MINI KABOB
ADDRESS: 313 1/2 Vine Street, Glendale, CA 91204
WEBSITE: https://www.mini-kabob.com/
Mini Kabob was a place that had made it onto my radar after I had tried their food when visiting the Topanga Social food hall. I had such a positive experience with the food out there that I wanted to find out what it was like at the OG spot in Glendale. A couple of weekends ago, on my way back up from the Huntington Library in the Pasadena area, I took a detour out to Glendale to see about checking the place off my list.
From the photos I had looked at beforehand, I had known that Mini Kabob operated on a take-out only basis, for the most part. What I didn’t realize, however, is about the wait time if you placed your order as a walk-up. I think it was the son, Armen, of the family that owns the place that I talked with, and he mentioned to me that it was going to be a 35 – 40 minute wait. It ended up being manageable, as I took a walk over to the Glendale Galleria about three blocks away. But if you know this ahead of time, I’d recommend either placing your order online or calling it in so that you can have it ready to pick up by the time you arrive. (One other thing to note is that it’s a cash only establishment.)
Being an Armenian grill, Mini Kabob specializes in the entrées of their namesake, along with an assortment of appetizers and salads. For their kabob meats, the menu features chicken, beef, pork, and lamb, with the chicken and beef offered in both lule kabob and shish kabob styles. (This Wikipedia article was pretty insightful to learn about the different types of kabobs.) I was pretty hungry, so I decided to go for the beef & chicken combo entrée plate, which contained both beef and chicken thigh shish kabobs. I had heard a lot on Yelp about their house potatoes as well (which was a secret menu item, apparently), so I tacked that on in my order.
I guess the slight blessing in disguise of the fact that I took a walk up to the Glendale Galleria while I was waiting for my food was the fact that I could burn off some calories ahead of the amount of food I was about to eat. When I returned to the restaurant to pick up the food, the bag with the two plastic containers of my order legitimately felt like I was carrying over a full pound. I had originally brought some stuff to eat the food in my car, but given the two large take-out boxes, I would have probably spilled food at some point. I ended up taking it all back to my place instead before I started to eat.
The aromas that first greet you when you open up the box with the kababs really just draws you in. The combo plate had both the beef and chicken, sitting on a bed of rice, along with fire-roasted vegetables, hummus, and lavash bread. The chicken and beef were both very moist and packed a lot of flavor from the seasoning they used. You also got some of that char flavor from the grill as well. The hummus had a rich earthy flavor, with a slight bit of spice on the back end. I primarily used my lavash bread to dip into the hummus; it was really a great flavor combination with the two. The meats with the rice, after any excess juices soaked into the rice as well, made for delicious bites.
Those house potatoes weren’t messing around, either. Cut into medallions, the potatoes were pan-fried and seasoned with salt and aleppo pepper to give it both heat and aromatics as well. The container was packed full of the potatoes, and I probably could have eaten the whole thing if it wasn’t for all the other food from the combo plate as well. It ended up giving me enough leftovers for a meal the next day. If you’re in the know about these potatoes, they are certainly worth the special request.
The wait to try out the original Mini Kabob after trying out their stuff in Topanga Social was well worth it. The food quality felt even better and the portions were plentiful. The only knock I really had was that the food did feel a bit more on the expensive side. My beef & chicken combo plate clocked in at $33, while the potatoes were $12. I was okay with the price point of the potatoes, but the beef and chicken I probably would have paid closer to $27 / $28 instead. For the quality of the food though, if I was back in the Glendale area and wanted to get enough food that could hold me over for two meals, this would be a great spot to hit up.
Let’s now take a look at the Mini Kabob Dish Spotlight. Asterisks (*) below mark my recommended dishes.
** Beef & Chicken Combo Plate **
Beef shish kabob and chicken thigh shish kabob, served with rice, fire-roasted vegetables, hummus, and lavash bread.
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** House Potatoes **
Pan-fried potato medallions, seasoned with salt and aleppo pepper.
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And finally, here are my rankings for Mini Kabob:
Food: 4.75 / 5
The quality of all of the food items was great, with both the beef and the chicken having a nice depth of flavor from the spices. The hummus was also a real winner, along with those house potatoes. With the different meat options you can try for the kabobs, there’s variety to sample if you end up returning.
Atmosphere: N/A
The restaurant operates primarily as take-out only, with one table out front that can seat up to six people, if you’re interested in sharing it with other diners.
Service: 4 / 5
Even though Armen had mentioned to me that it was going to be a 35 – 40 minute wait, I got back to the restaurant a little early and they had finished my food a little ahead of time.
Price: 3.5 / 5
The $33 was just a little higher than what I thought the combo plate was worth. For the food quality itself, however, I wouldn’t mind paying it again. The $12 for the potatoes I thought was pretty solid, given how much the container was packed with them.
Overall:
12.25 / 15
(82%)
Categories: California, Restaurants
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