Mideastern Surprise

A few months back I raved about an Armenian restaurant in Tarzana named Mihran’s. Now I’ve discovered a place in Sherman Oaks, Hagop, with a menu that’s more than vaguely similar.

The reason is that Hagop and Mihran Ghadanian happen to be brothers, both born in Beirut. Like Mihran’s, Hagop features Armenian and Middle Eastern appetizers, wonderful grilled kebabs and a few real surprises. And it’s been around 12 years.

Hagop is a charming restaurant, a place that manages to be elegant in a limited space. The tables are set with white and salmon-pink tablecloths, and many glittery mirrors extend the room visually. What’s more, this restaurant is spotless.

Spirits are taken seriously here. Armenians from Lebanon generally drink arak, a clear, anise-flavored distillate, and Hagop stocks several imported araks. There are half a dozen premium single-malt Scotches on a dining-room shelf and a wooden case filled with Napoleon brandies and Cognac bottles.

The appetizers (mezze) are just wonderful. The muhammara is a thick, dark red paste of bread crumbs, walnuts, red pepper, cumin, tahineh and pomegranate juice. It’s amazingly good when drizzled with olive oil on hot pita bread. I love the delicate slivers of lamb’s tongue cooked with vinegar and splashed with garlic and lemon juice. And naturally there are stuffed grape leaves (sarma) with a moist, crumbly, fragrant filling of rice, pine nuts and spices.

You also find mezze here that you won’t encounter anywhere else in the city. Sometimes the chef prepares samasel, a deliriously rich dish of beef marrow seasoned with olive oil, lemon juice and crushed garlic. It’s the first time in 20 years I’ve seen marrow in a restaurant. On certain days there is the chef’s own soujouk, a deliciously spicy beef sausage served hot from the grill.

Hagop even makes a terrific chicken salad. It comes in the form of a creamy paste of chicken bound with tahineh, parsley and garlic, an ever-present ingredient here.

The chef is an expert grill man, and he prepares kebabs as good as any you’ll find. If you insist on eating your kebabs with rice, however, this is not going to be the restaurant of your dreams. Hagop doesn’t serve any rice, quite an unusual step for an Armenian restaurant.

So you’ll just have to content yourself with the irresistible Antakyali kebab, three skewers of minced beef crowned with wedges of grilled pita bread smothered with diced tomatoes, grilled onions and chopped parsley.

The shish kebab is a nice portion of beautifully browned, bite-size chunks of trim, tender lamb. Hagop’s luleh kebab consists of three skewers of oniony minced beef. I particularly like khashkhash kebab, essentially luleh kebab with a powerful dose of garlic mixed in.

The dessert choice is modest but pleasing. The chef’s wife, Sonia, makes the honey-rich walnut and pistachio baklava, and the pastries are so popular that the restaurant often runs out. There are also fresh fruits such as mangoes, Persian melon and pineapple.

BE THERE

Hagop, 14228 Ventura Blvd., Sherman Oaks. Tuesday-Saturday, noon-10 p.m.; Sunday, noon-7 p.m. Closed Monday. Full bar. Street parking. All major cards. Dinner for two, $23-$40. Suggested dishes: muhammara, $3.75; lamb tongue, $4.75; chicken salad, $5.25; Antakyali kebab, $9.50; khashkhash kebab, $9.95. Call (818) 995-8254.