Atlas Specialty
1000 9th Ave. S.W.
403-230-0990
atlascalgary.com
Hours:
Tues to Thurs 11:30 a.m. – 8 p.m.
Fri & Sat noon – 9 p.m.
Sun noon – 7:30 p.m.
Rating: ****
Price range: $3.99 to $31.99
Atlas Specialty is a grocery store and cozy restaurant in one that serves the best Persian food in the city. If you’ve never tried it before, start with the flame-broiled kabobs.
Koobideh ($11.50) is two skewers of AAA spiced ground beef, while joojeh ($13.50) is impossibly moist chicken best eaten spicy. All kabobs are served on a huge bed of saffron rice with roasted tomatoes and onions.
If you’re in a hurry, you can always get one skewer in a pita bread wrap, garnished with vegetables.
The Persian stews (khoresht) really make Atlas unique. The fesenjoon ($13.99) is a deliciously different combination of ground walnuts, pomegranate paste and chicken, which balances sweet and savoury. Gheimeh is a cold-day stew with yellow split beans and chunks of sirloin in a mild tomato base. Or you can pick three stews to sample for $15.99.
