Top 10 Armenian bakeries in Southern California
By Charles Perry
latimes.com
April 18, 2007
SWEET THINGS
AS home to one of the largest Armenian colonies in the world, Los Angeles
supports about 70 Armenian bakeries. They suggest that Armenians may just
have the biggest sweet tooth in the world.
And the most eclectic sweet tooth too. Beside their own ancient pastries
such as a bread-y coffee cake called gata, they’re into baklavas, Persian
fritters and Russian doughnuts. On top of that, Armenia has cultural ties
with France dating back to the Crusades, so a lot of the bakeries specialize
in French pastry. Still, they usually sell some baklavas, gatas, perok (a
coffee cake-like fruit tart) and the flaky cookie nazouk.
Though there are pastry shops in the older Armenian hotspots of north
Pasadena and east Hollywood, Glendale is the place to go. It has 14 pastry
shops – and there’s plenty of spillover in Burbank, North Hollywood and
elsewhere in the Valley.
We checked out nearly 50 Armenian bakeries. This is our selection of the top
10 for the non-French side of the Armenian pastry menu.
Baklava Factory, 1415 E. Colorado Ave., Suite K, Glendale, (818) 548-7070,
also 17145 Ventura Blvd., Encino, (818) 728-1600 and 12909 Sherman Way,
North Hollywood, (818) 764-1011, . Well-made
baklava, cookies and fritters, though not baked on the premises but in a
central bakery in Sylmar.
Lord & Villa Bakery, 1120 N. Pacific Ave., No. 3, Glendale, (818) 500-8040.
An upscale operation, mostly French, but it also has a large Armenian
section that includes several varieties of fruit-filled gata. The cherry
perok is positively overflowing with cherry filling.
Maggie’s Bakery, 6530 Lankershim Blvd., North Hollywood, (818) 506-6265. A
big, gleaming pastry shop in an inconspicuous mall; three counters of French
pastries and one of baklavas, gatas and walnut-filled cookies. Particularly
notable for kul wushkur, a buttery, exceptionally flaky folded baklava (it
looks like a tiny book with its pages fluttering open) enclosing a
syrup-soaked walnut filling.
Maral’s Pastry, 17654 Vanowen St., Van Nuys, (818) 705-8921. Excellent
baklava-type pastries (of the tender, rather than the crisp, school), cheese
pastry (halawat jibn), sesame-pistachio cookies (barazek) and those fabulous
tahini cookies.
Movses Pastry, 1755 W. Glenoaks Blvd., No. 4, Glendale, (818) 5450099;
. Half French, half Armenian. Good fresh
baklava, several flavors of perok and gata, a number of nazouks.
Oasis Pastry (also known as Mary’s Oasis or M. Shatila), 801 S. Glendale
Blvd., Glendale, (818) 244-2255. It may be Lebanese-owned, but it’s in the
middle of Armenian Glendale and most of the employees speak Armenian. Very
good pastries, including a remarkably flaky one that resembles kul wushkur
but which they insist on calling almond baklava.
Panos Pastry Bakery, 5150 Hollywood Blvd., Los Angeles, (323) 661-0335; also
418 S. Central Ave., Glendale, (818) 502-0549; .
A grand pastry palace with marble floors and mirrors, a large selection of
Armenian pastries and an even larger one of French pastries. Long the
standard of Hollywood Armenian bakeries; the baklava is light and crisp but
not terribly buttery.
Sarkis Pastry, 1111 S. Glendale Ave., Glendale, (818) 956-6636;
. The pride of Glendale has one of the widest
ranges of Middle Eastern pastries around, including osmanlia (layers of
kadayif and nuts) and tahini cookies.
Van Bakery, 5409 W. Sunset Blvd., Hollywood, (323) 466-2450; also 620 S.
Glendale Ave., Suite H, Glendale, (818) 548-5253. In addition to the usual
pastries, Van makes what looks like a baklava that’s dribbled with a little
chocolate. Inside, there’s a layer of crisp kadayif pastry, making it
lighter and crunchier than ordinary baklava.
Vrej Pastry, 1074 N. Allen Ave., Pasadena, (626) 797-2331; also 11148 Balboa
Blvd., Granada Hills, (818) 366-2526; and 1791 East Route 66, Glendora,
(626) 914-1940. Good for cheese pastry, barazek and dainty burma (kadayif
nut rolls).
– Charles Perry