Under $10 – Cafe Bravo, Silver Lake – Tasty Armenian Meal
People walk and drive by you, without giving you as much as a glance. People make fun of you. People do not take you seriously. People consider you to be lonely and desolate inside. And people only come to you when they absolutely need something. Why do people treat you like this?!
That’s because you are a strip mall.
I’ll be honest, if you’re a strip mall with a nail salon, donut shop, a wig/human hair store or a $5 clothing store, I’ll probably never be giving you my business. But not ALL strip malls are bad. On this particular night, I turned into a strip mall in Silver Lake. One that offers a once-popular-before-management-changed pizza joint, a postal center, a thrift/vintage shop, Pinkberry wanna-be and a Hawaiian restaurant with an oh-so-embarrassing punny name. Because for months, I had been anticipating the opening of Cafe Bravo’s Silver Lake location. While there are nicer, tastier places like Raffi’s Place, it can be a little pricey for these times. Chinese food is awesome, but it’s bastardized version, Panda’s Kitchen is a bunch of crap. Fortunately, Armenian food does not follow that trend. For $10 or less, Cafe Bravo has something nice that hold you over for TWO meals – the portions are big! You get your choice of meat, two side dishes, rice and pita bread.
A. Tabbouleh – tomato/parsley/lemon/mint/bulgur wheat medley. This balances out the charbroiled/smoky meats.
B. Yoghurt with Spinach – have to have something with a sour punch.
C. Ikra – roasted eggplant, red peppers and onions. This stuff is my favorite.
D. Chicken & Beef – I don’t know what they marinate with or how long for that matter, but damn, for strip mall food, it’s goooood.
Give Cafe Bravo a shot if you’re on the Armenian tip. To me, this is one underestimated place and I hope that you won’t be disappointed!
Cafe Bravo
2662 Griffith Park Blvd
Los Angeles, CA 90039
(323) 912-1111
Cafe Bravo
1135 W Glenoaks Blvd
Glendale, CA 91202
(818) 500-4005
www.bravokabob.com
wow, that looks good!
i feel like a strip mall today.
“One that offers a once-popular-before-management-changed pizza joint, a postal center, a thrift/vintage shop, Pinkberry wanna-be and a Hawaiian restaurant with an oh-so-embarrassing punny name. ”
Except that by the time Bravo opened, the last two were long-gone. BTW, you also left out the hearing-aid place and the new dry cleaner (the fifth within 100 yards!)