North Park Produce — Restaurant in Poway

This is a long review! Bear with me. I witnessed a terrible incident where the owner of this bakery was speaking to a customer over the phone, upon the end of the call, a man looked at me and told me the story of who that customer was. I will type in excerpts below, on what this man told me about this story..

The President of our nonprofit charity briefly left her phone unattended on a table, only for it to disappear as the area was being tidied up. Upon seeking assistance from employees, she was directed to contact the owner, Sara, who was unavailable at the time. Subsequently, a follow-up call regarding the status of the $1700 phone, which held significant sentimental value due to unsaved photos of deceased parents, was met with unhelpful responses from a staff member who appeared dismissive of the situation. After an apology from our President, she was met with a heated response from the owner, who took over the phone call with yelling and condescending remarks. Customer was grief stricken and expressed indifference towards the long-term patronage of our organization, even though we regularly referred over 2500 customers monthly for service.

Regrettably, the phone was not returned, and subsequent investigation revealed its presence in the same bakery weeks later. Despite these events, our President chose not to file a police report. As a member of our organization's staff, I firmly believe in the pursuit of justice, especially considering the broader context of our charitable efforts and the personal challenges faced by our founder, who has been bedridden due to a life-threatening infection for the past nine months.

Furthermore, it is disheartening to note that potential discrimination and mistreatment may have played a role in the handling of this situation. The reported mistreatment of individuals of Afghan descent, in contrast to favorable treatment received by others, raises concerns of prejudice within the establishment. Such behavior is unacceptable and undermines the principles of respect and inclusivity. The owner's dismissive attitude towards addressing derogatory statements made by employees further highlights a lack of accountability and respect for diversity within the workplace. It is imperative that all individuals, regardless of ethnicity or background, are treated with dignity and fairness in all interactions.

Sadly the phone was never given back, and I’m the CYBER security Analyst who found out that the phone was SPOTTED in that same bakery weeks later! What does that tell you? The Amazing President of our company still did not file a police report despite all of this!! In fact they do not even want anyone to post this review but I’m one of the Men who believes Justice must be served! During these events the customer was diagnosed with a life threatening infection and nearly died. Had been bed bound for the past 9 months, and yet the owner of this bakery yelled “we don’t care if you bring us the most business we don’t need you.! You can go elsewhere.

Wow sadly, it must be because this customer is Afghan and the owner of bakery and grill is Persian/middle eastern, unfortunately I hear they mistreat afghans as rivals. Like most clans do to each other. Except me and my wife witnessed this event. And we are not middle eastern so we keep getting treated really good by the owner… however she doesn’t treat this customer with respect. In fact the customer reported to the owner that her employee that day made a deragatory statement that was very predjudice. To which the owner sounded proud and said, our employee is the best you can’t blame her for calling you by the WRONG gender. You sound and dress like a man. They will not be stopped and forced to refrain from saying Sir/Ma’me over the phone or in person, it’s the natural way” It’s the normal way” I won’t force them to respect or correct and properly pronounce peoples pronouns. The normal ones will come out of my staffs mouth automatically “reffering to Male and female pronouns...

North Park Produce is pretty amazing. I will review in two parts, Restaurant & Market. Restaurant: Persian & Mediterranean Bakery & Grill. The food is really good. Many choices to eat. I have ordered food to go multiple times, and i am a good 30+ miles away. Shirley really enjoys the #7 Baghali Polo (lamb shank meal). I also included a side of rice with barberries (also known as Zereshk Polo in the Persian communities). I must say, I am never big on eating rice, but those barberries are amazing. I am a creature of habit (it means I am old...lol), and always get the same thing...first, I must have the huge fresh (flat & round) made bread (can be used as a flotation device...just kidding) i do not know the proper name, but I will say, I see a separate line where folks just purchase the bread and leave. Always served in a brown paper bag....reminds me of leaving the liquor store with on 40oz Old English 800 wrapped in a paper bag...(back in the early 80's..lol) In addition to the bread, I get a small container order of the following, Hummus, Baba ghanoush, and Tzatziki sauce. I also order the #24 Ghormeh Sabzi ("Gesundheit") a thick dark beef stew which i use to dip the bread in, along with the other dips. Yummy. With as many folks there during lunch, keep an eye on your order if to go, those little vibrating devices do not always work...I waited 40 min, and my food was sitting there awhile. Market: North Park Produce. I really enjoy going to meat section as the variety of meats are enormous. Most are normally not available in your standard stores. I cannot stop by without buying salaries sausages and Bologna meats...so, so good. I just discovered the fresh cheese section. I had no idea that there were so many different types of Feta cheese. Based on the recommendation of a Persian man, I ordered the "Lighvan cheese" wowzer, rich, smooth, and so tasty. Huge Produce section with exotic produce not normally found. A bit of a madhouse negotiating the produce area. Sweets, so many exotic sweets if you have a sweet tooth. One negative: The bathroom is a bit of a hot mess, due to the masses, and to be honest, appears to be a low priority in keeping it clean. Best to not go in. Finally, the bathroom is not a deal breaker, and the long wait for food is also not a deal breaker. I will continue to stop by and get he same order, same meats, and...

I love reviewing places in Poway because it’s a small town with really good restaurants that often gets overlooked and because I’ve lived here over +30 years so I’ll tell you how it is. North Park Produce Bakery is no different. Who would have thought that this restaurant next door to the supermarket is considered to be one of the best Persian restaurant in San Diego according to my Persian neighbor and it was my first time!?!

It has a bakery and they make their own bread. It’s made fresh daily. You can order a La cart and combo meals. As well as hot foods like stews behind the glass. You order and pay first.

They have a big dining room. There used to be outdoor patio seating in the parking lot spaces but they tore that down so it’s only indoor. I wished they kept the outdoor patio so that it could be pet friendly.

I came here twice in one week. The first time was during Persian New Year and we ordered family meal shared among a group of 7 friends.

Got the 3-5 person meal ($59.99) which came with an entire tray of saffron rice, a tray of lavash, a tray of 5 grilled tomatoes, 3 beef kabob, 2 chicken kabob, and salad.

Also got a plate of Adas Polo (rice with dates, lentils and raisins), chicken and egg plant, Ash Reshteh stew (vegetable noodle soup with beans and herbs), Fesenjan stew (chicken, pomegranate molasses and walnut) $15.99, Ghormeh stew (beef, vegetables, dried limes, red kidney beans) $13.99.

All the dishes were flavorful and tasty. We got a plate of basal and raw onions. You use that to make a wrap out of lavash with the meat and rice as fillings.

It was so good that I came back again and got my mom #20 chicken and ground beef combo ($17.99). It was so much food! An entire box of saffron rice, topped with one beef kabob and one chicken on a layer of lavash and grilled tomato. A side box of Shirazi salad (tomatoes, Persian cucumber, red onion, mint, parsley, lemon and olive oil). A side box of extra lavash. Came with 2 garlic spread sauce, 2 tzatziki sauce, and 2 red spicy sauce. And a ton of Sumac spice packages that you sprinkle on top...