Wednesday, September 26, 2007

Passport class #2 - Elena's Greek Armenian Cuisine

Elena is a very generous woman.According to her employees, Elena takes care of neighbors and just about anyone she can back in Greece with the proceeds from her modest restaurant located in Glendale. The name of the restaurant is somewhat misleading.Many a blogger and food critic have been thrown off its suggestive title.GREEK-ARMENIAN CUISINE!!! I recently read someone trying to compare Elena's to a Greek restaurant.Well, all they had to do was ask.

Elena is Armenian and is from Greece, part of the Armenian diaspora. She came to the US and opened an Armenian restaurant with some Greek marinades and Armenian marinades, and Greek-Armenian marinades.Maybe it should be called Elena's Greek and Armenian marinades cuisine so that everyone could just stop this madness!!

For the price, Elena's offers Armenian grilled meats such as Lulu(ground beef), Shish kebob(filet mignon), quail, lamb, salmon, and chicken that can't be beat.The Lulu kebob plate at $7.50 is amazing. Add the popular lentil soup with a wonderful lemony flavor and you will have the full experience. Everyone around me generously let me try their meats. I loved the quail and salmon. Eighteen of nineteen students were in attendance last night for this evening in Elena's converted patio dining room.

Elena's doesn't have all the frills of such Glendale institutions like Carousel.They only offer a couple of mezze, Hummos and Mutabal, and a selction of salads.There are grape leaves and a stuffed eggplant.Plenty of lavash(bread) was on hand and some of us capped this dinner with a homemade baklava not drenched in syrup, but flavored by the some of its fresh ingredients. This was accompanied by a high octane Armenian coffee substantial enough to be a ride at Magic Mountain.

If you want a great Armenian meal for under $10, Elena's is unrivaled for Armenian homecooking at a premium.If they can just get a darn liquor license so I can enjoy a cold Kotayk(Armenian beer) with my Lulu plate, Elena's Greek-Armenian Cuisine would be even better.


Elena's Greek Armenian Cuisine
1000 S Glendale Ave
Glendale, CA 91205
(818) 241-5730

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