezar in Montclair for Turkish food, which is a neighbor of Iran (Persia).

[Curlz]

Aforementioned co-worker ate here with another couple, and when I asked how it was, he just shook his head and said "Don't bother." I'll get more details, but that's 2 for 2...