When a friend of mine asked the all-too-common question of where I’d eaten recently, I effused over DMOOD, the newest Persian joint on Park Boulevard. Intent on sampling the fare a few days later, she moseyed mistakenly into Soltan Banoo across the street and mentioned to the owners how much I gushed about the place. Whoops. She quickly learned from them that I had written about Soltan’s savory Iranian dishes way back in February. So with a chicken wrap and side order of embarrassment to go, she put off DMOOD until “the mood” strikes again for another forage into Middle Eastern cuisine.

If University Heights turns into Little Persia with the presence of two kitchens dusting their food in turmeric, saffron and mint, I don’t mind. Such proximal competition nourishes the neighborhood with bushels full of hospitality and slightly contrasted menus – Soltan’s is wonderfully candid and homespun while DMOOD takes diners on a more global and contemporary journey.

“We break the rules of Persian cooking,” says DMOOD co-owner Nadereh Fanaeian. A loving trio of French fries, for instance – made of white and sweet potatoes and cornmeal, and served in a trendy upright cone with Gorgonzola dip on the side – hardly reflects the cuisine of ancient Persia. There’s also Serrano ham with grilled fruit, linguine with jumbo shrimp, a Kobe beef burger and fiercely pleasing apple cider crepes with clotted cream for dessert. (DMOOD’s chef, Cecilia Tajonar, is French trained.)

Also surprising is the fact that Fanaeian, a registered nurse, and her business partner, Farzin Tayefeh, an anesthesiologist, are both longtime activists in the plight of LGBT Middle Easterners.

“The restaurant,” notes Fanaeian, “is an outreach vehicle for our political vision and to address homophobic issues among subgroups.”

Both food and atmosphere are highly impressive. Settling into a table along a banquette upholstered in kaleidoscopic Persian fabric – and only a few feet away from one of those fabulous upside Christmas trees – my lunch companion and I launched into the DMOOD Sampler. But not without quizzing our waiter for the definitions of kuku (potato, scallion and walnut triangles with mint), borani (eggplant and yogurt), mirza (eggplant and tomato tapenade) and sabzi (radish, spearmint and feta).

The platter also included lime-infused hummus, meaty spiced olives and fresh assorted breads. Presentation was primo and the flavors were superb, especially combined with two different teas served in a French-press pot and the other in regal chinaware imported from Iran.

From the short list of kebabs, we opted for the marinated filet mignon boasting palate-pleasing charred edges and finished off with saffron butter. A knoll of fluffy saffron rice rounded out the attractive earthenware plate. At the same time, we picked further at our trio of fries and grazed through a peppery-tasting salad of herbed greens, orange sections and fat walnuts spritzed with fresh lemon and orange-flower water. In keeping with the Persian meal experience, there are always a few plates of food on the table.

Incredibly eye-popping and utterly delicious is the Babylonian Rice and Baked Chicken entrée. The rice is encased in a flaky lavosh bread crust and heavily speckled with blond raisins, sunflower seeds, barberries and bits of reshteh, a brownish Middle Eastern soup noodle. Fork-tender cuts of boneless, skinless chicken perched along the side take on a deep yellow color from saffron and turmeric, which tastes more understated than it appears. Juicy red pomegranate seeds crown the golden-baked crust – and the fruit is also pulverized with walnuts for a unique sauce that compliments the dish.

From market-priced caviar and smoked salmon tartare to seven-vegetable couscous and stuffed game hen, the food at DMOOD hopscotches subtly around Europe, the Mediterranean and Morocco without detaching from its Iranian roots. It’s the kind of inventive fusion you’d expect to encounter in talked-about restaurant districts rather than peripheral neighborhoods such as this.

Formerly a Persian rug store, the owners have crafted a soothing space with chic elements that include French limestone flooring, custom-designed chairs and scallop-lipped metal tables that look like palace food trays. Far more whimsical, however, are the ornate Kama Sutra doors in the back patio area that illustrate the ancient joys of sex, a thought-provoking visual if you’re popping down olives and sipping on a Mood Elevator from the restaurant’s specialty cocktail list.