Atlanta's posh Persian community feasts on skewers and buttery basmati rice in the fancy digs of this freestanding restaurant where the chef-owner knows how to lay out the red carpet. Billowy fabrics and clean lines set a mod tone.

Kashk bademjan, creamy eggplant topped with fried onion and mint, transcends a description like "dip." Initiates will love the simplicity of either filet mignon or shrimp kebabs, but adventurers should try the tahdeeg (rice cooked to a crisp at the bottom of a pan) topped with ghormeh sabzi, a veal and bean stew flavored with dried Persian lime. End the evening with a glass of tea and, perhaps, a puff of the hookah.