Glendale News Press , CA
Nov 25 2011

There’s room for adventure at Old Gyumri

November 25, 2011|By Richard Foss

Photo: A wide variety of Armenian liquors is available at Old Gyumri
in Glendale. (Roger Wilson/Staff Photographer)

The décor and architecture at a traditional restaurant often remind
expatriates of their native land, while letting uninitiated visitors
sample the culture behind the cuisine. Occasionally an ambitious
restaurateur goes even further, and you walk through a door to find
yourself in another place and time.

At Old Gyumri in Glendale, the place is Armenia, the time is the
Middle Ages, and the door you walk through could resist a Mongol
invasion. The massive timber construction is reminiscent of a fort or
chateau, and nothing in the décor suggests this continent or century.
Armenian food is available all over Glendale, but nowhere is it
presented in such an authentic atmosphere.

The menu is not very informative for newcomers to this cuisine, though
there are many familiar items. Armenian food has similarities to Greek
and Middle Eastern cuisine, so the kebabs, cucumber salads, tabbouli
and flatbreads are there for those who like to stick with what they
know. The flavors may not be quite what you expect – Armenians like to
cook with fruit and use subtly different spices, so you might detect a
scent of pomegranate juice in the humus, or zesty green herbs in a
kufta kebab. As a Christian country with links to the Mideast, you
will find pork used with spices that you might associate with
countries where pork is never eaten.

The best way to dine here is to get a group together and ask for a
traditional menu, which might include small portions of 15 salads and
starters. I tried this, and the appetizers alone were a feast – plates
of spicy eggplant, tart pickled vegetables, cucumber-yogurt sauce with
flatbread, an array of salads and the delicate cheese turnovers called
borek. We also had slices of the garlicky cured beef called basturma,
a version of which is better known as pastrami. Basturma is air-dried
in the same way Italian prosciutto is, with a similar chewy texture
but a big flavor of cumin, paprika and a hefty dose of garlic.

From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress