ANGER AT ‘OFFENSIVE’ KEBAB BAN

Birmingham Post, UK
November 7, 2006, Tuesday
First Edition

Armenians in Glendale, California, are trying to skewer the city’s
ban on outdoor restaurant grilling, saying it is an offence to the
kebab culture.

But efforts to overturn it have stalled in the city council.

Glendale, whose 85,000 Armenian residents comprise the largest such
population in the US, is 40 per cent Armenian and Armenian-American.

Last year, voters elected three Armenians to the five-member city
council, partly on an agenda to remove the outdoor grilling ban. But
they have been unable to win the four votes needed for passage.

That annoys Armenians who say indoor gas grills simply cannot do
justice to their traditional cuisine.

Vrej Sarkissian says it takes more than salt, pepper, onions and olive
oil to make a decent kebab. He cooks the skewered meat on charcoal
outside his restaurant.

"People can always tell the difference," said Sarkissian, owner of
Anoush Banquets & Catering. "They want the original flavour of home."

"It’s what our culture is about," said his brother Sacco. "It’s great,
because they’re able to hold on to their heritage. They haven’t been
forced to Americanise."

The ban may have a chilling effect on the city’s dining, city
councilman Ara Najarian said.

"Most Armenians are highly sophisticated, and they demand the best,"
he told the Los Angeles Times. "It’s developed into a gourmet war
between these folks. I once saw a place serve a flaming rack of lamb.

I think we all know that burgers on the grill taste better than on
the frying pan."

But mayor Dave Weaver, who opposes lifting the ban, accused
his colleagues of playing "the race card". "We’re portrayed as
anti-Armenian, and that’s so far off the mark," he said.