Kabakians: does anyone remember.....

[Roger Brown]

Kabakians was on Colorado Boulevard in Pasadena, where the mall is now.

Armenian/Lebanese cuisine.

Hand-calligraphed menus.

Upholstered table tops, with linen table cloths on top. Wine glasses
would lean dangerously if you place them too close to the edge.

The maitre de waxed both his mustasche, and his eyebrows, and would
insult his guests most elegantly.

The waiter would personally feed the first bite of each dish to the women
in the party, and scold those who didn't clean their plates.

There were dishes like "Queen Xenobia's Fingers". There was a free,
unannounced dessert of some kind of middle-eastern pumpkin, grown in a
home garden, with ice cream on top.

The 80-year old busboy who would bring coffee, flirt with the women, and
his hands would shake in a terrifying manner as he served this coffee;
you would fear for your lap.

They moved out to Foothill for a while; does anyone know what happened?
Does anyone remember?

-Roger

[David Sternlight]

In article <brownroC...@netcom.com>,

Roger Brown <bro...@netcom.com> wrote:
>Kabakians was on Colorado Boulevard in Pasadena, where the mall is now.

Rumor has it one or more of the proprietors died a while after they moved to
Foothill east of Rosemead.

The atmosphere was "interesting" but the food was terrible.

There's an excellent Armenian cum Greek cum Middle Eastern in Pasadena, run
by a couple of wonderful Armenian brothers. It's on Lake and called Burger
Continental. it used to be a burger place when they bought it. They give
students a 10% discount.

There are also a couple of Armenian restaurants in Pasadena's Armenian
Neighborhood up Allen about a mile north of Colorado or thereabouts.

Interestingly, in Pasadena a law was passed giving Armenians minority hiring
preference for city jobs. I never know whether to be annoyed or not about
that. On the one hand Armenians are wonderful people. On the other hand,
they were never persecuted in the U.S., and surely we can't be responsible
here for what the Turks did. Pretty soon everybody will have minority hiring
preference except for WASPS. Seems like discrimination of the worst kind to
me, and I'm a minority myself so I'm not special pleading.

David
--
The values that help define our common-sense view of the net are under
assault. People have taken to the extreme this spurious notion of freedom
without responsibility. There are no more moral guardrails in our world. The
people who live on the medians and on the shoulders of the net are told by
their pals that they are right in the middle of the road. Nothing is wrong
any more (except, of course, conservative thoughts and expressions).

[Roger Brown]

David Sternlight (strn...@netcom.com) wrote:

: The atmosphere was "interesting" but the food was terrible.

This was my first introduction to Middle Eastern food, so the place had
kind of a sentimental value to it. Some of the dishes were good; I
remember liking the soups very much.

: There's an excellent Armenian cum Greek cum Middle Eastern in Pasadena, run

: by a couple of wonderful Armenian brothers. It's on Lake and called Burger
: Continental. it used to be a burger place when they bought it. They give
: students a 10% discount.

It is fairly eccentric, too. I had a bad meal the last time I was there,
though, and I'm rarely in Pasadena, so I've headed more toward Old Town

: Pretty soon everybody will have minority hiring

: preference except for WASPS. Seems like discrimination of the worst kind to
: me, and I'm a minority myself so I'm not special pleading.

: David

Well, I am a WASP, all the way back, but I am willing to forgive the
obviously discriminatory attitude towards us for a 40% discount at the
restaurants of my choice.

sort of noblesse oblige?

%^)

-Roger

[Alan Chapman]

A few Kabakian's memories:

1. "Old Man" Kabakian, who would hand feed you your first bite (despite his
shaking hand.

2. Asking for some cream for my coffee and having it brought the length of
the restaurant by the same elder Kabakian, who was wise enough to bring it
on a cart rather than carrying it.

3. Going to their "new" location (formerly a bank) and noticing a corner
illuminated by blue fluorescents (which my father-in-law immediately
identified as "Gro-Lights."

******************************************************************************
Alan Chapman Music Department Occidental College
(located in scenic Eagle Rock, between Glendale & Pasadena)
******************************************************************************

[Dave Gardner]

Alan Chapman (cha...@cheshire.oxy.edu) wrote:
: A few Kabakian's memories:

Oh, man, you really brought back some memories for me here! I liked their
original place on Colorado (where the mall is now, I think). The place
they moved to across from Sears on Foothill was not good for them,
definitely not the right neighborhood for their style of food and service.
Too bad, I miss their place. It's been so many years now ... sigh.

: 1. "Old Man" Kabakian, who would hand feed you your first bite (despite his
: shaking hand.

Which one? I think there were three brothers, no? Doesn't matter. We
used to take out of town guests there, and let the Bros. Three make sure
they ate every bite! Good food, good service, meticulous plate cleaning!

Thanks for the memories .....

Dave

[Steve Aranyi]

Roger Brown (bro...@netcom.com) wrote:
: Kabakians was on Colorado Boulevard in Pasadena, where the mall is now.

The Kabakian brothers were a fantastic trip!
I've got tons of memories. One of the first was watching the old guy
shuffle the length of the restaurant to meet us at the door, then slowly
wave a hand to follow him, and shuffled back to the VERY last table at
the kitchen end in front of us.(He couldn't just wave us there hahah).

One brother was the cook, the other the waiter who'd take the order,
yet another who'd serve, and of course the shuffler who'd greet you and
seat you. The only other person I've ever seen working there was like a
young lady who cleaned the table, or at least helped the server to do it.

The server (wish I remembered their names), would indeed feed the first
bite to almost all people, not only the women. Got a piece of bread,
picked up a piece of meat from your plate, dipped it in the yogurt dip
and fed it to you while saying "Eat all your food! Clean your plate!"

It was fantastic!


Soon after they have moved, one of them died, and I suppose they had
it. Too bad. It'll always be a great memory.

One of the funniest was - seeing an Eastern Indian gentleman in a
turban, being fed by hand by the ole' guy. His eyes bulged out 2 inches!
(But he ate it!)

The food was acceptable. Not great.. but who cared?? :):):)

--
Steve &*&*&*&*&*&*&*&*&*&*&*&*& And now.. for the Quote:
Aranyi &* or...@netcom.com *& "Yes.. they eat them..."
Ritter &*&*&*&*&*&*&*&*&*&*&*&*&

[Kenneth Taira]

Lines:

Steve Aranyi (or...@netcom.com) wrote:

: Roger Brown (bro...@netcom.com) wrote:
: : Kabakians was on Colorado Boulevard in Pasadena, where the mall is now.

: The Kabakian brothers were a fantastic trip!
: I've got tons of memories. One of the first was watching the old guy
: shuffle the length of the restaurant to meet us at the door, then slowly
: wave a hand to follow him, and shuffled back to the VERY last table at
: the kitchen end in front of us.(He couldn't just wave us there hahah).

:
<stuff deleted>

: It was fantastic!

Indeed it was...sigh...fond memories...
Newsgroups: la.eats
Path: ktaira
From: kta...@caprica.com (Kenneth Taira)
Subject: Re: Kabakians: does anyone remember.....
References: <brownroC...@netcom.com> <oranCrn...@netcom.com>
Organization: Caprica Telecomputing Resources (213) 526-1195 (14.4KB)
Date: Wed, 22 Jun 1994 19:34:00 GMT
X-Newsreader: TIN [version 1.2 PL2]
Message-ID: <CrtD0...@caprica.com>

Steve Aranyi (or...@netcom.com) wrote:

: Roger Brown (bro...@netcom.com) wrote:
: : Kabakians was on Colorado Boulevard in Pasadena, where the mall is now.

: The Kabakian brothers were a fantastic trip!
: I've got tons of memories. One of the first was watching the old guy
: shuffle the length of the restaurant to meet us at the door, then slowly
: wave a hand to follow him, and shuffled back to the VERY last table at
: the kitchen end in front of us.(He couldn't just wave us there hahah).

:
<stuff deleted>

: It was fantastic!

Indeed it was...sigh...fond memories...

[sean...@gmail.com]

Looks like even those people who REMEMBER Kabakian's are dying out, this thread is OLD.

[Hans Klager]

I remember Kabakian's a truly unique restaurant.


--
It is through disobedience that progress has been made, through
disobedience and through rebellion. - Oscar Wilde

[advocat...@mcvprevention.org]

I was taken to Kabakian's as a child of ten or so, and will never forget being fed by the old gentlemen. My parents were very amused and loved it. I thought the food was great!

[Hans Klager]

On Wed, 24 Jul 2013 08:08:09 -0700 (PDT),
advocat...@mcvprevention.org

<advocat...@mcvprevention.org> wrote:
> On Monday, June 13, 1994 1:26:23 AM UTC-4, Roger Brown wrote:
>> Kabakians was on Colorado Boulevard in Pasadena, where the
>> mall is now.
>>
>> Armenian/Lebanese cuisine.
>>

>> They moved out to Foothill for a while; does anyone know what
>> happened? Does anyone remember?
>>
>

> I was taken to Kabakian's as a child of ten or so, and will
> never forget being fed by the old gentlemen. My parents were
> very amused and loved it. I thought the food was great!

The Kabakian brothers retired. They will always be
missed.


--
"If you have done nothing wrong, comrade, you have nothing to
fear." - Lavrenti Beria, Stalin's head of the NKVD, the secret police.

[skip...@gmail.com]

Two of the bothers were Haig and Nercess. I'm blocking on the third. Wonderful lines they came out with. Our favorite was one used on a diner who hesitated over the desert. Haig told him sternly, "Nobody doesn't like honey!" Old as they were, they would bake early every morning at something like 5 a.m. and keep the restaurant open until after 10 p.m. They were unique.

[Hans Klager]

When Kabakians were in their heyday, the foodie movement
was in its infancy. People thought the Velvet Turtle, Chasens,
the Luau and Scandia were the pinnacle of good eating - Yuch!

So, if you wanted a good dinner, served and cooked by
eccentrics, Kabakians was the place.

--
Wall Street, all by itself, orchestrated the crisis by a web of deceit that
was breathtaking. - Michael Lewis on the 2008 crisis.

[Librarian]

Check out the Los Angeles Public Library's menu archivefor a blast from the past:

goo.gl/3WG02r

check out that calligraphy!

[Julian Macassey]

On Thu, 31 Oct 2013 17:23:31 -0700 (PDT), Librarian <rya...@gmail.com> wrote:

> Check out the Los Angeles Public Library's menu archivefor a
> blast from the past:

> goo.gl/3WG02r
>
> check out that calligraphy!

Some wonderful copper plate caligraphy.

Thanks for posting this.


--
"They: The makers of the Constitution: conferred, as against the government,
the right to be let alone -- the most comprehensive of rights and the right
most valued by civilized men." - Justice Louis D. Brandeis

[sheff...@gmail.com]

Kabakian's was my fav restaurant in the area. Their mother was French and taught them how to cook, so we thought of the food they served as French-Armenian. The Kabakian kebab was fabulous. They lost their lease to the church next door on Colo. Ave., and moved to another location on Foothill. That lease was lost within a year, and that was the end of Kabakian's. I talked to the youngest brother as he wrapped the wine glasses to move out. He was bitter, saying "they don't want us here." I doubt that it had anything to do with them. The landlord of the mid-rise S&L building needed a different sort of tenant, and would have to free up the first floor Kabakian's inhabited. A sad loss. From my many visits to dine, I learned quite a lot about "the shuffling Kabakian brothers" and their history. I'm pretty sure all three are deceased now.

[mac...@aol.com]

On Sunday, June 12, 1994 10:26:23 PM UTC-7, Roger Brown wrote:

Yes, Roger, I used to go there frequently. It was located just east of Los Robles, close to where the present mall is now.

I drove for Yellow Cab in the 70's, and would periodically pick up food from their home on E. California Blvd. and transport it to their restaurant in the trunk of my cab.

Two men would come out of the house carrying the food, and then motion to me to open the trunk of my cab. This whole operation was done without one word ever being spoken. I guess they didn't have to, since it was all prearranged with the cab company....but still kind of weird, I thought.

I remember when they opened up the door to their house, the fantastic aroma of the food that was being prepared inside was the best I've ever smelled in my whole life.

You're right about them feeding you the first bite, but they tried to do it to everyone in our party, men and women both...I would always decline, though.

I accidentally found your post, as I was thinking about the restaurant today after all these years, and doing a Google search to find out what happened to it.

Thanks for bringing back some old memories of this great restaurant.

Howard

[Julian Macassey]

On Mon, 21 Jul 2014 12:17:53 -0700 (PDT), sheff...@gmail.com
Note: Google in there ever continuing destruction of the net, have made
their usenet app write with no word wrap. They have been told, but they
don't care. Fuck Goggle.

They were a terrific restaurant.

`

--
The Internet is full of people who can’t read and want to talk
about sandwiches - Noam Chomsky, Oct 2013

[glas...@gmail.com]

I went there regularly in 1970 as a Caltech postdoc. It was not very popular, but was a great place. Once we asked to be served in a hurry as we had something else on. They were almost mortally insulted and just plonked each dish down on the table. The next day we gave them a bottle of brandy to make up and we were good friends again.

Ian Glass, Cape Town

[block...@aol.com]

I remember the place well. I figured they closed as the brothers died off one at a time. Burger Continental was another favorite. I think the proprietor was named Harry. Their small courtyard was a great place to eat and lounge away the evening.

[elizh...@gmail.com]

Kabakian's was legendary. My large group of friends ate there frequently in the 1970s. I have craved their food for decades ... the Queen Shaharazad kebob. Local lore was that they were Cordon Bleu graduates. The brothers would shuffle between tables and demonstrate how to eat their kabobs especially to the ladies. One night they offered to comp our dinner if the ladies danced for them. Horn dogs. They were jampacked on weekends. I recall driving home between soup and salad to leave a note on the door for friends. Didn't miss a thing. They had a candy shop next door and gave us dark chocolate covered crystalized ginger. I still think of them fondly and never had such amazing food since.

[Julian Macassey]

On Mon, 22 Aug 2016 19:43:36 -0700 (PDT), elizh...@gmail.com
<elizh...@gmail.com> wrote:

They had a candy shop next door and gave us dark chocolate
covered crystalized ginger.

They introduced me to chocolate covered candied orange
peel. Now I make it at home.

In the heyday of the Kabakians, there weren't many decent
restaurants around. The Velvet Turtle and Monty's were considered
haute cuisine. Theings have got better over the decades.


--
In a time of universal deceit, telling the truth is a revolutionary act.
- George Orwell

[greggpa...@gmail.com]

Back in the Mid-1970's we would come up from Long Beach State (now CSULB) to the Dorthy Chandler Pavilion for performances and then go up to Pasadena to Kabakians for amazing Lebanese Armenian Food -- we had Kofta, and braised Lamb ribs, and veal in pomegranite sauce, and Dolmas in grape leaves... in it's day Kabakains was amazing.

If you missed it -- you will need to go to festival sponsored by your local Armenian Orthodox Church... find one I Glendale or Bakersfield... but do find one and enjoy the food.

[heather...@gmail.com]

I remember Kabakians. We used to go there when I was little..ages 7-9. I lost my first tooth on their steak! The brothers always fed me and my sister our first bites, and then would take us to pick out a dessert if we cleaned our plates. I've tried to find a recipe for that yogurt sauce for years...it is ingrained in my mind. I've yet to figure it out, but I'll never stop trying. Kabakians is legendary,so grateful I was lucky enough to enjoy it!

[Julian Macassey]

We all remember Kabakians.

--
Hipsters have ruined everything. - Tim May April 5 2014

[heather...@gmail.com]

I remember Kabakian's very fondly from my childhood. Even though we had to wait for what seemed like an eternity, this experience has always held a special place in my heart. I remember the Kabakian brothers and their characteristic eyebrows shuffling through the restaurant, making sure everybody got the perfect bite of their iconic meals. I lost my first tooth while eating a piece of beef at their restaurant. The brothers would always take my sister and me over to the dessert counter for us to pick out a sweet treat. I wish I could give my kids such an amazing and memorable experience. I still crave that yogurt sauce and have tried, in vain, to recreate it. A true treasure.