Farhang Foundation's Guide to Persian Culture in LA

Where to find the best of Iran in Los Angeles from—ghormeh sabzi and flatbread to contemporary art and old records.

Words by Oren Peleg 20 Mar 2018

At first glance, the sign reading "Persian Square" along Westwood Boulevard may not make much sense. But the high concentration of Persian restaurants and businesses along the boulevard catering to the roughly 87,000 Persians living in Los Angeles—the largest population outside Iran—has caused the area to be lovingly dubbed "Tehrangeles."
 
 
In 2008, the Farhang Foundation was created by the city’s Persian community to promote Iranian arts and culture to the community at large. “We are a non-profit and are non-religious and not politically affiliated,” Alireza Ardekani, Farhang’s executive director, told Citizine. “We’ve partnered with LACMA , MOCA, The Getty, the Craft & Folk Art Museum, AFI, USC, UCLA” and more on projects and events to promote Persian literature, music, design, cuisine and other contributions to modern culture. Recently, the organization helped USC and UCI start Iranian Studies programs. “It didn’t make sense that those programs didn’t exist,” Ardekani added.
 
In addition to the Farhang Foundation’s institutional partnerships, it also hosts one of the largest Nowruz festivals in the world. “Nowruz is the Iranian New Year, and celebrates the spring equinox” Ardekani explains. “It’s not a religious holiday. It’s been celebrated for thousands of years throughout the Persian empire.” While the festival traditionally spans 13 days, Farhang holds a one-day celebration for the entire community. “This is the best first experience for non-Iranians,” Ardekani noted, citing musical performances, dancing, programs for children and more. “We held the Nowruz celebration at LACMA for the first eight years, but we outgrew it,” he continued. “By 2016, we had 10,000 attendees. When we moved to UCLA in 2017, we had 20,000. And this year, we had 25,000.”

Nowruz Celebration at UCLA's Royce Hall, image courtesy of the @FarhangFoundation

Just in time for Nowruz, we asked Ardekani to share with us a heaping dose of places in LA to experience Persian culture on behalf of Farhang Foundation.

Freedom Sculpture 

Century City
Alireza Ardekani: The Freedom Sculpture is a monument that Farhang Foundation gifted to the City of Los Angeles as a symbol of freedom and multiculturalism based on the ideals of Cyrus the Great. It's a crowdfunded project supported by over 1.2 million individuals from over 52 countries, and it is permanently installed on Santa Monica Boulevard and Century Park East.

Raffi's Place

Glendale
AA: My favorite dish is the Tadig with Ghormehsabzi (Crispy Rice with Herb Strew).

Royce Hall

Westwood
AA: LA has the largest Iranian community outside of Iran. So, we throw a lot of concerts for the community. We have many major concerts at Royce Hall.

Saffron & Rose Ice Cream

Westwood
AA: Cucumber and Orange Blossom are my favorite flavors. They have many Persian flavors that may not be commonly-known to non-Iranians.

Rex Bakery

Sawtelle
AA: Best place for Persian cream puffs and Persian shirni (small cookies).

Naan Hut

Sawtelle
AA: Best fresh and warm Persian flatbread known as Sangak.

Music Box

Westwood
AA: Music Box is 40-years old. It’s one of the last music shops around, and is the only music store dedicated 100 percent to Iranian music. Artists I recommend: Googoosh, Homayoun Shajarian, Pallett, Eendo, Kiosk, Mohsen Namjoo, Shahin Najafi.

Advocartsy

DTLA
AA: This gallery specializes in contemporary Iranian art, which is very in demand all over the world.

Read up on other places to experience art in DTLA with Advocartsy founder Roshi Rahnama HERE... 

Freedom Sculpture image courtesy of @fparvaneh

Royce Hall image courtesy of @rezakhan

Tahdig at Raffi's Place image courtesy of @raffisplace

Kabob at Raffi's Place image courtesy of @alis_foodnetwork

Saffron & Rose Ice Cream image courtesy of @foodgaltx

Rex Bakery image courtesy of @rexbakery

Advocartsy image courtesy of @advocartsy

Naan Hut image courtesy of @deemonster

Header Image courtesy of @FarhangFoundation

Suggested

A Perfect Sunday in LA with Briana Valdez of HomeState

A Guide To BDSM And Fetish In LA

The Ultimate LA Beach Guide With Aviator Nation

Uncovering Underground Art In Arlington Heights

The Marias On Their Roots And Making A Home In LA

PlaceList

© 2017 Citizine Networks, Inc. All rights reserved.