Laura Zastrow
PFC stands for Persian Fried Chicken but could also mean Perfect Fusion Crispiness.
For a “little big city,” Madison has a wealth of international restaurants from Italian to Indonesian bringing diverse flavors to the table, but I’m always happy to see more. I’m especially encouraged when chefs share their personal food heritage through their restaurants. That’s what’s happening at Laila Borokhim’s newest venture, Joon, on Monroe Street.
Borokhim is Iranian American; Joon means “life” in Farsi and is also used as a term of endearment when speaking with friends and family. So it’s a fitting name for this small dining room of 10 tables and an easy view to the kitchen — the kind of place that makes you feel like family. Little touches add to that feeling, like the couch in the front corner near the entrance, where diners can people-watch out the window while waiting for a table. The tables and chairs are paired eclectically; the dishes are charming secondhand finds. It all adds to Joon’s character.
Simple, no-frills comfort foods populate the menu, the kind of fare a Persian grandma might make for weekday dinners. Diners may remember the fesenjoon from the original Layla’s on South Butler Street. It’s a stew of slow-cooked chicken and pomegranate molasses with grated walnuts mixed in. The simple flavors, fruity and savory at once, are unfamiliar in mainstream American dishes. Why? Combined, they’re magic.
Ghormeh sabzi is a rich mix based on braised leg of lamb with kidney beans, sautéed parsley, scallions, cilantro, chives and fenugreek. The topping of slivered fried potatoes adds a good crunch delightfully reminiscent of Jays Shoestring Potatoes. All the elements of this dish came together nicely, but I could only finish about half. That’s not a complaint — I was happy to have leftovers for lunch the next day.
Also delicious was the khoresh-e-gheymeh, a stew of diced beef, onions and yellow split peas. The split peas are a perfect addition with their subtle flavor and bit of chewiness, without taking anything away from the rich flavor of the beef or the saffron-laced tomato sauce. Bonus: the khoresh-e-gheymeh also comes topped with the crispy fried potatoes.
A chicken and a lamb kebab round out the traditional meats part of the menu. There are also occasional nightly specials, like a fish fry for Friday.
Vegetarians have several choices. Four dishes from the small menu are vegetarian and can be made vegan by requesting the kitchen hold the egg and yogurt. I really enjoyed the Persian mixed rice, with its saffron-infused basmati mixed with pistachios for a nice salty and crunchy element, chopped dates for a hint of sweet and chewy, seasonal veggies (mine included roasted Brussels sprouts, a favorite), sautéed onions and spices. Flavor variations pop up in every bite making this an exciting dish in spite of its seeming simplicity.
Eggplant appears in two other veggie dishes, roasted in the mirza ghasemi and sautéed in the khoresh bademjan. Ash-e-reshteh is based on slow-cooked garbanzo and kidney beans and lentils.
The Persian mixed rice also appears along with a handful of others in a fun section of the menu called “Layla’s Fusion Favs.” There’s a koobideh burger, a flame-grilled beef patty reminiscent of the Iranian kabab koobideh, mixed with onions and parsley. A dish you have to experience at Joon is the PFC or “Persian Fried Chicken.” With a perfectly seasoned crispy coating on the outside and juicy chicken on the inside, this take on fried chicken is a winner. The yogurt dill sauce on the side is extra credit.
For dessert, I suggest the cheesecake. While none of the desserts are created in-house, the cheesecake is customized at Joon with a scattering of pistachios and a light drizzle of honey. Nothing fancy, but delicious in its simplicity.
I was touched by the kindness of the staff, and in the way that Borokhim is evidently taking them under her wing. It’s a small restaurant, so when the dining room is quiet, you can catch tiny bits of their conversation. It took only one visit for me to realize that this is more than a restaurant for Borokhim — it’s a family.
Joon
1835 Monroe St.; 608-216-4511; facebook.com/joonmonroest
$3-$18; noon-9 pm Wed.-Sun.
