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| - Thanks to the reviews here, we decided to try this place when we came into Toronto.
We were looking particularly for a Middle-eastern place where the three of us could comfortably sit and converse over dinner. I say this because my spouse and I (as well as the friend we were with) are all partial to good food first/good dining second, but we wanted a more relaxing atmosphere than some of the excellent-food-but-the-folding-chairs-are-hard places we are happy to patronize when we're taking food home.
Pomegranate is a cozy restaurant which welcomes you in under traditional tile work lintels and an interior that has just enough Persian touches to set a tone without going overboard.
We came in early-ish for dinner (around 6:30), but the place was already filling up and we did promise to be out by 8:00, when reservations would take over our table. I was pleased at the beer and wine selection, which seemed thoughtfully selected for flavor and variety.
Then there was the food. It was delicious. The offerings were interesting and stayed away from the "meat on a stick" variety. The kashk-e bademjaan, a charred eggplant, was rich and smoky, filling your mouth with a wonderful blend of flavor. The babari bread was hearty enough to hold the appetizer, without taking over the taste.
I had the aloo gheysi, a wonderful chicken saffron stew with plums and apricots, while my friend had a special that evening, a lamb stew and eggplant with beet. Our meals arrived nicely plated, the stews in a bowl on the plate next to a really nice saffron-tipped pilau. Each of us had a slice of the crunchy bits from the bottom.
The chicken was marvelous. Tender chunks of meat in a rich whey-saffron sauce, the dried apricots and bokharan plums adding tart and sweet to the palate (be warned - the plums are not pitted).
The lamb was equally delicious, but coming from a different end of the taste buds. Aromatic, with a strong (but pleasant) taste of lamb countered by the smokiness of the eggplant, its flavors complemented the tart-sweet of the chicken.
I would definitely return to this restaurant, and work my way through the menu.
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