There’s an impressive street food hub around the intersection of Sunset and Figueroa. Several vendors grilling kebab meat to order over charcoal as well as other vendors offering middle eastern and/or central Asian food. There are also a few Colombian spots but they were less popular. Many of the customers in the area seemed to be central Asian themselves, which was cool to see since I do not think LA has historically had a large immigrant population from that part of the world.
I tried adana kebap from Baba Kebap (IG). It was very good but I think I’d like to go back and try the shish kebap next time.
I then had the original knafeh from Mrs. Knafeh (IG), an Arabic dessert spot. I had never had knafeh before, but I loved it. It was a large dish and I planned to just have a taste, but I wound up (quickly) eating the entire thing by myself, even though I had just finished the entire adana kebap from Baba… I plan to go back and try the crispy knafeh next time. Mrs. Knafeh said that the crispy knafeh is their most popular item but I decided to try the original for my first time.
Because of poor planning and lack of self control, I was not able to hit other spots in the area. I plan to go back and go on a kebab bender, hitting at least Halal Kebab by Farhod (IG) and Shashlyk by Qazak (IG), as well as anything else I spot in the moment.
Writing this is reminding me that I still need to hit the central Asian food trucks in Valley Village at the corner of Magnolia & Laurel Canyon. There’s too much to try.
I know folks have been down about the state of food in LA lately, but there are still some bright spots!