MONTCLAIR, NJ — Zareh and Nvair Beylerian chose to give up eating meat five years ago. But for the couple, the most challenging thing about their new diet wasn't giving up American staples such as steak or burgers, but the Armenian foods from their childhoods. That includes lahmajun, a millennia-old Armenian/Arabic/Turkish staple made of flatbread and ground lamb mixed with minced tomato, parsley, onion and peppers.
But necessity is often the mother of invention.
Experimenting in her home kitchen, Nvair Beylerian created a lahmajun substitute by replacing the meat with brown lentils — and voila, the first recipe for worldFLATS was born. Apparently, it's a formula for success; worldFLATS recently opened up its third location in Montclair alongside its other eateries in Ridgewood and Paramus.
The "fast-casual" restaurant, located at 58 Church Street, offers dine-in, pickup or online ordering for delivery within a five-mile radius. The restaurant is vegetarian and vegan-friendly.
The "FLAT" staple of the worldFLATS menu is known in Armenia as lavash. According to the restaurant's purveyors, lavash is what many Americans would call a "flatbread," but it's softer and more pliable than a traditional flatbread and commonly circular in shape. Flats can be eaten flat like a pizza, or folded in wrap form.
The restaurant also offers vegetarian soups, salads and desserts, as well as the option to add plant-based proteins to most menu items. Beverages include shadlavs (Armenian yogurt drinks) and their house-made agua frescas (fruit-infused water with a touch of agave).
A major goal of the restaurant is to help people learn about the joy of eating "plant-based meals," the Beylerians say.
"I love it when a customer tells me that they don't miss the meat and especially when someone reports that when they took dinner home to their family and it wasn't revealed that it was plant-based until after they ate," Nvair Beylerian said. "They're usually very surprised and ask for more."
https://patch.com/new-jersey/montclair/nj-restaurant-brings-plant-based-armenian-favorites-montclair