We love exploring Los Angeles and going to ethnic food markets is one of our favorite things to do in the city. We are so lucky in Los Angeles to have Indian, Brazilian, Jamaican, African Japanese, Korean and more markets to try. Our friends turned us on to Sabzee because they make this incredible bread. Sabzee is a medium sized Persian store. They have a grocery, bakery, deli, and mini restaurant where the sell hot prepared Persian/middle eastern foods (kabobs, rice’s, stews). We befriended two older gentleman who were waiting for hot bread and they recomended we order the “special bread.” Fresh sangak bread covered in black and white sesame seeds that they make to order while you shop. It’s a massive flat bread that is folded over several times. Delicious and beautiful.

Making Sangak the national bread of Iran

While we were waiting for our bread to be baked in the oven, we wandered around the store picking up items we love. Frozen fava beans, and artichoke hearts and frozen herb blends you can’t find anywhere else.

The deli has five different varieties of feta which we sampled. I opted for the Danish which is the saltiest and has a creamy texture as opposed to crumbly. They have baba ganoush and a persian version of the eggplant dish which is more robust. We bought fig leaves stuffed with meat and vegetarian. We marveled at the whole pickled garlic which they explained you peel and eat as a condiment with fish.

The Green almond can be eaten whole when fresh, green skin and all. When the green almond gets slightly older, the green hull will become bitter and should be removed and the inner almond eaten on its own. The Green almond has a complex flavor with a mild floral notes and a sweet-tart flavor that reminds you of green apple, pea pods, and uncured olives.

Pickled garlic, Seer-Torshi

The garlic becomes very tender, mild and almost fruity, with a flavor that’s more mellow and sweet

The meat section is great.  They sell marinated meat with some halal options. I bought a little piece of lamb liver for my lunch and some marinated chicken for skewers for dinner.

Yummy lamb liver with onions, sangak bread, spiced kashke bademjan & salad

17461 Ventura Blvd
Encino CA, 91316
(818) 745-1313