Victor Darchini was born in Bandar-Anzali, a historic port city in northern Iran on the Caspian Sea. In 2000, he was living in Istanbul, Turkey when he met his American wife. Shortly after meeting, they married and moved to New York. Thirteen years later, they moved to Portland, Oregon, which inspired them to follow Victor’s lifelong dream of cooking for a living.
Victor bought a food cart in downtown Portland in 2013, opening Caspian Kabob. He moved the cart to North Portland in 2018, building relationships with additional loyal customers across the river. Thanks to the success of the food cart, Victor sold it in 2019 to go brick-and-mortar.
Victor found the perfect location in Beaverton to open a restaurant – a brand new development at Murray Boulevard and T.V. Highway. Caspian Kabob re-launched as a casual counter-service restaurant in May 2022 with an expanded menu of Persian and Mediterranean dishes. In 2023, Caspian Kabob was ranked second place on Yelp’s list of Top Places to Eat in Portland.
Victor says that cooking is like breathing for him. “I always knew I had a passion for food, but it wasn’t until I moved to the States and had to cook meals that I missed from Iran that I realized I had a knack for cooking,” he said.
Making kubideh kabobs, the quintessential Persian kabob made of ground beef and lamb, is Victor’s specialty. Unlike kabobs from other Middle Eastern cultures, Persians don’t cover the meat in strong spices. Instead, they season and marinade meat to bring out its natural flavors. Whether served over saffron rice, a big fresh salad, or in a pita made on-premises, Victor’s grilled kabobs are made to order over an open fire.
A proud naturalized citizen of the United States, Victor believes that Caspian Kabob is an expression of sharing Persian culture to build a broader understanding of his homeland. Caspian Kabob welcomes all people, and each meal is made with love, using generations of homemade recipes from Maman’s kitchen.
Logan Moscatelli 