"Rice": Iranian fast food in Miami Beach

[endymion]

An Iranian friend introduced me to "Rice" on Alton Road today. I thought it was great! I can't compare it to any other Iranian restaurant since it's the only Iranian restaurant I've ever seen. Good stuff though.

My friend helped me navigate the menu, so I can't give a recommendation or a serious foodie review. The menu includes a lot of kebabs, presented in different ways. On a platter, in a wrap, in a salad... I got a 'combo platter' with a beef kebab and a chicken kebab and this Iranian spiced rice for like $10. The rice itself is SO good, and the meat was really flavorful with the sauces and sprinkles and stuff that they use.

They have a parking lot directly behind them that you get to by driving into the alley, so you can park there easy without dealing with parking on Alton. That fact alone will get me back to Rice.

Oh and they deliver.

Here is a better review than I could ever write. Thumbs up from me. But I'm easy.

[Mattivi]

being from detroit i love middle eastern food, and although iranian would techincally qualify as persian food its pretty similar. i used to have a friend growing up that was iranian and his mom would make the most insane rice, it was white and yellow, crazy good. thanks tech i will definitely check this out.

[endymion]

Yeah the rice is excellent. Very much like Middle Eastern food but definitely different. They have a gyro and falafel and I think kibbeh, and I got some grape leaves that were great (with some bizarre Iranian name, but they were just grape leaves) but there is uniquely Persian stuff too.

One interesting thing was the beef kebabs. They aren't "steak" kebabs. It's one big long piece of meat that looks kind of like roast lamb, no skewer. According to my Persian friend, they use ground beef. They mix it with egg and bread crumbs and all kinds of spices and then shape it into ... uh ... well it's ... I don't want to say that it's shaped like a turd but I can't think of any other way to put it. But wow yummy.

They serve both the beef and the chicken kebabs with this sauce that tasted kind of like tzatziki, but with a lot of dill. Maybe a cucumber sauce with spices and dill, but not sure exactly. And they have this sprinkle that goes great on the meat that my friend said is made out of dried pomegranate or cranberries or something like that. Very bold flavors in all of it.

I can't say anything about Iranian food in general, but my lunch today had that combination of sweet and savory notes that you normally only see in Asian food, not in Western food. Americans seem to like either sweet OR savory, never both.

[pod]

They must've changed, I had dinner with a friend there a few months back, and we weren't impressed.

[endymion]

I'm easy. I like just about everything. That may have something to do with it.

[swirlundergrounder]

I've yet to have a bad dish from the Middle East.

The food from that region is by far my favorite food.

Give me Pakisatani Food, Indian Food, Afghani food..

Where abouts is this place?

Can you eat there? What sort of atmosphere is it?

Do they have pictures of Mahmoud Ahmadinejad on the wall etc...

[endymion]

Haha no, they all seem like normal Americans in there to me. No "DOWN WITH AMERICA!" posters. Very clean and bright and friendly. I guess these are Iranians who choose NOT to live in Iran surrounded by posters of The Supreme Leader. Looks like any other slighty upscale fast food joint. I didn't even know that my (American) friend was of Iranian descent until he started going off about how they make the kebabs. And suspiciously, he knew how to pronounce the things on the menu. "Hey, uhh, are you Iranian or something?" I always thought he was Cuban. Hmm no wonder he can't speak Spanish...

The atmosphere was part of what I liked about Rice. They have ordinary four-tops and some high-tops and a long wooden bench. But the coolest thing is they have two spots toward the front by the sidewalk with really super low leather cushy chairs and little coffee tables between them. Like eight inches off of the ground. Like you expect to see a hookah sitting there. No hookahs though, it's more fast food than lounge.

You know anywhere to get Indonesian food in Miami? My favorite restaurant in Silicon Valley was Indonesian, only restaurant of that kind I've ever found. It was pretty much like Thai food but more peanuts, and sweeter.

[web_norah]

i love middle easter fare too.

i wouldn't classify Indian in Middle Eastern category...Indian is definitely spicy - whereas Lebanese for instance, tends to be easier on your belly, fresher with more salads and grains, if you know what i mean.

[endymion]

I'm addicted to Rice. I got kebabs and marinated tilapia delivered from there last night. And some tenderloin kebabs that are steak kebabs instead of the ground meat thingy. Ground meat thingy on Combo I is still the coolest. About to have leftovers for lunch, wuhoo! Sorry I just really like the place. It's all of the spices in everything.

And the baklava doesn't suck. Not on the delivery menu but they'll send it if you ask.

[Mattivi]

If you like Middle Eastern food Detroit reigns supreme in north america, you wont find more authentic Middle Eastern Fare than Metro Detroit. I love going home just for the shawarmas, garlic sauce, fatoosh, raw kibbee, the list goes on and on...