Carousel Restaurant: When the Original is Still the Best

The interior is brighter and more open than before.

In this month's Los Feliz Ledger, EatingLA paid a return visit to Carousel, which has recently redecorated.

Why to go: After more than 30 years, a recent facelift and a beer and wine license is the perfect reason to revisit Carousel in East Hollywood, which still turns out some of the city's best Middle Eastern cooking.
The look: Carousel retained its 1980s mini-mall ambiance for decades, while the more lavishly decorated
location on Brand Boulevard in Glendale seemed to get all the attention from the Tcholakian family. Now Carousel's original restaurant on Hollywood Blvd near Normandie is more inviting, with an opened-up layout, black and white photos and carved wood accents replacing the hotel-room art and frosted glass dividers. Bright canvas awnings shield the sidewalk tables from the parking lot, and some even bring their doggies to dine al fresco.

Carousel is now serving beer and wine

The food: After trying "modern" Mediterranean dishes elsewhere like kale tabbouli, you might find
yourself dreaming of Carousel's perfectly-balanced fattouch salad or its bracingly tart, herb-flecked cabbage salad that's the perfect foil to the richness of charred lamb kebabs or creamy hummus. The homestyle Lebanese dishes at Carousel define the flavors that others experiment with, but sometimes the original is still the best.

Vegetarian sampler is the perfect way to try everything

Entree kebabs and samplers are a good value for plenty of food, but make sure to explore the more unusual corners of the appetizer menu. Tabbouli comes in regular and a "red" variety with sauteed tomatoes and onions, while hummus gains another dimension with toppings of ground beef or Armenian soujouk sausage. Carousel was where I first tried muhammara, the fruity, lightly- spiced dip made of red peppers, walnuts and pomegranate, and it's hard to find a better version. I had already tried fattoush salad before I ever went to Carousel, growing fond of the combination of crunchy pita slices, cucumbers, tomatoes and purslane. But as soon as I tasted Carousel's bright citrus-sumac vinaigrette, I could tell a new standard had been set for the signature salad.

Beef Kofta

Kebbeh, or steak tartare, is one of the most popular traditional dishes, but if you prefer beef to be cooked, try Beef Kofta, fried torpedos of ground beef and pine nuts that start the meal off just right. You'll want to assemble various deliciously garlicky concoctions using pita bread and meats as a base, so make sure appetizers include several spreads like smooth eggplant mutabbal or moussaka and creamy lebneh (yogurt cheese).
Save room for baklava and Armenian coffee after dinner, and or try something different like the fragrant rosewater and Lebanese cheese desserts.
To drink: Lebanese and Armenian beer and wine work well with herb and onion-laden dishes, or try
housemade lemonade, bright green tarragon soda pop or traditional yogurt tun drink.
Must-tries: Muhammara dip, fattoush salad, eggplant moussaka, chicken lula kebab, lamb kebab
Good to know: Middle Eastern restaurants easily kids, vegetarians and gluten-free diners. Carousel's catering also feeds many of the Eastside's parties and celebrations. The menu at the Glendale location may be slightly larger, but Hollywood location is convenient with its parking lot, and it's easier to carry on a conversation without the live entertainment featured in Glendale some nights.
Carousel, 5112 Hollywood Blvd., 323-660-8060

Dune: Falafel and Modern Middle Eastern on Atwater's Glendale Blvd.

Dune is still in its soft opening stage, but so far the small sandwich spot is turning out some unconventional but quite satisfying pita flatbreads in a small Glendale Blvd. space next to Juice and near Viet Noodle. The counter man wasn't very chatty but did say that the food doesn't represent any particular country, just the Middle East, and that the owner is from Poland. Or possibly Colorado. (It's actually Elf owner Scott Zwiezen.)

organic falafel sandwich at Dune

We tried an organic falafel ($8) with a heap of very soft and flavorful chickpea patties piled on a nicely charred homemade flatbread, topped with hummus and pickles. The lamb sandwich is made with pasture-raised lamb, and it's a little pricey at $10 for a few small lamb patties. But the yogurt sauce has a nice zing and presumably the lambs at least lived happy lives. For now the other items include a picked beet, feta and egg sandwich, hummus, tabbouli and rosewater dates for dessert. There are no tables inside, but outside Dune shares sidewalk tables with Juice and Kaldi. Dune seems like a good addition to a street that could use some updated casual spots.

Dune
3143 Glendale Blvd.
Atwater

Bowery Bungalow Brings Modern Mediterranean to Silver Lake

Bowery Bungalow is located near the very end of Santa Monica Blvd. in Silver Lake

What: Bowery Bungalow recently moved into the vintage bungalow occupied by Sompun Thai for more than 40 years. The owners were ready to retire, so the space was taken over by George Abou-Daoud, owner of Hollywood spots like Bowery, Delancey and Urban Garden. The concept is modern Mediterranean (as in Middle Eastern), in a relaxed setting with wine, beer and a sweet hidden patio.
Where: 4156 Santa Monica Blvd., Silver Lake, 323-663-1500
The Space: Freshened up with whitewashed plank walls, Moorish tile floors, pressed tin ceilings and Bowery's signature subway tiles, there's not really anything in the rustic decor to signify that you're in for a culinary trip to places like Lebanon, Palestine and Egypt. But that's fine, since this is a modernized take on what's already found across East Hollywood and Glendale.

The Food: The trick with modern Mediterranean is to make sure that it's at least as tasty as Zankou, Marouch or Carousel -- putting kale in tabbouli doesn't necessarily make it better, for example. So far, so good at Bowery -- several of the dishes we tried take familiar ideas to a new and even better place. Grape leaves are stuffed with spiced chickpea puree and the spices used in merguez sausage for an appetizer that's perfect for both vegetarians and meat eaters. Roast cauliflower with dukkah, falafel patties with spiced heirloom carrots and okra and smoky babaghanouj with a side of blackened shishito peppers all strike the right balance of traditional dishes executed with better ingredients and more assertive spicing. Couscous royale with a variety of fresh vegetables makes a striking presentation, though the name is odd since it implies bowls of fragrant broth and platters of meats to go along with the vegetables and grain, whereas this is just a vegetable side dish.

Main courses include decidedly non-Muslim items such as Baby back ribs with grape molasses and pork belly skewers smoked over Japanese binchotan coals as well as pan-roasted seabass, a variety of kebabs, lamb dishes and a "Reuben" sandwich with Anatolian dried beef. But the showstopper is Chicken Musakhan, which features tender chicken stewed with onions and sumac served in a Yorkshire pudding. Apparently the Palestinian version is served over a foccaccia-like bread but this Colonial twist is deliciously successful.

goat cheese combines with ricotta in Egyptian Konafah dessert

The Drinks: Beer and wine only; the craft beer selection is solid with about 10 rotating taps and some interesting selections like Mother Earth Pin-up Pale Ale.

Would I return? Definitely. Of course, prices aren't falafel-stand cheap, but the quality seems worth it, the beer is good, the familiar patio is still there and it's convenient for a variety of eating preferences.

(I was invited to try this restaurant.)

Quick Bite: Momed Puts a New Spin on Middle Eastern in Atwater

What: Momed
Where: 3245 Casitas Ave., Atwater (Atwater Crossing), 323.522.3488The challenge: Get diners to remember that the hidden-away art/industrial complex is a worthy lunch and dinner destination and compete with nearby Glendale old-school Middle Eastern spots.

Soujouk flatbread and lamb burger

The goods: Momed started out with a modern take on Mediterranean dishes from Lebanon, Israel and the like several years ago in Beverly Hills. Now it needs to convince Eastsiders that Middle Eastern doesn't just mean Zankou. Using the oven that turned out flatbreads in the space's previous incarnation, Momed puts a Levantine spin on flatbreads (called pide) and makes puffy homemade mini-pita bread.Traditional dishes like shwarma are updated into duck shwarma sliders, while tabbouleh turns into a quinoa and kale version and hummus adds avocado. Plus, there's Lebanese and craft beer and wine.

crispy squash blossoms with falafel

The look: Atwater Crossing has always looked a bit improvised, but Momed has spiffed up the space with Moroccan tiles and an  indoor dining area to complement the huge, breezy patio that's a favorite with families.
What to order: Lamb burger, eggplant ikra, soujouk flatbread
Would I return? Definitely for a beer and flatbread on the patio on warm summer evening; in winter, the restaurant plans to add curtains and heaters. I'll have to try more dishes to decide whether updated Mediterranean is just as satisfying as the dishes at Carousel, Marouch and Elena's.

(I was invited to try this restaurant)

Joe's Falafel and the Soft Pillowy Rounds of Laffa

basically billowy laffa bread

What: Joe's Falafel is not exactly a secret -- it consistently shows up as the top-rated restaurant on Yelp for some reason, though it was nearly empty when we arrived on a Saturday evening.
Where: 3535 Cahuenga Blvd. W., In a strip mall on the cusp of Universal City and Studio City
Why: Studio City was already blessed with another Israeli falafel spot, Amir's Falafel, even before Joe's came along, but it's worth trying both to decide which is more important -- tender yet crispy falafel balls, or big fluffy rounds of homemade laffa bread. Now that I've tried Joe's, I'm going with the laffa bread, because their falafel and salads are also good.

vegetarian combo plate

What to order: Whatever you get, make sure it's accompanied by the homemade laffa bread, which is the star attraction at Joe's. More pillowy than a pita and as chewy as Indian naan, the bread is baked on the walls of a round oven that resembles a Tandoori oven.

bread baking in the laffa oven

The basic falafel sandwich melds the falafel, tahini and laffa bread flavors in an excellent way. But the vegetarian sampler plate is fun too -- with mounds of hummus, babaghanouj, cabbage salad and grape leaves and an entire laffa bread, you'll have fun getting the proportions perfect in sandwiches you construct yourself. An eggplant salad called moussaka, though it's mostly just baked eggplant, is also terrific.

copper pans add a homey touch

Will we return? Definitely, next time we'll delve into the meatier side of the menu and try some shwarma or kebabs -- as long as they're accompanied by plenty of laffa bread, of course.

Treasures of the San Gabriel Valley: Spam musubi croissants, fine falafel and innovative Indian

Spam musubi croissant

Everyone knows that the San Gabriel Valley is the place to go for dim sum, dumplings and sumptuous Chinese seafood banquets. But with a roiling hotpot of cultures in the valley, there are plenty of other places to discover. Bloggers GourmetPigs, FoodGPS E*starLA and I were invited recently to try Azusa's Mediterranean spot Falafel Me! and we managed to fit in two other terrific stops.

Taza Coffee is at 11 West Huntington in Arcadia

Coffee pairs with fusion pastries at Taza

First up was Arcadia's Taza Coffee House, which brews artisan coffee from Ritual Roasters, Handsome and others, and in all likelihood brews the best coffee between Intelligentsia in Pasadena and in Coffee Klatch in San Dimas. On weekdays, they make dense, chewy waffles with interesting toppings.
But weekends are when you want to go, for fascinating fusion pastries from Sharon Wang, a former Bouchon baker who has her own Sugarblooom pastry company. A Spam musubi croissant was an inspired combination of the down-home Hawaiian poor man's sushi and Parisian savoir-faire. Two logs of Spam are combined with kimchi and enrobed in delicate pâte feuilletée, then sprinkled with nori seaweed for a crunchy, salty flavor bomb that could probably pair well with some hot green tea.
The bacon maple scone is perfectly executed, just right to order with a cappucino. There's also miso-butterscotch cookies, again deftly playing the umami-meets-Viennoiserie game with finesse. But the real revelation was the pretzel croissant, a pastry which I didn't even bother taking a picture of, instead starstruck by Spam and miso. (FoodGPS has a good one.) Made with whole wheat flour and sprinkled with sesame seeds that toast on top of the lye-washed croissant, it's a slightly earthier pastry with a toasty brown butter flavor that I absolutely could not stop eating. Again, the pastries are served only on weekends, so combine a trip to Taza with the nearby Arboreteum, Santa Anita Racetrack or just REI or the mall.

Have a kebab at Falafel Me, 1123 Alosta Ave., Azusa

Fresh falafel, beefy kafta at Falafel Me!

When I was in high school, we used to frequent a place on Pico Blvd. called the Hungry Pocket. Probably mostly because the liquor store behind it would sell booze to just about anyone, but I remember the food being pretty solid too. The guy who started Hungry Pocket, Robert Atallah, has since sold it, but he went on to found the big CedarLane natural frozen foods company. Well, now he's back in the restaurant business, and the first outlet of his fresh Med concept is Falafel Me! in beautiful downtown Azusa. Falafel sandwiches come in Mexican, Greek, Italian and Indian varieties, while the Kafta kebab is a huge and hearty plate of freshly grilled ground beef skewers and rice. Of course there's beef and chicken shwarma, grape leaves and the like, and a garlic sauce to rival Zankou. For maximum flavor punch, get the chicken shwarma sandwich, a large garlic-laden roll that's way more than the sum of its parts. Look for more Falafel Me's in possibly more central locations soon, and don't forget to check out the wacky art on the walls. (This stop was comped.)

Dosa from Ashirwad, 583 E. Foothill Blvd., Upland

L.A.'s best Indian? Maybe! 

So FoodGPS sat next to a guy on an airplane who told him the best Indian food in the L.A. area, in fact the only Indian restaurant where he would deign to eat, was located in Upland. I might have shrieked "We're going all the way to Upland?" when Josh first told us, but hey, if you're already in Azusa, then why the hell not? Ashirwad means The Blessings, and it was indeed a blessing to find about this clean little strip mall gem with a friendly owner, featuring Gujurati specialties and other vegetarian Southern Indian dishes.

fenugreek leaf roti

Among the dishes we tried were Bhel Puri, a cold snack with deep-fried dough pockets doused in fruity chutney and puffed rice, and stuffed with potatoes and onions. Khichdi with khadi is known as Indian comfort food, a Gujurati specialty made with rice, lentils, chilis and subtle spices, served with poppadums and yogurt soup. Shak, thepla and dahi comes under the Gujurati specialties section of the menu -- it was a deeply-flavored eggplant and potato curry served with a dish of tangy, thick fresh yogurt and a plate of fenugreek roti bread.

Khichdi

Made with fresh fenugreek leaves, these unusual flatbreads had an herbal flavor that was a great combo with the smoky curry. Rava masala dosa wasn't the burrito-like type of dosa, but rather a plate of beautifully lacy pancakes incorporating onions and chiles, surrounding a potato filling. Some of us dabbed on a fiery mango pickle on some of them to up the heat quotient -- the owner is very accomodating about racheting down the heat depending on your tolerance. The intricate seasonings and less-familiar dishes at Ashirwad makes it a welcome departure from the familiar tandoori 'n curry menu.

And definitely try to save room for some sweets afterwards. The housemade Indian sweets include a milky ladoo, walnut burfee, and Adad-Yo, a nutty-tasting winter energy food with Ayurvedic remedies to fortify you during the cold season.

Sidewalk Grill: Much more Med in Los Feliz, plus Paradis Ice Cream

The patio on hopping Vermont Ave. is the place to be at Sidewalk Grill

Though the Middle Eastern population is spreading more towards Pasadena and the west valley these days, Armenian/Lebanese/Mediterranean restaurants continue to open in Los Feliz. Middle Eastern is one of my very favorite cuisines -- healthier than most restaurant fare, easily adaptable for vegetarians, and usually reasonably priced. I don't get why some Middle Eastern restaurants seem a bit stuffy or formal (Desert Rose, I'm talking to you) --  a little out of touch with current dining trends: they could use a touch of casual, rustic and fun. Fortunately Sidewalk Grill is a more informal spot, good for a pitstop before the movies, a play or barhopping. Here's an excerpt from my Los Feliz Ledger review:

 The simple menu includes chicken, salmon or steak kabob plates, pita wraps and several salads that can be topped with chicken or salmon. Despite the traffic and enthusiastic beer drinkers from the pub next door, the patio tables are the place to be to check out the pedestrians' fashion statements. Los Feliz certainly needs more healthy, reasonably priced options, since prices in the area seem to rise every time a new place opens. At first glance, the Sidewalk Grill seems to fill that bill. But a $10 filet mignon kebab plate might leave bigger eaters hungry even with roasted potatoes, rice, pita and babaganoush on the side.

Sidewalk Grill's filet mignon plate

Mediterranean salad with romaine and feta is a fairly healthy choice, topped with grilled salmon, though green olives seem incongruous instead of the usual black. Other side dishes include tomato soup, hummus or yogurt tzatziki, or combine several for a vegetarian plate. With the addition of more choices—roast chicken a la Zankou, or traditional Persian dishes like the lamb shank and cherry rice available at the family’s Shekarchi restaurant downtown—Sidewalk Grill could become a real neighborhood fixture.
After dinner, stroll across the street to another recent addition, Paradis Ice Cream in the former Pinkberry location. Read more at the Los Feliz Ledger.

Zaatar Factory: A savory Lebanese journey to Burbank

 Khachapuri comes in egg, cheese, potato and sausage combos, and is cooked to order.

Over here at Eating LA, I mostly leave cupcakes, donuts and brownies to other bloggers. But give me a good loaf of French bread or a spicy cheese-stuffed burek, and I start to get a lot more intrigued. The one-year old Zaatar Factory in Burbank is one of many excellent Lebanese or Armenian bakeries in L.A. baking burek stuffed with spinach or cheese, meat-topped lahmajune and sweet tahini bread and cookies. The small cheese burek ($10 for about a dozen) would be perfect party hors d'oeuvres. But the friendly bakery has a wider selection than many, adding meat or potato-stuffed burek in a half-moon shaped turnover and freshly-made khachapuri.
Unfortunately I was in a bit of a rush, because the real attraction at Zaatar Factory is the khachapuri, sort of a Lebanese pizza-like breakfast bread, with eggs, cheese or sausage topping a foccacia-like base. The bakery is to-go only, so you can take it home and reheat, or just scarf it down in the car. They take about 15 minutes to make, so call ahead or browse in the tiny but well-stocked Lebanese market next door, which also serves grilled meat sandwiches.
The maneishe bread is topped with the bakery's namesake zaatar mix of marjoram, sesame seeds, thyme and oregano. This one is half zaatar, half pepper sauce, and it's dynamite if you take it home and top with a little feta or mozzarella and melt it in the toaster oven.

Zaatar Factory

2909 N. Glenoaks Blvd.

Burbank

(818) 859-7353

 

 

Eating L.A. visits Heidar Baba, while the NY Times goes Persian too

Last Friday, we celebrated my son's 18th birthday at Pasadena's Heidar Baba. He chose the Persian restaurant because he had served their kebabs during his report on Iran at Pasadena City College across the street. Portions are Heidar Baba are huge, and the grilled meats are quite good. I can't run photos of fesenjon chicken, because it looks like brown mud, but although the pomegranate and nut flavors weren't quite bright enough the first day, the leftovers were excellent. Service was on the poky side, but Heidar Baba is still a solid choice for takeout or a pre-Bulgarini Gelato meal.
The New York Times also visited L.A.'s Persian enclave this weekend, and in addition to the usual Westwood stops, the writer of Persian Cooking Finds a Home in Los Angeles visits the lesser-known It's All Good House of Kebab in Reseda.

Cafe Bravo: A fine choice for vegetarians and meatatarians alike

Eggplant, yogurt with spinach, cabbage and potato salads

After Kathy's guest post about the "sizzling meat aroma" at the newly-opened Cafe Bravo in Silver Lake, a vegetarian commentor opined that it was not a helpful post for veggies. But nearly all Middle Eastern restaurants have a large selection of vegetarian dishes, and Cafe Bravo is no exception. So I thought I'd blog about my (nearly) vegetarian lunch there just to keep everyone happy. Although a woman did walk in and say "It smells so good in here!," I didn't find the meaty smell that pervasive. Cafe Bravo's menu is somewhat different than some other Armenian/Lebanese restaurants like Zankou Chicken. There's no rotisserie chicken, and no falafel. So what's a veggie to do? You can choose from a hummus and grape leaves sandwich; a vegi plate with hummus, tabbouleh and stuffed grape leaves; a vegi kabob with hummus and rice or go for more variety with the Bravo salad sampler. Cafe Bravo breaks from the usual menu with a a choice of 10 different salads, and you can mix and match four for $6.50 including pita bread. It would be easy to go all-vegan, but I opted for yogurt with spinach, cabbage salad, ikra (roasted eggplant, bell peppers and tomatoes) and Stolichnaya salad, which adds chicken to potato salad, so ok, it wasn't completely vegetarian. But there's also bean and corn salad, as well as fattoush and Greek salad. I loved the thick, creamy yogurt which was seasoned to complement the spinach, and the cabbage salad with carrots and lemon juice was healthy and refreshing. But my favorite was the Ikra, a kind of Middle Eastern ratatouille, with super-smoky eggplant and deep carmelized onion flavor. Next time, I'll try the lentil soup, which is just $2 a cup. As far as meat options, there's kabob plates and kabob sandwiches of chicken, Cornish hen, beef, pork and lamb, chicken shwarma and beef shwarma. It's not fancy inside, but there's plenty of tables to eat there and they seem to be doing a brisk takeout business as well. Silver Lake seems very happy to get a place with freshly-cooked, healthy food where nothing on the menu costs more than $8.50.
Cafe Bravo
2662 Griffith Park Blvd. (next to Hard Times Pizza)
323-912-1111 (closed Sunday)

Cafe Bravo now open: kabobs on Hyperion

My Silver Lake operative Kathy sent in this dispatch from Cafe Bravo, which has finally opened on Hyperion next to Hard Times Pizza. Here's what she had to say:

Initial report: Clean, well-lighted, chicken kebob cooked to order--well seasoned and moist. Choice of sides, comes with basmati rice and pita ($7.04). You have to ask for garlic sauce....50 cents extra. Hummus/tabbouleh were tasty and fresh. Lots of locals already. Cheerful countermen rather than the cranky ladies of Zankou or Moishe's. Beef kabobs and schwarma looked good -- nice sizzling meat aroma. Great addition to the neighborhood -- parking lot a pain, however and already packed.

Spitz Downtown: Doner kebabs and beer bring variety to Little Tokyo

When Spitz and Oinkster in Eagle Rock opened about two years ago, Northeast L.A. got a taste of the new wave of reasonably-priced casual food that's actually good. At Spitz, everything from the sweet potato fries to the Lamill Coffee was well-thought out. The new Little Tokyo location adds beer and wine to the mix, creating a homey hangout spot for Downtown dwellers and workers. Although Little Tokyo has a many good restaurants, Jeremy Piven showed us that you don't want to eat sushi every day, so a chicken or lamb doner kebab seems like a good way to vary the diet. The sandwiches are available in wraps or as foccacia sandwiches, and there's also vegetarian falafel for non-kebab eaters. I was invited for a small press preview and tried the combo doner plate, which is a greatest hits basket of salad, chicken, lamb, falafel and fried pita strips on a bed of French fries and sweet potato fries. The beer menu had some interesting selections -- Spitz owners Bryce and Robert were able to convince the notoriously choosy Craftsman Brewing to take them on as a new account. I tried a can of "the world's best canned beer," the Gordon strong ale, which had a nice hoppy flavor but had less carbonation than I would prefer. Instead of the gelato like the Eagle Rock location, the Downtown Spitz is experimenting with dessert kebabs of chocolate, fruit, mascarpone, etc. While I can't get too excited about the pricey steakhouses et al over at L.A. Live, beer and doner kebab at a decent price are something everyone Downtown can be happy about.
(press preview)

Take-out tales: Banh Mi Che Cali, Phoenix, Italian Middle Eastern market

For some reason, lately I can't seem to find time to sit down and have a full restaurant meal. So herein a tale of some recent takeout experiences.
Meal #1: Always in search of the best bahn mi, I tried Banh Mi Che Cali in Alhambra after a trip to Target. The BBQ beef was nicely flavored, but the plain pork could have used a little more oomph. A pork ball dim sum, on the right, concealed a hidden egg -- surprise! Really hard to complain since two sandwiches and the bao came to $5, but I think I prefer the cilantro-adorned sandwiches at Banh Mi My Tho down the street. I'd go back to eat in the bustling cafe and try some other Vietnamese dishes, but probably not for banh mi.
Banh Mi Che Cali, 647 W Valley Blvd Alhambra, CA 91803

Meal #2: When you're in South Pasadena, and real Chinese or Thai food is just a bit too far away, where to go? Oak Tree Inn looks scary, and Patakan Thai is greasy and bland. Phoenix Food Boutique has wonderful desserts, so I decided to try their main dishes. I like the way each dish comes in individual boxes with rice for about $5.75 each -- not as good for sharing, but perfect for one or two people. Thai style beef with onions (above left) was a bit greasy but the beef was thin and tender. Szechwan style shrimp (bottom) was more successful, but with too many chunks of green pepper. Lo mein with shrimp and pork was also underwhelming, but I want to like this place, if only so I can pick up a mango pudding to go with my supper. I'll try again, but with different dishes. Any recs?
Phoenix Food Boutique, 456 Fair Oaks Ave., South Pasadena
Meal #3: After a visit with friends in Sherman Oaks, we wanted to bring back a Middle Eastern spread for the family. I didn't know the Italian Middle Eastern market closed so early (5:30!) on Saturdays. The affable owners had already put away most of the salads, but obliginglly dragged everything back out and fixed me up a bag of hummus, babaghanouj and tabbouli. I especially liked the super-smoky babaghanouj with a nice chunky texture, and the hummus and tabbouli were solid. Next time I'll try Pita Kitchen or someplace that also offers main dishes. The owners are super-friendly here, which always helps.
Italian Middle Eastern Market, 13246 Riverside Dr., Sherman Oaks

Cafe Bravo coming to Silver Lake: finally Middle Eastern for the hood

An offshoot of Glendale's kebab joint Cafe Bravo is mercifully opening next to Hard Times Pizza on Griffith Park Blvd. The manager at the original on Glenoaks Blvd. says they'll try to open mid-to-late July. This is good news indeed, as Cafe Bravo is one of Glendale's most popular Middle Eastern spots, and there's plenty of competition around there. Believe it or not, this will mark the first time there's been kebabs and hummus and such available in the immediate area, and I think it's going to be very, very popular.

Getting your Mideast feast on...cheaply

It all started when I was faced with a tiny tub of $4 hummous and a $5 box of pita chips at the Atwater's Farmers market. The hummous and other dips from the guys that sell at farmers' markets is pretty good stuff, but the prices seemed way too high. In a fit of pique, I drove over to Whole Food for Life market (3070 Los Feliz Blvd.), which seemed like the closest Middle Eastern market. They had the requisite pita bread for 70 cents or so a bag, and I also picked up a bag of maneishe bread and a tub of rich, oily, delicious eggplant salad. The next week, I wanted the full-on shopping-in-a-hectic-Yerevan-market experience, so Matt and I stopped in at Super King (2716 San Fernando Road). For $20, I got a pint of creamy hummus, a pound of marinated chicken breast kabob chunks, some 50 cent pita bread, and so many vegetables I haven't had time to cook them all. It's nice to see people actually buying vegetables at a supermarket, since at Ralph's they usually seem to concentrate on the potato chip and soda aisles.
But my family ate up all the pita bread, and I still had hummus left for lunch. A trip to Sasoun Bakery (5114 Santa Monica Blvd.) was in order. If you don't patronize Sasoun (there's one in Glendale too), you're missing out on one of L.A.'s best and most flavorful bargains. I got a wonderfully tangy spinach borek and two fresh maneishe breads, covered in sumac and thyme and sesame seeds -- much better than the pre-packaged variety -- all for about $4. A Middle Eastern tour of L.A. has got to be the best way to perk up some boring brown bag lunches. Next stop: the Russian delis of West Hollywood.

Quick bites: Skaf's Glendale

Glendale already has plenty of worthy Middle Eastern spots, but now Skaf's, a favorite of Valley-dwellers, has opened a Glendale branch. The location is a bit obscure, but it's just a short jog from Whole Foods or Fish King. The nicely-decorated sit-down restaurant is a step up from Zankou, yet kid-friendly, informal and reasonably-priced. We had some very smoky mutabal and a fresh-tasting fattouch salad to start, followed with chicken shwarma served with super-smooth hummus and a bright cabbage salad. There's several types of kebabs and occasional specials as well as lentil soup and felafel sandwiches -- no roast chicken, though.
Skaf's Grill
367 N. Chevy Chase Dr. (near Verdugo)
Glendale
818-551-5540

Tasting notes: Froma and Amir's Falafel

We needed some provisions for a picnic at the Cinespia screening of Dario Argento's Suspiria Saturday night, so I stopped in the new charcuterie/cheese shop Froma on Melrose. I tried some La Quercia proscuitto, the great domestic procsuitto from Iowa that the L.A. Times wrote about a few weeks ago. It's good stuff; even better after I made some little rolls to take with us with the BreadBar rolls they carry at Froma, sliced heirloom tomatoes, a drizzle of homemade garlicky viniagrette and some shaved parmesan. We also had an excellent bottle of Pinot Noir from De La Montanya Vineyards near Healdsburg (a party favor from the publicist for the Michelin guide, Ceci De La Montanya).

That was a pretty good dinner, but lunch wasn't too shabby either: we were in the Valley so we stopped at Amir's Falafel (11711 Ventura Blvd.) Amir's is Israeli style, which means that like Falafel King in Westwood, there is a great selection of side salads. There's a nicely-spiced carrot salad, eggplant, two kinds of coleslaw, tabbouli and several others. Matt thought his grilled chicken sandwich was delicious, but the falafel is the piece de resistance: freshly made, soft and pillowy, stuffed into a fresh pita with cabbage and tahini sauce. It's not as cheap as some falafel places, but it might be worth being just a stone's throw from Universal City and not having to brave deepest North Hollywood.