Taste of Persia

I have eaten middle eastern food extensively in the Middle East, so I feel like I have a pretty good idea of what it taste like. I consider Persian food to be one of my favorite foods. I am visiting New York City and wanted to eat some international food. On the recommendation of another person, I invited some of my middle eastern friends to eat here with me. While the food wasn't "disgusting", street vendor food would have been a step up. After about two bites, my friends just got up and left without a word. It is far and away the worst Persian, or just Middle Eastern in general, food I have ever had. I wanted to ask him if his wife was aware he was serving that to people. I felt like licking the sidewalk to get the taste out of my mouth. I feel bad, because the proprietor seemed like a nice enough guy. There's just no excuse for serving food that bad. As we walked to a better restaurant down the road, we debated whether the meat we were served was more likely cat or rat. My friends are never going to let me live this down. The place had 4 1/2 stars on Yelp. We discussed that it must be family members and friends just pumping up their score. Jonesing for some Persian chow? Keep on walking, bro!