Saratoga News

Photograph by George Sakkestad

Farzin and Saeed Sanjideh offer outdoor dining at Vienna Woods in Saratoga.

Vienna Woods continues a long tradition of food and friendship

By Suzanne Cristallo

For more than 30 years, friends and lovers have been escaping to the Vienna Woods to share hot chicken curry soup and conversation.

The Saratoga restaurant and delicatessen, nestled at the rear of a tree-shaded courtyard on Big Basin Way, was furbished by its original Austrian owner to look like the cozy restaurants in Vienna where lovers might meet. Three generations of owners have maintained the atmosphere.

Saeed and Farzin Sanjideh have owned the place for the past 15 years, treating regulars to the small talk of family and town in the intimacy of their sparkling kitchen or over the counter.

"We have no 'staff only' signs here," says Saeed, 66, with a smile. "It's a place where people feel at home." Partially retired now, he has made a study of anticipating the needs of diners to the point of earning a reputation as a "mind-reader." He knows 70 percent of his customers by name.

Several locals bring him juicy lemons from their backyard trees in exchange for the popular lemonade he squeezes fresh each day. Nonlemon donors can expect a full 21-ounce glass for just $1.75.

Figuratively, the Sanjidehs have been making lemonade from lemons ever since the political upheaval of 1979 caused them to leave their home near Tehran, Iran. Saeed was a land acquisition attorney in the oil industry, providing a comfortable living for Farzin--who oversaw a household staff of cook, driver and housekeepers--and their three children.

The holding of hostages by Iranian terrorists caused then president Jimmy Carter to cancel all Iranian visas. Saeed, as a result, had to wait five years--partly in Spain separated from his family and partly with them in London--before he and his brood were able to travel to California. It was a destination he chose as a result of having spent time on the West Coast while a 1960 graduate student in Seattle. The Sanjidehs settled in Cupertino in 1983.

"I couldn't afford the time to study law to qualify for the state bar here. I had to earn a living right away," he recalls. While Farzin had mainly supervised her help at home, she did have an affinity for cooking. Saeed had experience as an honorary president managing one of the clubs for the Iranian oil workers. This experience, coupled with the luck of discovering Vienna Woods--a functioning and successful business--was reason enough for the Sanjidehs to dive into a new career.

"Farzin grabbed onto everything quickly," Saeed recalls. "She took over the cooking within a few days." Saeed, with his natural affinity for human relations, ran the front of the house. The children filled in after school and on weekends.

Farzin's specialty is spinach, zucchini and mushroom quiche and quiche Lorraine with bacon. She also makes flaky, paper-thin apple strudel baked fresh each morning; cold-cut trays artfully arranged for catered parties; meat and vegetarian lasagna; 14 cold sandwiches and seven hot ones served on eight kinds of bread; 10 different salads and a full selection of French and California wines. Soups change every day, with Tuesday the designated day for chicken curry.

When the days are hot, the customers are many, and all of the children--grown now with professions and children of their own--come to help without being asked.

And they all know how to make lemonade.

Vienna Woods, 14567 Big Basin Way, Saratoga. Open Mon.-Sat.,9 a.m.-6 p.m., Sun. 11 a.m.-4 p.m. 867-2410.

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