Situated in Little Armenia, the East Hollywood enclave with a large Armenian population, Arax Bakery first opened in 1986, named for an Armenian river. The current owner is Vrej Tolmajian, who continues to use old family recipes, rising every morning before sunrise to make fresh pastes, fillings and toppings, and of course to bake. His aunt Taline and her husband are also key contributors to the bakery’s success.

Unlike many Armenian bakeries around the city, which focus on sweets, Arax is committed to savory baked goods. As with many of the best eateries, Arax has a narrow focus, choosing to sell only a dozen items per day, which helps with quality control. Here’s the menu, which touts affordable items like Lahmajun - thin-crusted beef pizzas; Beuregs - pockets filled with meat, cheese, potato or spinach; and breads topped with spicy olive sauce, spinach and cheese or zatar.

After the various breads are fired in the oven, they’re set on the retail counter to cool. Here’s the spinach and cheese bread, a fluffy disc brushed with olive oil and topped with chopped spinach, onions and mozzarella-like Armenian cheese. Los Angeles isn’t strong on pizza, but this is a winning substitute.

With all the breads, there’s the option to have it re-heated for a couple minutes in the oven, restoring the just-baked effect and bringing out the wonderful aromas.

Lahmajun is Arax’s biggest seller, a crispy millimeters-thin disc topped with ground beef and zesty tomato sauce. During Lent, Arax uses ground mushrooms instead of beef. During those forty days, Vrej also offers one of my favorite items, a half-moon shaped pocket filled with tahini paste, chard and garbanzo beans.

At the top of the photo are spinach and cheese breads. At the bottom: Lahmajun. In the middle: molive rolls, another fluffy creation filled with zatar, a Middle Eastern spice mixture that typically includes thyme, sumac and oregano.

Spicy olive bread is similar to the spinach and cheese bread, but it’s slathered with spicy, olive-studded tomato-paste. The lip-stinging is well worth it.

To keep the baked goods fresh, after they cool on the counter, they’re bagged. Here are stacks of spicy olive bread on the right and Manaeshe on the left. Manaeshe is like an unfurled molive roll, similarly seasoned with zatar.

In a display case below the counter lie trays with two varieties of date paste-filled wheat cookies. The ones of the left are called Cheoregs, and the stack on the right is called Mamouls. Both are sprinkled with sesame seeds.

Arax Bakery even offers date-free cookie twists, browned at the base.

Another unpictured item is Arax Bakery’s pull-apart frisbee-sized disc flavored with tahini paste. Taline will ask whether you want it well-done or lightly-cooked, depending on how crispy or soft you like it. Well-done, the tahini and sugar tend to caramelize a bit more.

Arax Bakery may only offer a dozen items per day, but they’re all expertly prepared, so I always face an agonizing decision at the counter. While I may order different things, I can always be sure of two things. One: The baked goods are consistently delicious. Two: the Tolmajians are consistently friendly. The combination has made me a regular.

Hours:
Monday – Friday: 6 AM – 6 PM
Saturday: 6 AM – 4 PM

NOTE: Be warned, if you park in the lot, customers of the Salvadorean bakery WILL block you in. Park on the street instead.

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This entry is filed under Bakery, California, Eastside, Los Angeles, Middle Eastern, Southern California.