At the Crown Heights, Brooklyn, bar Whoopsie Daisy, on a sunny fall afternoon, patrons drank natural wines while their children ran around the outdoor garden. Little dogs peeped out from under tables or the tops of backpacks. Modish twentysomethings took turns playing music on their cellphones.
While the location was a bar, the snacks on offer were not nachos or day-old pretzels. Patrons feasted on exquisite vegan cardamon-rose baklava and saffron ice-cream sandwiches. The chef behind the snacks was no short-order cook. Lena Derisavifard, the baker-founder behind the Iranian-influenced pastry company BiBi Bakery, was clad in a denim jumpsuit, chunky green-framed sunglasses and Persian-rug-themed Vans. And the music sailing out of diners’ phones was not a bog-standard bar playlist but rather a mixture of traditional Iranian music and Persian pop.
