Saro Meat Market

Glendale is one of the great gastronomic secrets of the East Side. With wonderful little Armenian markets on every other block, featuring fresh produce, local baked products, feta cheeses, olives and butcher sections with pre-​spiced meats intended for skewers.
Well this is little unit, tucked away in a tiny newly remodeled strip mall on Central Avenue just south of Colorado, specializes in in these pre-​mixed kabobs. Of particular interest to this reviewer is the lule kabob. Available in beef or chicken, the lule kabob is the cornerstone of the Armenian kabobs world… and what a world that is. Armenian food culture is centered around grilled meats which when combined with lavash bread, grilled roma tomato, grilled anaheim chili and diced raw onions with finely chopped cilantro, create the best tasting juicy dripping sandwich this side of Mount Ararat.
Although Saro’s is a meat market, they have one tiny table and will cook up any one of nine kabob platters for you which will take them the better part of 20 minutes to prepare fresh for you. But I am single minded nowadays with my approach to Armenian food; it’s all about the lule. The mini lule Kabob (chicken or beef) comes wrapped in lavash with diced onion, tomato and pickles and costs $ 1.50. A full sandwich costs 3.99 and is twice the size so go figure that ratio. Maybe they were giving me a special because I go in there so much lately to buy their pre-​mixed lules (they also sell those great sword-​skewers that make home grilling in the broiler not only easy but delicious!), but it seems the way to go is order a mini chicken and a mini beef to try both and save a buck. Put that savings toward a two dollar tarragon soda and you are now spinning through a unique tasty meal that will leave an impression on your pallet and keep you coming back.
Call ahead to order the kabobs and arrive and eat or take to go. And invest in those skewers. A package of three of the medium wide Sadaf swords sells for 6 bucks. Take some of the uncooked lule meat home and start to learn what real grilling can taste like. Hint: Put the meat in the freezer for an hout before grilling. This will make getting it on the skewer in a uniform even manner easier.