14-07-2025
The Best Dishes Eater Editors Ate This Week: July 7
The editors at Eater LA dine out several times a week, if not per day, which means we're always encountering standout dishes that deserve time in the limelight. Here's the very best of everything the team has eaten this week.
Chicken Caesar wrap from Mini Kabob in Glendale
Chicken Caesar wrap from Mini Kabob Matthew Kang
In mid-June, Mini Kabob chef and co-owner Armen Martirosyan unleashed a limited-edition chicken Caesar salad wrap with grilled Armenian chicken thighs, falafel croutons, Aleppo toum, and housemade dressing wrapped in a Mejorado flour tortilla. Martirosyan served the special at last weekend's Infatuation food festival but also slings it a few days a week at his tiny Glendale restaurant. The wrap is Martirosyan's venture into more inventive fusions of Armenian kebabs and classic American foods (his lavash-wrapped cheeseburger wrap is one of the most popular dishes at his Neighborly outpost in Westlake Village). Don't expect this wrap to scratch the itch of a light healthful lunch. Instead, the well-dressed greens come studded with smoky pieces of marinated chicken and the hard crunch of fried falafel. A bright red runny toum adds spice and more richness, like hot sauce on a burrito. Perhaps this wrap will become a permanent fixture of Mini Kabob in Westlake Village or Glendale, but Martirosyan is doing a good job of making this hard-to-get special its own legend. Check Instagram for its next drop. 313 1/2 Vine Street, Glendale, CA 91204— Matthew Kang, lead editor, Eater Southern California/Southwest
Tuna tostada from Queen's Raw Bar and Grill in Eagle Rock
Tuna tostada at Queen's Raw Bar and Grill. Nicole Adlman
I haven't been to Queen's Raw Bar and Grill in a long enough stretch of time that, the last time I went, it was still called Queen Street (stylized as Queen St.). I'll miss the shorter name, maybe, but won't have to mourn any of its favorite dishes, including raw bar staples such as the pintxo-like anchovy on a stick, classic shrimp cocktail, or oysters on the half shell; the smart bluefin tuna frites doused in chile-spiked garlic sauce; and the yellow-corn-pocked hushpuppies. I decided to visit the restaurant over Fourth of July weekend to try some of its limited-time 'lowcountry boil' trays, but the standout for me was one of the menu regulars: a tomato-studded tuna tostada. Bluefin tuna gets chopped and mixed with a peak-summer tomato salsa, grated ginger, and lime for a refreshing, lip-puckering bite that's impossible to put down. When it's this nice outside, pair it with something chilled and bubbly to drink and eat it in dappled sunlight on the front patio. 4701 York Boulevard, Los Angeles, CA 90042. — Nicole Adlman, Eater cities manager
Ancho potato breakfast burrito from Alfalfa in Larchmont
Ancho potato breakfast burrito from Ancho. Rebecca Roland
Maybe it's my California upbringing, but to me, a breakfast burrito is one of the best morning meals of all time. I have my usual suspects for the tortilla-wrapped morning staple, but I recently tried the salad and burrito cafe Alfalfa, which has locations in Santa Monica and Larchmont, on a recommendation from an Eater colleague. For the vegetarian ancho potato burrito, a pliant tortilla gets wrapped around a small mountain of fluffy eggs, sharp cheddar cheese, and ancho-tinged Yukon gold potatoes. I often get some type of meat in my breakfast burritos, but I didn't miss it at all in this one. The burrito was the right size to feel satiated, though not so big to immediately require a nap after. I will be back at Alfalfa soon to try more of the menu, including its coveted salad wraps. 5570 Melrose Avenue, Los Angeles, CA 90038. — Rebecca Roland, editor, Eater Southern California/Southwest
The S'mores cocoa taco at Agnes in Pasadena
S'mores cocoa taco at Agnes Mona Holmes
I admit to feeling sad in 2022 when Klondike announced that it would discontinue production of its classic frozen treat: the Choco Taco. Though I hadn't tasted one in decades, the taco disguised as an ice cream treat was one of my childhood favorites. It's always a treat when a restaurant repackages nostalgic flavors with a thoughtful lens, like the s'mores cocoa taco beautifully executed by the team at Agnes in Pasadena. They form a waffle shell made with graham crackers and fold it into the shape of a taco. The next step is layering in dark chocolate mousse, toasted marshmallow, and hazelnut for a magical dessert. I don't say this lightly, as someone who doesn't actively seek out desserts, but I would head into Agnes just for this. If you're there to eat more, ask the bartender to recommend something refreshing to drink, like the Tang Town with mezcal, Aperol, passion fruit, orange juice, and bitters, before sharing platters in one of Pasadena's most charming spaces. 40 W. Green Street, Pasadena, CA, 91105. — Mona Holmes, editor, Eater Southern California/Southwest
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