Food

I haven't mentioned much, if anything, about food so far. I've been waiting until I can give a considered overview.
Frankly, it's been a bit of a disppointment.
I had heard before that the best Iranian food is found in the home and that has certainly been our experience. The best meals we have had have been in Garmeh and Zein-od-Din which were much more like domestic situations.
Restaurants, or at least the ones we have visited, seem to have fairly unadventurous and broadly similar menus. Various types of kebab - lamb, beef, chicken and occasionally fish - invariably flat on flat skewers and served with rice and/or flatbread.
Salads have been good and fresh but unexciting - usually lettuce, cucumber, tomatoes and grated carrot with a fairly bland dressing on the side. And there is usually a bowl of yoghurt - good and fresh. One interesting thing is the bowl of herb leaves often served with the kebab. Some we recognise - mint, flatleaf parsley, tarragon - but others are new to us and have some lovely flavours. One - called Rehan - we have enjoyed very much. Steve thinks it might be "russian basil" and plans to find some seeds to grow next year.
Apart from the kebabs there has been little - a sauce made from pomegranate and walnut which is served with chicken or lamb - called Fesenjan. It sounds good and it should/could be - but in the restaurants we have visted it seems to have been made without skill or care.
Soups have been good, one with barley and barberries seems to be common and a spicy vegetable soup with some kind of pasta was also good.
In Garmeh we had wonderful food. One dish in particular stood out - slices of aubergine cooked in something called "kashk" which is apparently made by reducing yogurt. I'll need to google that.
Rice dishes have been interesting, flavoured with various herbs and spices and cooked with nuts and fruits. It's also quite common to have rice sprinkled with dried barberries. These are a red fruit about the size of a grape - we bought some fresh in the bazaar, they have a sharp and juicy taste - a bit like a sour cherry.
Desserts are mainly fruit and dates - the latter are very common and there are many different types. Also pomegrantes and watermelon. We've been snacking on pistachios, walnuts and various other fruits all of which are plentiful.
So. all in all - mixed on the food front.

But the bazaars are full of produce - beautiful looking fruit, nuts, herbs (dried and fresh), spices, vegetables etc so the "home-cooking is best" may well be true.
One slightly different thing we notice is the butchers. They are generally very small stalls or shops and have very little stock. They seem to have one carcass hanging there which they cut from until it is gone. And, so that the punters know what the meat is, they display the head of the unfortunate animal at the front. This may be sheep, goat or even camel.
I suppose this may also be an indication of the freshness - a recently killed animal may still have a surprised look on its face.
Produce is in vast quantities - such that it is often hard to see how they can possibly sell it all. There are mountains of deep red tomatoes, aubergines - round and elongated, onions, vast piles of fresh herbs, huge sacks of nuts, dried herbs, spices, dried fruits, seeds - sunflower, watermelon , and many other things we don't recognise. The quantities are overwhelming.
The condition is not always as you would see in Tesco - there are blemishes and distortions and nothing is pre-packed - but most things looks to be ripe and good quality. It makes us want to buy a load of stuff and get cooking.