, which means, essentially, “finest attire” but translates literally to “rice-eating clothes.” We should have been in black tie, considering how much rice was piled on the table in front of us at Nasrin’s Kitchen, a new Persian restaurant in midtown. Nasrin Rejali, an Iranian refugee who moved to Queens, by way of Turkey, in 2016, earned a following with a series of pop-ups—which served traditional dishes from all over her native country—before opening her own place last month.
Several of the plates we ordered came from a section of the menu entitled Chelo Khoresh, or stew with rice.
Rice—along with grilled peppers and tomatoes, raw red onion, and fresh basil—also accompanied the menu’s kebabs:, made with a combination of ground lamb and beef, and juicy chunks of boneless chicken, marinated in saffron and lemon juice. Rice was wonderful mixed with Rejali’s yogurt dips: the thicker, more sour, with cucumber, raisins, sunflower seeds, dried mint, and dried rose petals.