"Anytime we walk into a restaurant and make eye contact with a pizza oven, we immediately order whatever’s coming out fresh from it. Byblos Mediterranean Kitchen in La Crescenta-Montrose happens to have its own oven and cranks out excellent Armenian lahmajoun with crispy crusts, minced meat, and tons of fresh herbs. We also can’t recommend this restaurant’s cold appetizers enough, with their delicious muhammara, basturma (cured beef), and shanklish (dried cheese with olive oil and vegetables) being the top contenders. The shakshuka is also one of our favorites around and comes with plenty of bell peppers, onion, and chunky tomato sauce. The breakfast dish is nicely balanced with plenty of cumin and smokey paprika, and should definitely be part of your spread the next time you stop by. Food Rundown Muhammara You get everything you want in a dip in this muhammara and then some. It’s creamy and nutty from the walnuts, the pomegranate molasses provides a zing of acid, and the aleppo pepper brings just enough burn to keep us intrigued and vigorously dipping our pita bread in. Lahmajoun If you’re only going to get one thing at Byblos, make it these chewy and deliciously blistered flatbreads coming out hot from the pizza oven. The minced beef topping is full of aromatic spices, fresh parsley, garlic, and onion, and the chopped tomatoes and spritz of lemon on top make all of the different flavors really pop. Shanklish This salty and mild dried cheese has the texture of crumbled cheese curds and is a must-try when ordering mezze at Byblos. It’s seasoned with chopped tomato, red onion, oregano, and a generous amount of olive oil that blends all of the fresh ingredients together. Shakshuka This shakshuka isn’t the smooth tomato sauce we’re used to seeing, but rather a chunky mix of roasted bell peppers, sweet onions, and bright tomatoes. We actually don’t mind the extra texture from the vegetables, and it has a nice savoriness from plenty of cumin and paprika. Zaatar Flatbread Just some tasty flatbread topped with copious amounts of olive oil and a thick caking of za’atar, what more could you want? It’s nutty, tangy, and should 100% make its way to your table. Manti These oven-baked dumplings are filled with spiced beef that’s tender and deliciously browned in the oven. Everything gets cooled down with a garlicky yogurt sauce and a tangy roasted tomato sauce that sneaks its way into all of the dumplings’ crevices." - Sylvio Martins
