#barbari bread

A match made in heaven! Barbari Bread originates in Iran, formerly known as Persia, a name that evokes beautiful things in my mind. Barbari is a flatbread with ridges and a dark golden color provided by a glaze that often contains baking soda. I share a recipe that makes one small flatbread, fitting in a quarter sheet pan. BARBARI BREAD(adapted from cookingorgeous) 160 ml water (lukewarm)250 g…

Newly opened, Azizam started as a pop-up a few years ago. The owners are Persian and the casual restaurant features homestyle food, including housemade bread, desserts, and Persian staples (mazeh/small cold dishes), hot dishes (khoresht, kofteh), and sandwiches (beef tongue, kuku). They offer a few housemade shrubs, natural wine, and beer. You can also buy a whole loaf of barbari bread ($12).

The desserts looked amazing. Persian cream puff with rosewater and pistachio. Napoleon cake with Persian flavors.

Braised beef tongue sandwich ($12): thick slabs of tender warm beef tongue, house pickles (crunchy and sour), fresh herbs, fresh onion, fresh tomato slice, tucked in a housemade barbari bread sprinkled with sesame seeds. On the smaller side but the best in town, thanks to the housemade bread (like a flatbread), generous amount of tongue, and the fresh veggies. Everything’s warm and comforting, but the crunchy pickles add bright flavor and crunch.

Cherry limeade: Made in house, very nice, sweet and tart, with fresh mint

Mazeh plate ($18): your choice of two mazeh (I picked wild shallot yogurt and shirazi), house pickles, feta, fresh herbs, & two small pieces of house barbari bread. It’s meant for sharing but very small. Everything was excellent though. The yogurt was thick and creamy, the shirazi had bigger pieces of tomato and cucumber with onion and mint, and the pickles were crunchy. Wish they doubled the amount of bread.

Ash-e-jo ($8 cup): a hearty soup of barley, bean, and mixed grain with fermented why, mint oil, and fried onions. Thick enough to be considered a stew. Lots of veggies, beans, and grains. Very good.

The space is very cute (green and white theme with colorful stools and plants) with a good-sized covered outdoor patio and some indoor seating. It has a very casual sidewalk café feel. Service was very friendly.

4.5 out of 5 stars

According to a study published in 2014, the hygiene and production practices in Iranian bakeries were quite precarious: only 6.4% of bakeries were considered at a good level, 27.9% at a moderate level, and 65.7% at a poor level. Perhaps this is why a YouTube user found it necessary to make an event out of a video from the first bakery in Iran where gloves are used: In Iran, around 65 kg of bread…

Dinner at Byblos @ByblosToronto #easternmediterranean #tapas #couscous #pavolva #lambribs

Byblos located at 11 Duncan Street in Toronto

I finally, finally got to try Byblos!  Last weekend, I was supposed to come here with Ai and Jing for our catch-up dinner, but because Byblos is very popular and their reservation gets booked up very quickly, we weren’t able to get a table in time — we went to Boralia instead, which I highly, highly recommend!   (more…)

Barbari Bread on Flickr.