OLD GYUMRI, OLD FRIEND
~ By Richard Foss ~
LA City Beat, CA
09-14-06
Glendale spot offers Armenian specialties in a friendly atmosphere
Photo by Richard Foss
Unimaginably tender: Oxtail stew has tomatoes, peppers, and a hint
of seasoning
"For an exotic ethnic capital, this looks a lot like Glendale,"
I remarked to my companions as I drove down San Fernando Road. As
indeed it should; the population of Glendale is more than 40 percent
Armenian, but, though signs in angular script are everywhere, the
buildings look like California strip malls. (Not that I could tell
you what traditional Armenian architecture looks like, but I’m pretty
sure that pastel stucco walls and glass doors aren’t it.)
We were on our way to Old Gyumri, a restaurant I’d last enjoyed
about 10 years ago. When my friends and I arrived this time, I was
pleased that the place looked exactly the same, even to the faded sign
announcing "Fast Food Takeout." There was irony in this, because the
service on that first visit was fast only by the standards of the
former Soviet bloc.
This time the service was actually both fast and polite, and we were
handed menus and served water by a waiter who offered to explain any
unfamiliar dishes.
Since Armenian food draws on traditional styles from the Middle East
and Eastern Europe, we were familiar with many items, but we were
most interested in those ones unique to Armenia. Our server seemed
surprised and first suggested chicken kebabs, but readily helped us
when he realized we really wanted the more unusual dishes.
Our meal started with "Turshu," a huge plate of pickled cabbage,
carrots, celery, garlic, and peppers ($4.99). These were lightly
spicy and sour, a terrific pick-me-up for a hot day and pleasant
even on the relatively cool evening of our visit. The hot pepper was
as zingy as any pickled jalapeño I’ve had at a Mexican restaurant,
the celery and cucumber a refreshing contrast. We also ordered a
dip called Ikra ($3.99), a mix of cooked eggplant, tomato, and red
bell pepper that was a lightly sweet and tangy contrast to the sour
pickles. It came with both a thin flatbread of the type usually seen
in Persian restaurants and a thick, crusty white bread, and we were
very happy with the balance of flavors.
We continued with a Russian salad called Stalichni ($4.99) and an
eggroll-like starter called a blinchik ($1.50). The blinchik was
decent but ordinary – mildly spiced beef wrapped in thin bread,
then fried. The salad was more interesting, a mixture of chopped
vegetables, minced pork, mayonnaise, and sour cream, enlivened with
liberal amounts of dill. Despite liking it very much, we packed more
than half of the salad and pickles to take home – the portions were
big and we had obviously over-ordered, and we needed to save room
for our main courses.
My companions paired the starters with an Armenian yogurt drink and
a tarragon-lemonade soda, while I tried a glass of a red wine called
Khachkar. It was a decent light red, not about to make the folks
in Napa look over their shoulders, but well balanced and suited to
the meal.
We continued with oxtail stew ($7.99), barbecued lamb heart and
lung ($7.99), and barbecued sturgeon ($13.99). This was a study
in contrasting textures, starting with the oxtail, which had an
intense beefy flavor and soft, almost gelatinous feel. This may not
sound appetizing, but it really was – it was the most tender meat
imaginable, cooked with tomatoes, peppers, and a hint of seasoning
to near-melting consistency.
The lamb heart and lung was another matter, the heart intensely
flavored and slightly chewy, the lung mild, but – well, there’s no
other word for it but squishy.
I’ve enjoyed lamb offal in a good haggis (and, yes, there is such
a thing), but this preparation emphasized textures that I regard as
a drawback. One of my companions grew up on a farm in Pennsylvania
where organ meats are a delicacy, and he liked it just fine, but I
didn’t care for it much.
The sturgeon suited everyone’s tastes much better, three magnificently
grilled filets of lightly seasoned fish with pomegranate syrup on
the side for dipping.
It was the last item to arrive and ended our dinner on a high note. We
ate every speck of it.
We asked about dessert and were told that the restaurant doesn’t serve
it – Armenians go from their dinners to cafes where champagne and
fruit are served, and the restaurateur was happy to recommend one if
we wished. We had dined so well that nothing else was needed, and we
left with a new appreciation for the exotic cuisine of a deceptively
ordinary-looking neighborhood.
Old Gyumri, 4441 San Fernando Rd., Glendale, (818) 550-0448. Open
daily, 10 a.m.-11 p.m. Wheelchair access good; parking lot. Beer and
wine; some vegetarian items.
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