Persian Adventures at Persepolis via Georgia

Originally, I was going to use sex appeal with the belly dancer dancing around my table to sell this post about the Persian restaurant, Persepolis, but I decided to change my mind because the Yogurt Soda is what really stole the evening.  No, I won't talk about the dimly lit, romantic atmosphere, the great goat cheese, whole walnut, herbs appetizer with flatbread, or even the cornish hen and the juiciest kebabs that were served at the restaurant.  I will talk about yogurt soda, or what some Iranians call doogh.

(image:http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Belly_dance)


After doing some light research on the interwebs, wikipedia informed me that doogh is Iran's national drink.  Not only that, there are many guidelines on how the cow's milk should be fermented and carbonated. ( doogh reading material).  However, I won't get caught up in the intricacies of doogh here, but rather, how surprised I was when I took my first sip.  Perhaps surprised is the wrong word.  Confusion is a better word.  I had no plans on drinking yogurt soda that night at Persepolis until my significant other kept peering over to the table next to us wondering about the white beverage being consumed.  Nearly every person at the table was drinking it.  So by sheer curiosity, we asked our waitress if we could try a bottle of the drink, which was later told to us that the beverage was called "yogurt drink."  Highly descriptive, I know.

The waitress brought glasses with ice in it and a bottle of Abali yogurt soda.  We could have gotten plain non-carbonated, but what's the fun in that?  We inspected the bottle, shook it lightly to mix up the yogurt, poured it into the glasses, with a little bit of plop plop from the chunks at the bottom, and took a sip.  I didn't realize I made a face.  It was cool and tangy, but not like ranch dressing.  Oh, it was definitely yogurt alright.  Definitely minty, carbonated yogurt.  Bits of chunky yogurty goodness at the bottom of my glass getting slurped up through my straw was a little off putting.  I thought I would like it because I like kefir (a very non-carbonated, smoothie-like yogurt drink), but not this stuff.  I can say with confidence I do not like yogurt soda.  I think it's something that you have to acquire a taste for as you're growing up.

As for the restaurant Persepolis, the kebabs were excellent and food already taken off of the skewers so that you don't have comical moments of food being flung across the room, and the appetizer was a pleasant addition to whet the appetite.  However, I felt like the belly dancer was expecting cash to be tucked into her costume, so that's always an awkward moment for me in restaurants.  Now, I know it's kind of a bummer that the restaurant is in Georgia, but locally, I would recommend the restaurant Skewers beachside since it has the belly dancing on the weekends and outdoor seating.  As for the yogurt soda, I may try the non-carbonated version to see if that's geared more towards my likening.