Date of Visit: September 2, 2008

Any conversation about rotisserie chicken in Los Angeles has to begin with Zankou Chicken, the Armenian-American yardbird empire that stretches across the city and dips down into Orange County. Their chicken and garlic sauce command lines at most hours of the day, at every location. However, Matt “Mattatouille” Kang alerted me to Sevan Chicken, which may very well serve a superior bird.

Sarkis Trashian and wife Mariam opened their first chicken coop 16 years ago in Tujunga, naming it for a town and lake in their native Armenia. They opened the Glendale location in 2001, alongside Sevan Produce. Finally, they debuted a third restaurant in Chatworth in February 2008.

Sevan sells shawerma, kebobs, falafel and chicken tacos, to name four other options, but the fast-food restaurant isn’t called Sevan Falafel or Sevan Shawerma, so best stick with the rotisserie.

The ½ Dinner Special ($6.88) featured an obscene amount of food for a shockingly low price. The chicken was at least as good as Zankou at its best. Zankou is wildly inconsistent, bone-dry one visit, succulent the next. The caramelized skin was amazing, salty and not fatty at all. The chicken fat melted into the thigh and drumstick, leading to luscious meat. The breast meat could have been a little juicier, but it’s a small quibble.

The chicken came with pita, sauce and a choice of two sides. In this case, that meant rice pilaf and hummus (a.k.a. hamous). Unfortunately, the pita was store bought, the yellow rice was pasty and the hummus was pedestrian and oily up top.

Sevan has a choice of sauce: tahini, garlic, B.B.Q., sweet & sour or salsa. In order to truly test Sevan against Zankou, there was only one viable option: garlic sauce. It was about the same as Zankou’s version, creamy, blended with finely minced garlic.

It’s a good thing Sevan’s chicken is so good, since the décor is an eyesore.

Other Locations:

6255 Foothill Boulevard
Tujunga, CA 91042
818 249 7607

10317 Mason Avenue
Chatsworth, CA 91311
818 709 7098

Related Posts

1. Bonano’s Chicken: Savoring Scintillating Peruvian Pollo
2. Alcazar: Finding a Different Type of Fries in Encino
3. Week in Pictures (August 8 -14, 2011): Rotisserie Chicken, Collaborative Brewers, the Dusty Road and More
4. Pollos El Brasero: Fanning Peruvian Flames at Rotisserie Chicken Specialist
5. Chicken House Debuts in Little Armenia

1. mattatouille, September 8, 2008:

   haha nice review. I haven’t had sevan in a while, I should hit it up. We have this funny/cool way of eating the drumstick. Basically you lather it with garlic sauce (more than it either healthy or respectable), then take a large bite out of it. We call it the money shot.

This entry is filed under Armenian, California, Los Angeles, San Fernando Valley, Southern California.