THE KOPALIAN FAMILY: BACK IN BUSINESS IN THE SAN FERNANDO VALLEY

Examiner.com
Dec 12 2008

Foodies who remember when Chahe and Nanik Kopalian ran Araz restaurant
in Studio City some years back will want to know that they’re back in
business, this time in tandem with their sons Avo, Raffy, and Chris
at a new place, Mediterranean Bistro, in Porter Ranch.

Foodies will also be glad to know that, as the name of the family’s
new place suggests, Mediterranean Bistro specializes in a mix of
Lebanese and Armenian dishes, spiced up – if that’s the right phrase –
with the tastes of Syria as well. This includes the marinated quail
– grilled to perfection – that became Chahe Kopalian’s signature
dish at Araz, along with filet and chicken kebabs and, of course,
a host of appetizers including sarma (grape leaves wrapped around
rice, onions, pomegranate juice, and spices), soups, main dishes,
and Nanik Kopalian’s specialty desserts.

Chahe Kopalian sold Araz eight years ago, tried to go into retirement
but, according to Avo, kept getting up in the morning with only one
question on his mind: "What are we going to eat today?"

"He had been in the restaurant business for 30 years," Avo says,
"and we had to make him retire, my brothers and I. He got bored and
wanted to open up something new, so we told him we weren’t going to
let him do it on his own."

Mediterranean Bistro is the only place within miles where you can
get anything like Chahe Kopalian’s delicate quail, and when you go
there, be sure to ask Avo Kopalian about the manteh – spiced meat
in a ravioli-like dough – or kebbelebeniya, an exotic hot soup of
meatballs with cracked wheat, yogurt and mint, served in portions
large enough to make for a whole meal by itself.

The Kopalians tested the waters in Porter Ranch with these dishes
and similar dishes when they opened Mediterranean Bistro eight months
ago, all of them given special twists by Chahe Kopalian, and although
they aren’t on the menu right now, Avo Kopalian says they’re likely
to make it back, and in the meantime, if you ask, you stand a good
chance of getting them.

"Whatever I like, I like to give to other people," Avo says.

Mediterranean Bistro is definitely a family affair. Arrive a little
early for lunch and you might get a special treat – the sound of Avo
Kopalian, busy in the kitchen, singing along to Lebanese songs coming
from a CD player. Can he carry a tune? Who cares? The man can cook.

Mediterranean Bistro is at 19735 Rinaldi St., Northridge,
818-831-1122. Prices are moderate.

Another Unusual Mix

As long as we’re talking unusual mixes, let me tempt you with another
interesting place, La Cienaga Grill. It’s in West Los Angeles, not in
the San Fernando Valley, so if you live in the San Fernando Valley,
you have to drive.

Trust me, it’s worth the trouble.

Ignacio Hernandez, the native Oaxacan who runs the place, has a long
pedigree in the restaurant business hereabouts; fans of Cafe Bizou in
Santa Monica, for instance, will remember him as chef in that very
good place. He was at Cafe Bizou seven years, and he put in another
three at Il Sole in Westwood.

Hernandez opened La Cienega Grill only months ago serving up an
unusual mix of Mexican and American foods – for example, a Cajun
chicken sandwich with lettuce, tomato, onions, bacon, guacamole sauce,
cheddar cheese, and a chipotle ranch dressing.

Who’d a thunk up that chipotle ranch dressing other than a man who
learned to cook serving Italian and French food for Americans?

Hernandez also serves a bistek Mexicano with a unique sauce of green
peppers, onions, and tomatoes and a Oaxacan specialty called clayuda,
a huge hand-made corn tortilla topped with beans, avocado, tomato,
cabbage, Oaxacan string cheese, and your choice of four meats –
chicken, chorizo, cecina or tasajo. One of those last two is thinly
sliced beef salted and laid out in the sun to cure, the other
thinly sliced pork also salted and laid out in the sun to cure –
both delicous, so don’t ask me which is which.

For my money, though, the best thing on the menu is Hernandez’s very
special Oaxacan mole, made sweeter and darker than most Mexican mole
sauces by the addition of more chocolate than usual. You don’t get
Oaxacan mole better than this anywhere this side of – well, Oaxaca.

La Cienega Grill Cafe is at 1663 La Cienega Blvd., West Los Angeles,
310-860-1165. Prices are moderate.