Zankou Chicken:

As legend has it, Zankou Chicken, makes one of the best chicken sandwiches in Los Angeles. Zankou is a Mediterranean restaurant that started in Beirut, Lebanon and has since opened eight locations in the Los Angeles area. I found this quote on their website, “Centered in the heart of America’s motion picture industry, Zankou attracted thousands of aspiring actors, writers, artists, and musicians with its delicious, inexpensive meals. ” but besides the aspiring actress I ate with, the place didn’t feel particularly Hollywood.

The chicken sandwich we ordered was called, “Tarna”, which I guess meant carved off the spit. They placed it on top of a warmed pita bread that was plastered in a white garlic sauce. As I watched them make my sandwich I realized I had been eating a similar sandwich from, Baba Ghanouge, three times a week this summer. My affinity for these chicken sandwiches runs really deep.

My criteria for a good sandwich of the Zankou variety is that the chicken must be moist and I need to taste garlic for a few hours after I am done eating. While I was burping up the chicken and garlic sauce for hours after, the chicken was not as moist as I would have liked. I still loved the sandwich and I can see why this place has a legendary reputation.

Zankou Chicken raises an interesting point for me in regards to my palette. I eat something like Zankou or Mexican and have my likes and dislikes, but since I generally love what I am eating so much, it is never bad. Even if the chicken is dry or the salsa lacks flavor it doesn’t mean I don’t enjoy the meal. I actually am more curious to see if I could find someone who makes a Lebanese/Medditeranean sandwich that I find disgusting.  That is a more impressive feat in my opinion than making the best.