A Count Down: Azerbaijian II

On my second night in Baku in 2016, a brazier of smoldering coals arrived on the dinner table, followed by a massive platter of meat and vegetables. Strike that— it wasn’t a platter, but a saj, a round, shallow iron pan on which the “saj kebab” had been cooked.

Not gonna lie—I didn’t love the kebab, but I loved the pan and presentation, as well as the baklava, young walnut jam, Uzbek raisins, face-in-the-hole fun with my Dad, and the Richard Marx-soundtracked dance party enjoyed by some neighboring tables.