TORONTO: Tongue, balls and family

I have a strange fascination with trying animal parts. The weirder, the better. Part of it is novelty, but I also never know what wonderful things I’m passing up if I don’t give it a try.

As soon as I heard about Banu and its eclectic menu, I knew it was my kind of place. Banu - which means dame or lady - is an Iranian kebob vodka bar, run by three siblings. The cool blown-up images around the restaurant are actually of their mom and other family.

Two sisters run the front of the house, and the one brother is the chef in the kitchen. They’re trying to re-create the heady ’70s of pre-revolution Iran when drinking vodka and socializing went hand in hand. Banu and the owners give off a wonderful vibe that makes me and my sister and our significant others feel immediately comfortable.

The guys get safka, saffron-infused vodka made in-house and mixed with sour cherry juice and pomegranate seeds. From the extensive vodka list, I get a Youri Dolgoruki Cristall vodka from Moscow with a chaser of pomegrante juice. Banu presses three fresh juices every day and they’re delicious.

We have a great start with the Nan o Paneer ($11), sheep’s milk cheese with barbari sesame bread, sour cherry reserves, walnuts, slices of watermelon and fresh mint, basil and tarragon. The different tastes and textures together are impressive.

The menu sternly tells you to “eat your greens, they are not only intended to make your plate pretty,” but we don’t need much prompting. The fresh herbs set off everything on the plate so well, it makes us wonder why we don’t eat more herbs at home like this.

Every dish comes with the fresh herbs and a thin flatbread called lavash. Banu does not serve rice; the menu says it’s because rice will make your stomach expand, not go well with vodka and give you a tummyache. No rice? More vodka? Okay.

Zaban ($11) is next, braised cow tongue with a cardamom tomato saffron sauce. I’m used to Chinese-style cow tongue served with soupy tomato sauce and spaghetti. This is decidedly better. The zaban is amazingly tender and yummy.

Then what I’ve come here for - Banu’s “urban oysters.” The dom balan ($13) are lamb testicles, marinated for two days in vodka and shallots, and then grilled. Predictably, we make jokes about balls, giggle like kids and then dig in.

They are bigger than we expected, and soft like tofu. There isn’t much of a taste though, faintly like kidney. But it helps to smother the dom balan with the yogurt-shallot sauce and lime, and wrap it in lavash and fresh mint. The balls are all right.

But Banu is more than tongue and balls. The bal e jouleh ($14) chicken wings are tangy thanks to the saffron citrus marinade. And the chenjeh ($25) is a unanimous winner, a perfect tender kebab of beef tenderloin marinated in citrus and yogurt.

These are served on a communal platter with some grilled tomatoes. They come with two yogurt dips, one with cucumber and one with walnuts and rose petals. I like the sharing, since we’re all family now.

All the meats here are organic and come from the Healthy Butcher just down the street.

With no warning, one of the sisters comes over with a tray of vodka. “This is the only way I can drink too,” she smiles, and we down some chilled Zubrowka Bison Grass Vodka from Poland. It’s a wonderful surprise - slightly sweet and almost vanilla-like - and very refreshing. It’s infused with sweet bison grass and each bottle actually has a blade of grass from the Białowieża Forest. This vodka has catapulted to my list of favourites.

We can’t resist getting some chai tea from the samovar in the corner. It comes with dates and little cookies. The pomegranate sorbet ($5) is huge and refreshing. We’re having such a good time that we also get a blackberry hookah to sit back and relax with.

Everyone who comes into Banu seems to be greeted with a big hug and kiss. It’s one big family here and it’s really really nice to visit.

Banu, 777 Queen St. West, Toronto, (416) 777-2268. More info here.