RESTAURANTS • FOUND Table
The Backstory: Opened in 2018 with a homey Iranian menu and pale dining room exemplifying the style of the time, Prospect Heights’ extraordinary Sofreh remains so good that on a recent visit, I grimaced a bit, thinking about all the time I’d wasted elsewhere since its premiere.
The Experience: My party was running a little late for a reservation that was already perilously close to closing time. But Sofreh operates with effortless, polished ease that even service that could be justifiably rushed isn’t. Drinks land quicker (and more interestingly, composed) than most. The rounded spices of chai old fashioneds and saffron vespers also deftly flirt with the flavor profiles that follow.
To eat, start with eggplant topped with cured whey yogurt, crispy onions, and a kiss of mint oil for a silky, creamy, prickly mélange of textures. Dried lime and herb beef stew features hunks of the brilliantly butchered braised beef cloaked in a rich, fragrant mix, its titular ingredients bolstered by plump kidney beans. It’s a culinary quilt, peak comfort for this very moment. Likewise the triumphant lamb shank, a kingly protein portion.
Why it’s FOUND: One of New York City’s best new restaurants of 2018, almost seven years later, Sofreh remains one of its best overall. –Amber Sutherland-Namako
→ Sofreh (Prospect Heights) • 75 Saint Marks Ave • Tue-Sun 530-930p • Reserve.