The line was around the block. When the Baskin-Robbins first opened on Valiasr Street in Tehran, you’d have to wait a good 30 minutes to get in the door, and even then, you might not get the flavor you wanted. Everything from the sign to the cups and signature pink spoon — not to mention all 31 flavors — were on point.
I had to know its secret. After all, it’s an American ice cream parlor in Iran, a country that hasn’t had direct relations with the United States for some 30 years. “It’s actually Italian gelato,” the manager said, grinning from ear to ear, when I visited the store in 2009.