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~ News-Press ~ Leader ~ Olive Branch is peaceful, tasty haven
DINING OUT Orange and green checked tablecloths and hand-painted olive branches on the walls make the room feel like a dining room in a gracious host's Middle Eastern home. Warm pita bread with butter and onion greet each diner. Appetizer offerings range from the increasingly familiar hummus, falafel, or olives and feta, to more exotic igra (barbecued eggplant dip with tomatoes, bell peppers and garlic). In fact, the menu lists three different eggplant dips. It might be fun for eggplant aficionados to order all three to compare and contrast. Shirazi, a Persian salad, is a refreshing starter, with chopped tomatoes, white onion, cucumbers, mint, parsley and some Kalamata olives ($4.50). A good crunch and a lemony bite makes this a winner. Wrapped in warm pita, this could be a healthful vegetarian lunch, all on its own. Most entrees come with soup or salad. The tasty house salad includes romaine, mushrooms, red onion, tomatoes and olives with an oregano-flecked vinaigrette. One evening, the soup special was cracked wheat porridge, with a faint, brick-like color, oatmeal-like texture and a slightly smoky flavor. Another soup ash-e-reshte, is described on the menu as "an exotic and highly nutritious mixture of spinach, cilantro, beans, lentils and noodles, topped with condensed yogurt, fried onion and mint." That's on my list to try an my next visit, along with tadig (crisp rice crust) and lamb shank. The menu boasts several "exotic rice" dishes, and could not resist sampling. The cherry rice is a melange of shocking pink (from cherry juice) and a vivid yellow (saffron) grains of basmati rice, with nuggets of dried cherries, which have plumped in the cooking process. Crisp almond slivers add an appealing crunch to the chewy cherries and tender grains of rice. The bright colors make this dish looks like a party on the plate. It's delicious, too, and my favorite among the dishes I've tried. Quesi polow (apricot rice with chicken kebab) features dried apricots, plums and peaches, with almonds for contrasting texture and saffron-infused rice Green peppers and tomato complete the dish, and the chicken is tender and moist. One of the house specialties is fesanjan, chicken in pomegranate and walnut sauce ($11.95). The sauce has a thick gravy-like consistency, enveloping chunks of chicken breast. The appearance of the dish might be enhanced with a garnish pf pomegranate seeds. The desert menu is small, but worth trying for the experience. Persian ice cream is dense and creamy, perfumed and colored with saffron, and dusted with ground pistachios. Kudos: Generous portions and a welcoming atmosphere. Lots of vegetarian options Quibbles: Some of the dishes seemed under-seasoned. Presentation is very simple.
Olive Branch
Restaurant, 3658 Foothill Blvd., La Crescenta (818) 248-9876. ----------------------------------------------------------------
~Cherie
Mercer Twohy teaches cooking in La Caņada Flintridge |
