One fateful day last summer, we were out and about in the Burlington area when our stomachs started rumbling. We don’t know the area well at all, so I pulled out my trusty old Zabihah app and searched for halal options nearby hoping we’d get lucky.
We decided to try out Rayhoon, which is located in this adorable little nook of downtown Burlington, just steps away from their waterfront area.
It was quiet when we walked in, which makes sense considering it was lunchtime on a weekday, and so we received all the attention we wanted from the servers (as well as a nice gentleman whom I can only presume was the owner).
They let us choose our seats – we avoided the patio because it was too windy unfortunately, but chose a seat right by the windows so we could admire the view.
They explained the various options on their menu, and when the food arrived they explained how we should eat it too – mix the butter and tomatoes in with the rice, top it off with sumac and enjoy with a biteful of the grilled meat. They also had a handy brochure lined on each table detailing step by step instructions on how to enjoy their meals. How cute.
I got chicken, aka joojeh ($18/19), pictured above, and it was quite nice! I wasn’t expecting Persian food to be much different than Afghani food (like Bamiyan) but it’s actually a lot lighter on both your belly and your palette. The rice was soft and fluffy, the tomato was easy to break down, and the chicken was lightly seasoned yet tasetful. It looks very yellow, I know, I think that’s because they use saffron in their seasoning.
Husband got the koobideh ($16), and although he gobbled it up before I got a picture in, it looks a lot like sultani kabobs from Bamiyan. And as I mentioned earlier, the taste is much lighter.
We didn’t order any dips on the side, but the owner(?) dropped off some for us to try on the house. You can see it in the corner of my half-eaten plate if you look hard enough.
The server told me that daytimes are quiet during weekdays, but that you’d definitely need a reservation to visit in the evenings, especially on weekends, which makes sense because it was good! I’d check their timings before going though – they’ve got some varying hours based on day of the week from what I recall.
I think with both our entrees, the bill came out to less than $40. Not sure what the average Persian meal should cost but it seemed alright to us based on the dine in experience we got!
It’s located in such a cute corner that we took a walk after our meal to explore some of the nearby shops, and stopped off at the waterfront to enjoy the view before we finally decided to head out.
This place gets a five star rating from me! Can’t wait until the next time I’m in the area so I can try more of the items on their menu.
Halal Mommy 