Persian sandwiches have arrived in metro Phoenix. Here's what to order at Ava
Ashkan and Diana Taheri moved from Los Angeles to the Valley and opened Ava Bakery and Restaurant in north Phoenix on Seventh Street and E. Union Hills Drive in November 2022.
Ashkan was part-owner of a popular Persian restaurant called B.B. Saara in Los Angeles, a city that's home to close to a million Iranians and often jokingly called Tehrangeles. So he has experience serving a discerning community looking for specific flavors and details that remind them of home.
The couple wanted to bring the Persian vibe that they had in L.A. to Phoenix and that's just what they've done in their space in Seventh Street Plaza, which was formerly occupied by Saffron Jack, an Iranian bakery.
Ashkan makes everything in house including the food, bread and desserts, like traditional ice cream made with saffron and rose water. Diana runs the front of the house.
Both are extremely approachable, patiently answering any questions customers may have and greeting Persian guests in Farsi.
As you walk in, a counter wall showcases drawings of kabob, a sunny side up egg and a tomato, good omens for what's to come.
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Sangak and barbari breads are the stars at this Persian bakery
The wall reads heech, is a reference to a poem by Rumi, that emphasizes love.
Just behind the counter, sangak loaves hang from racks as they come out of the rotating oven. Sangak translates into pebble, a reference to the way the bread is traditionally made. The baker stretches the dough into a long triangle and places it into a clay oven lined with small hot rocks. In Iran, it's not unusual to have a few left over pebbles clinging to the freshly made bread. It just adds to the fun to brush them off and tear pieces of hot bread to eat on the walk home.
At Ava the dough is laid on rocks in a rotating oven. The flavor Taheri has achieved is reminiscent of the ones I used to eat in Tehran with a texture soft, chewy texture.
Aside from sangak, the bakery makes sandwich loaves and barbari bread. Barbari is a long oval bread that has a wonderful crunchy exterior and soft interior when it's fresh out of the oven. It has ridges all the way down the loaf that are created by the bakers fingers, used to make indentations in the dough before baking.
Ava is one of only three places in metro Phoenix where these specialty breads can be found, the other being Caspian Market in Scottsdale and Tala Food Market in Phoenix.
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What's on the sandwich menu at Ava
Ava offers breakfast, lunch, desserts, bread and weekend specials. And it's the only place in Arizona where you can find Iranian sandwiches from potato salad to beef koobideh wraps.
For breakfast, find Persian breakfast — cheese, jam, honey and fresh bread — and Persian omelet made with tomatoes and tomato paste mixed with softly scrambled eggs.
On weekends, Ava offers haleem and kaleh pacheh. Haleem is a hearty porridge of wheat and shredded meat — turkey or lamb — topped with sugar and cinnamon. It's comfort food at its best. Kalleh pacheh is lamb head and foot soup, not for the faint of heart. You have to love the gaminess of lamb to enjoy it.
As with the savory items, all sweets are made in house. They are mix of Iranian desserts, like baklava and sholeh zard, a saffron rice pudding, along with general ones like cupcakes.
But the main draw are the sandwiches.
Ava offers hard to find sandwiches like kuku sabzi, an herb frittata; kotlet, a meat and potato patty; and beef tongue and brain.
Iranians eat in season and use all parts of the animal. So, it's not unusual to find offal in diners or through street vendors. If prepared properly, brain and tongue are quite flavorful. Tongue is a muscle, so the art is in how it's cooked. Overcooked tongue becomes too chewy.
Brain's creamy texture comes from its fatty structure. It's typically balanced with acid. In Iran, the most popular preparation is to cook it in vinegar with onions and parsley, then break it into small pieces and sautee it in butter with a touch of lemon juice.
At Ava, you have the chance to experience tongue, brain or a mix of the two, served on fresh bread with a side of pickled pepper.
It's an exciting option, but the sandwich I'll be going back for is a throwback to childhood.
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Go for the bread, stay for the Bandari
During a recent visit, I ordered one kotlet, a savory ground meat and potato patty, a brain sandwich and a Bandari sandwich.
The brain was good, but prepared with cinnamon that seemed to overpower everything else. The kotlet was also enjoyable, but it was the Bandari sandwich, like Proust's madeleine, that instantly transported me back to my aunt's house in Iran.
My aunt used to make it because she worked and didn't have a lot of time to prepare elaborate meals. Whenever we visited, she would either order take-out or make simple sandwiches and this was one of them. The preparation here was exactly as I remember it in Iran and I loved every bite.
It's a simple, savory sandwich of sauteed onions, tomato, tomato paste, peppers and sliced beef hotdogs with a little kick of spice. It's served on a baguette with pickles, onions and herbs. The fluffy sandwich bread is the perfect vehicle for carrying the flavorful filling. Pepperoncini is provided on the side.
Ava is all about the details. And the Persian hospitality
Tea is ingrained in Middle Eastern culture. It's how people welcome guests to their homes. At an Iranian's house, a pot of tea is always on the stove. When a guests shows up announced or unannounced, the first question is: would you like some tea?
The host pours a cup of black tea and presents it on a tray with a side of sugar cubes. For many Iranian Americans, tea is a way to connect to culture, tea is comfort, tea is home.
At Ava, after my meal, I was asked: would you like tea? And as full as I was, I couldn't say no.
It arrived with a Persian touch I adore. The glass tea cup (bonus points as we like to see the color of the tea) arrived on an oval saucer with a side of a saffron sugar.
As I sipped my tea, I enjoyed listening to the happy hum of regulars stopping by to pick up sandwiches and bread. I'll become a regular for the bread alone, and the sandwiches will keep me coming back, but it's the hospitality at Ava that sealed the deal.
Visit Ava Bakery
Details: 814 E. Union Hills Drive, C-6, Phoenix. 480-906-9757.
Hours: Tuesday to Saturday, 7 a.m. to 6 p.m.; Sunday from 7 a.m. to 2 p.m.; Closed on Monday.
Prices: Sangak and barbari $4.95. Sandwiches from $8.95 to $15.95.
Reach the reporter at BAnooshahr@azcentral.com. Follow @banooshahr on Twitter.
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This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Phoenix restaurant Ava Bakery makes classic Persian sandwiches
