Falafel Tacos: Armenian And Mexican Flavors Come Together In Silver Lake

Published Feb 2, 2024 5:00 AM

Four tacos sit on a tray covered with white parchment paper. Each contains different fillings, covered with an orange sauce and fresh herbs. Scattered amongst them are three small open plastic containers containing different sauces - one green, one deep red, one orange, next to a cut lime.

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Armen Martirosyan is an L.A. kid who grew up eating tacos.

He’s also the son of Ovakim and Alvard Martirosyan, who emigrated from Armenia. For 35 years, the family has owned Mini Kabob in Glendale, the small operation that’s become one of the most lauded Armenian restaurants in the city.

To regular patrons of Mini Kabob, it wasn’t uncommon to see the young Martirosyan behind the counter, helping with taking orders and giving suggestions on what was good that day.

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But Martirosyan always knew he wanted to apply what he had learned in his family’s restaurant to carve his own path.

In 2017, MidEast Tacos was born, with Martirosyan’s son-of-immigrants take on two cultures, offering Armenian kabob-style meats grilled over an open flame and folded into tacos, burritos and quesadillas.

When you cross paths with Martirosyan, you can see why this pairing makes sense; he exudes a certain homegrown West Coast coolness. He spent his formative years watching Kobe Bryant win championships and listening to Tupac with Black, Asian, and Mexican friends, often eating tacos together after school and on weekends. It connected him to the dominant L.A. culture while still remaining close to his parents’ Armenian heritage.

Armen Martirosyan (left) and Aram Kavoukjian (right) bring their MidEast Taco concept to a new brick and mortar in Silver Lake.

(

Ashley Randall

Courtesy of MidEast Tacos

)

Partnering with friend Aram Kavoukjian, they began selling their tacos from a cart near the USC campus and, after some success, decided to establish themselves with a residency at Smorgasburg Los Angeles at The Row in DTLA.

Their falafel tacos brought a certain notoriety, showcasing Matirosyan’s unique sazón, capturing herbaceous flavors in a warm, freshly made corn tortilla.

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Building the brick-and-mortar

During the pandemic, the pair paused their operation, with Matirosyan shifting his focus to helping his parents at Mini Kabob.

But this year, after getting all the permits cleared by the city, the pair moved into a brick-and-mortar location, a small cafe space they converted into an order-at-the-counter restaurant with outdoor seating.

An overhead image of different types of meat being grilled over an open flame inside an indoor kitchen. The meat ranges in type and color from light to dark and sits on large metal skewers. The lighter pieces are heavily seasoned with red and black spices. Above the meat skewers is a significant amount of grey-white smoke from the grill.

While the concept of falafel tacos has turned its share of heads, MidEast Tacos also impresses with its grilled meat dishes. It is undoubtedly a testament to Martirosyan’s Mini Kabob pedigree, which is expertly applied here in this format.

A perfect example is their steak taco, arriving in a warm flour tortilla with exquisitely juicy and tender meat, setting it far above your average carne asada taco. It’s topped with a refreshing avocado salsa and a menagerie of garnishes, like red onion, cilantro, thai basil, toum árbro (Lebanese garlic sauce), and sumac.

A vertical image of a pair of light-skin-toned hands holding a burrito filled with marinated grilled chicken that's red around its outside and white on the inside where the meat has been cut. The burrito also contains orange rice and other vegetables, and purple and green colors. Behind the hands is a spray-painted mural with a light blue background and white and red designs.

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There’s also the chicken burrito, wrapped in a flour tortilla containing lightly charred chicken, rice, cilantro, and a zesty salsa roja. Adding rice to the inside of burritos can be contentious, as it can leave burritos overstuffed and bland, but MidEast Tacos manages to turn that paradigm on its head with its expert-level mixing of flavors.

Martirosyan has hopes MidEast Tacos will bring added cultural value to the already diverse neighborhood, similar to what his parents' restaurant achieved in Glendale.

Having joined the ranks of local standouts such as Simón, Pine & Crane, and The Win-Dow, located just across the street and a few blocks from Dodger Stadium, it already feels like they’re solidifying themselves among beloved L.A. institutions.