This story was originally published in español on La Opinión, L.A. TACO is proudly co-publishing it.
For many, Los Angeles is a city of opportunity. A place where the hustle never stops. Where a love story that began with two strangers meeting by chance resulted in a captivating blend of cultures and flavors that can only be found at a small food stand in a South Central parking lot.
Such is the story of Ziomara Quintero, from Quilalí, Nueva Segovia, Nicaragua, and her husband, Reza Saadati, from Tehran, Iran, who run the stand called Nicapersian, located inside La Chancla Night Market.
Their food stand combines Quintero’s Nicaraguan sazón with Saadati’s flavor-packed Persian cuisine, with some of his Turkish roots incorporated into the dishes.
“We sell everything,"said Quintero in Spanish. "My husband sells food from Iran, and I, being Nicaraguan, sell Nicaraguan food, and we have dishes where we combine the two cuisines."
From Thursday through Sunday, you can find Saadati managing the grill, where he cooks his yogurt-marinated chicken, a tender fillet mignon, and garlicky and savory beef koobideh kabobs, as well as his wife's carne asada, over an open flame.