Char Fasl, Agoura Hills

At Char Fasl, chefs camouflage their light, healthy Persian fare behind flavorful veggies instead of heavy oils and sauces. They accommodate all diets with menu items that vacillate between vegetarian and meat-centric. Cooks skewer juicy chunks of meat for boneless-chicken kebabs, a favorite among customers and T. rexes recently off juice cleanses, and grill them with matching skewers of tomatoes. The Four Seasons dish replaces poultry with beans and rice crowned with eggplant and hummus nestled beside a spear of sizzling veggies.

This wide variety of cuisine is served in the restaurant's European atmosphere, which emulates the dishes' international origins, tinted with warm colors that flare to life in front of huge windows. Outside, diners feast and shadows hide from their owners beneath the shade of a tree. Another of the eatery's most enticing aspects unfolds on Fridays and Saturdays, when live music influences the movements of a belly dancer.