@MaladyNelson thank you for posting that listicle from Los Angeles magazine. I saw the shoutout to Sarkis Pastry, an Armenian-Middle East bakery with ma’amoul - a type of cookie filled with either date paste, walnuts or pistachio.
Getting to Glendale usually is worse than pulling teeth. Weekend mornings are the exception, a great time to cross vast amounts of LA miles unimpeded. I was rewarded with cases full of choices - choices of pastries I knew little or nothing about. The lady helping me - an Armenian who emigrated from Iraq - walked me through some of the choices I made. But I made a fair amount of choices, didn’t make notes - mental or otherwise - and am left with pictures and a content belly full of happiness. So Nemroz, name that pastry!
Still working on it. The bad news is some of the items taste a little old. The pastries that look baklava-y are past their prime - fifth photo down. I’m surprised because I tried to purchase some other items there, and they refused to sell them. They said the items weren’t fresh and immediately removed them with an apology. They carry so many different items that it could just be an oversight.
The good news is just about everything else was really good and interesting. The savory items in photos two and three were gobbled up. The three types of filled pastries were with spinach, potatoes and cheese.
The pastries with the container filled with rosewater-scented marshmallow creme are filled with pistachios. The pastries are dipped in the marshmallow creme before eating. “Not for diabetics!” warned the lady.
The cake with the container of clear liquid is something that seems very traditional in the morning. It is cut from a large cookie sheet that has its own dedicated warmer. Two customers in a row ordered it before me, so I did the same. It has a layer of smooth cheese in it, and the liquid is very sweet, which is poured in top.
The ma’amoul are filled cookies, with date paste, walnuts, or pistachios. The outer cookie is sort of like a butter cookie but more firm, while the fillings are sweet.
Anything appearing sweet was pretty darned sweet. If baklava is too sweet, then many of these items aren’t far off in the sweetness department. Best to have a cup of unsweetened tea or coffee with these pastries.
@MaladyNelson and @aaqjr the flatbreads were like mini-pizzas with the various toppings. I really prefer lahmajun (spelled several ways) - thinner crust and more intense flavors - but the ones I get at Partamian’s are not vegetarian. I think other Armenian bakeries might serve lahmajun in non-meat versions. Just the same, the topped flatbreads from Sarkis were good.
Warrior: Since Sarkis showed up on DoorDash for delivery to DTLA a few months ago, I’ve been hooked on the three wraps (zaatar, akawi,and labneh) and the mahmouls. All simple and delicious. The pistachio mahmoul is amazing. Orange blossom water is a hell of an ingredient.
warrior: you can order most or all of that stuff through doordash. their specialty is a knafeh sandwich (on sesame bread), which frankly is not for me, because i prefer savory to sweet stuff.
