Cheap eats in town

Lunch with the family in JBR...you really can't beat it...gulf breezes, perfect peopleave watching, child-tolerant restaurants. But, you have to wonder...with so many Iranians in Dubai, why does JBR not have a Persian restaurant? Oh well...

Today was one of those days when nothing but Persian food will do. I wanted good, cheap food - and lots of it.

So off to Deira we went, where we stumbled upon the Tehran restaurant (behind the Gold Center). It's actually a Persian/Pakistani restaurant - a Persian owner, Pakistani staff and no menu. It looks dodgy from the outside...amble up the stairs of death to "family cabin," avoid looking into the kitchen, and...well, still pretty dodgy.

Our waiter spoke no English or Farsi...so a bit of Arabic was handly (fi joojeh kabob, fi khoobz?)...but we were still a little unsure of our order.

And then the food came. Amazing. Quite possibly some of the best Persian food I've had in the UAE. I watched my boys devour the mutton kubideh and even had to fight the little one for the last piece of joojeh kabob. The star of the show, however, was the fish fry. One whole fish (no idea what kind, maybe sherry?)...cruchy on the outside, tender on the inside. I don't even think I saw the cheli kebob...disappeared in my husband's hands in mere minutes. Decent rice with a slab of butter, fine maust-o-khiar, and perfect taftoon (which out waiter called naan, but who cares...). Topped off with perfect chai bi halib - for me, of course - my hot date is Persian purest - always sticks with black tea!

And the bill...drumroll...123 aed ($40ish usd).

I found my other "cheap eat" on Thurday. After spending about 45 minutes in the car cruising the beaches in Umm Suqueim looking for a fish curry shack with my kids, I gave up and grabbed take-out from an Indian place I'd found cruising Umm Suqueim for pre-schools! I decided that the number of taxis waiting for food was a good sign. No menu either, but agreed on fish curry and chicken biryani...for a total of 20 aed! And soooooo tasty. Would be the perfect to-go meal for a picnic on the beach. Will be back for sure. Interested? Take beach road heading from JBR to the city. Turn right at the Jumeiah Hotel, just after the Burj and Wild Wadi. Turn left after the first block of villas. Park and follow the smell of curry. Ladies should be dressed conservatively and/or be escorted.