Kabobs in the Valley

Adventures in the Valley...
For a few weeks I've noticed a place with a couple of signs out front claiming the title to the best Kabobs in LA. It didn't look like much, but I like a good kabob, so last night I checked it out.

The Superior Kabob Factory on Oxnard in Van Nuys is a small neighborhood grocery specializing in Armenian/Mediterranean foods. In the back there is a meat counter filled with prepared and marinaded meats ready for cooking into kabobs. You can order the meat to go by the pound, or have them grill it for you there. Four Kabobs are a pound and they will make a combo of different types of kabobs for an extra fifty cents.

I was in the mood for Loula or Koobideh type kabobs, so I got two lamb and two chicken kabobs grilled for me there. Both kinds were very good, but very similar, so I'd probably pick one type next time. I liked the lamb slightly better. I also picked up lavosh, a jar of tahini, and a large chunk of good Greek Feta. All of my purchases, enough to feed my family of four and have plenty of lavosh, tahini, and feta left over for other meals, were $14. It was a lot of quality food for the money. I am sure I will be exploring more of the kabob choices soon.

Superior Kabob Factory
13670 Oxnard St
Van Nuys, CA
(near the Oxnard exit on the Metro Orange Line)

The Right Ingredients

There was a Pasta Sauce competition recently among some friends. Two sauces, one winner... Iron Chef style. One of them remarked on how it was hard to find some common Italian ingredients at the local Big Grocery Chain, Ralphs.

Luckily for her we are not far from one of the best little Italian Markets in Los Angeles, Sorrento Italian Market on Sepulveda. This market has many imported goodies, sauces, pastas, and the like. If you don't need a can of white beans, stop for in for dough or pastries. Stand in line at the deli counter for some of the best sandwiches in LA. I usually get a turkey and cheese sub with their famous tomato sauce. That's all the sandwich comes with, yet the sauce makes it addictive.
The people who run this place could not be nicer in that old fashioned way. Ask and they might throw in an extra roll or piece of fruit with your order. Has a big grocery ever done that for you?

My friend won the competition with the components she gathered from Ralphs, but imagine how good that sauce might have been if only she had the right ingredients.


Sorrento Italian Market
5518 Sepulveda Blvd
Culver City, CA 90230
(310) 391-7654