#ajarski

It’s a little confusing because there is a chain of restaurants called Stone Oven (they’re mall-based and there’s one at the Glendale Galleria) but the chain is not related to Stone Oven Pizza. Stone Oven Pizza is named after the stone pizza oven that cooks the pizza at 600 degrees. I was told that Stone Oven Pizza was founded in Italy in 1983, though the Glendale location has more diverse menu: pizza (small, medium, large, family size), ajarski, sandwiches (including shawarma), salads, pasta, and sides (e.g., fries, chicken nuggets).

They have some creative pizzas, like several dessert pizzas and pizza with basturma, sujouk, gorgonzola, blue cheese, etc.

Street corn pizza (small, $15.59): a small has 8 small slices. I ate half and took the rest home. The street corn (elote) pizza has mozzarella cheese, cojita cheese, Tajin, mayo, and corn. The description on the menu said it had marinara but there was no marinara. The pizza was tasty but it didn’t have the tang of elote – it was more like a corn and cheese pizza. The crust was thin, light, crispy, and chewy. It was loaded with lots of corn and lots of cheese. The pizza was drizzled with a white sauce – not sure what it was, mayo perhaps?

The decor is casual – with brick on the counter and on the walls. Order at the counter. Street parking was surprisingly hard to find. Service was friendly.

4 of 5 stars

Sis Bakery is a small Armenian bakery emphasizing freshness. They only bake a few things: lahmajune, maneishe, beoreks, tahini bread, and ajarski. Mini lahmajune and mini beoreks are available by special order. Order at the counter. Prices are very reasonable, with a lahmajune just $2.25 and most of the boereks under $3 each. I picked up 8 items for $20.

Lahmajune ($2.25): served warm, a thin baked flatbread with soft, slightly spicy ground beef topping and crispy edges – one of the best I’ve had

Maneishe ($2.25): zesty, thin flatbread topped with zaatar, on the oily side but that’s typical, loved the spices

Beef boerek ($3.50): a thin slightly sweet dough with ground beef inside the flat, thin pocket. Lightly seasoned. Would prefer more spices.

Spinach & cheese boerek: a flaky phyllo dough layered with butter, spinach filling wasn’t as sour as other places, light and savory, really liked it

Cheese boerek: flaky, buttery layers of phyllo dough encasing a mild white cheese, delicious

Cheese boerek: same filling, different dough (not phyllo), chewy, soft thin dough. Liked the phyllo one better.

Potato boerek: Thin, slightly sweet dough stuffed with mashed potatoes with dill, simple and delicious.

The bakery is in a non-descript strip small. It’s an older building and the ovens/kitchen take up half of the small space. Service was friendly. You can pick up your Armenian newspaper while you’re there. These were some of the best boereks and lahmajune that I’ve had.

5 out of 5 stars