Armenian & Middle Eastern Food Gems In Pasadena, California

There are certain places in California where food tells you something about the people who built the community. Pasadena is one of those places. Spend a little time exploring the restaurants and bakeries around these neighboring cities and you’ll encounter Armenian bakeries, Lebanese-Armenian family restaurants, Syrian flatbreads, Georgian cheese breads, kebabs, mezze, pastries and dishes that reflect generations of migration and cultural exchange from the Middle East.

There’s a fascinating Middle Eastern food story hiding in Pasadena, California—and it goes far beyond hummus and kebabs.On a recent food adventure through the Los Angeles area, I discovered two very different destinations that showcase the depth, creativity, and history of Middle Eastern and Armenian food: Old Sasoon Bakery and Kinrose Creamery.

One is rooted in generations-old Armenian and Syrian-Armenian baking traditions. The other takes familiar Middle Eastern flavors and transforms them into modern fusion ice cream flavors. Together, they tell a wonderful story about how food traditions travel, evolve, and find new life in California.

Old Sasoon Bakery: A Taste of Armenian-Syrian History

My first stop was Old Sasoon Bakery, a longtime Pasadena institution with roots that stretch all the way back to Aleppo, Syria. The bakery’s story begins with Haroutioun Geragosian, who began working in a bakery in Aleppo at just 13 years old. In 1948, he opened his own bakery there. Decades later, the family brought that baking tradition to Southern California, opening Old Sasoon Bakery in Pasadena in 1986. That history is part of what makes the bakery so special. This isn’t simply a place to grab a pastry. It’s an example of how immigrant families preserve pieces of home through food—and how those traditions can continue across generations and across continents. Haroutioun’s son Hovsep took over the bakery, expanding it so you can sit both indoors or outdoors. He was nominated for a James Beard award, so you bet I wasn’t going to visit without trying as much as I could handle!

For me the gold standard of whether a middle eastern eatery is legit is the za’atar flatbread, also known as Manakish. At Old Sasoon they serve it plain or with a layer of cheese and both literally passed the sniff test. . They make the fragrant za’atar in house, an authentic family recipe passed down throughout their Armenian family from Aleppo Syria. And then there was the khachapuri—the Georgian cheese-filled bread that has become increasingly popular throughout Southern California. Now this one was sublime, a massive torpedo shaped buttery bread shell filled to the brim with stretchy and briny cheese, soft cooked eggs, sauteed mushrooms and fresh spinach. This mammoth savory pastry can easily feed 2-3 people, and it was my all time favorite specialty from this bakery.

Other breakfast specialties include dishes you would find in any Lebanese, Syrian, or Palestinian cafe. We’re talking ful mudamas, or buttery fava bean dip rich with fruity olive oil and garlic, as well as a gorgeous personalized shakshuka plates filled with jammy tomatoes and soft cooked eggs.

Old Sasoon also claims to have the best baklava in Southern Calfornia and I would have to concur, as each pastry was perfectly executed–buttery, flaky, and not too sweet. Each variety was bursting with fresh toasted pistachios, cashews, or walnuts. This bakery truly represents culinary connections spanning Armenia, Syria, Georgia and the broader Middle East. If you are within 1 hour or less driving distance from Old Sasoon I suggest you make the drive–you won’t regret it!

Kinrose Creamery: Middle Eastern Flavors Meet Ice Cream

Food doesn’t always respect the borders drawn on a map—and honestly, that’s part of what makes it so delicious, which brings me to my next Pasadena destination, Kinrose Creamery. After all that savory goodness, it’s time for dessert. What makes Kinrose so fun is the way it incorporates Middle Eastern-inspired flavors into something universally loved: ice cream. Instead of treating Middle Eastern flavors as something that belongs only in traditional pastries or savory dishes, Kinrose plays with them in a completely different format.

Think flavors and toppings inspired by ingredients familiar throughout the region, including pistachio, tamarind, pomegranate, rose, baklava, kunafeh, and faloodeh. And this is where the connection between the two stops becomes especially interesting. Old Sasoon represents the preservation of tradition. Kinrose represents the evolution of tradition. Both are expressions of Middle Eastern food culture—but they tell very different stories.

(Photo: Persian sour cherry ice cream with “fairy floss” or Iranian cotton candy)

Pasadena might not be the first place that comes to mind when you think about Armenian or Middle Eastern food in Los Angeles, but that’s exactly why I think it’s worth exploring. The region’s food culture reflects the much larger story of immigration to Southern California: families bringing recipes, techniques and memories with them, then adapting those traditions to their new surroundings. As someone who grew up with Middle Eastern food, I’m always fascinated by the way these traditions change depending on where people settle. A recipe can travel from the Middle East to California and still retain its soul, whether it is traditional or modern. To see my foodie adventure of these placed in 4K, click on my new video below!