Lebanese-Armenian Family Inspires Bok Bok Chicken

(Gerry Furth-Sides) It is really hard for me to hold back from effusive praise for this restaurant that combines Next Generation authentic ethnic food with American technology to serve it up quickly and affordably – in the most warm, inviting setting.  Especially when it is a rare find these days.

Step inside family-owned and operated, Bok Bok Chicken and you instantly feel at home even in the stark minimalist decor of a casual counter service eatery with a huge video of the menu on one wall that explains the menu before you order.   The space itself puts you in a good mood: earth tones and brick;  ceiling pin lights and wall-size windows, with a woodsy mix of low and high tables and banquettes , and a long performance kitchen area complete with rotisserie lend the double storefront restaurant a cheery spaciousness.

 Gregarious, high-energy Bok Bok Chicken creator Jacob Tchamanian is as pleased with his wife’s inspiration for the eatery as he is proud of the process he developed to serve her superb home cooking in short-order fashion.   While the middle eastern/Mediterranean concept has been the rage in Los Angeles for the past few years, Bok Bok takes it to a new level by prepping the food in their own private commissaries, both in Las Vegas and now Southern California, to fresh-casual fare in what they call, ” a comfortable farmhouse setting.”  The only strange part is the meaning of the Bok Bok name?  Ask Jacob and he laughs, “what sound does a chicken make?”

Recipes, from the rotisserie chicken to beef shawerma, are prepared from family recipes that have been tested and adjusted for the large numbers.  Jacob, who has a vast knowledge of the cuisine from his far flung cultural heritage in Lebanon, Turkey and Israel,  happily shares his own favorites. He likes to say, “It took hundreds of years to perfect the home cooked version, but only three to build a commissary to prep the food and send it out to be cooked and served at family-focused, Bok Bok Chicken.” A wildly successful businessman in his own right, Bok Bok is a labor of love for him.  “Look at me now,” he points out.  “Today I came fin or a couple of hours and I’ve already been here six!”

Family Meal Fresh Sides make a meal in themselves, such as: hummus, fattoush salad (chopped salad with watercress, mint, green onion, tomato, cucumber, bell pepper, pita chips and house dressing), quinoa eech (quinoa, tomato, onion, parsley and spices), batata salad (potato, green onion, parsley, lemon juice, olive oil and spices), tabbouleh salad (minced parsley, green onion, tomato, cracked wheat, lemon juice, olive oil and spice), mutabbal (eggplant, tahini and garlic) and a regal rice pilaf.

Cheese Boreg, fried dough filled with cheeses, green onion, parsley and spices is a favorite snack or starter.  The name is “Boreg” refers to the layers of dough, thicker than the layered versions in order to fry them.  Hearty soups, lentil and chicken noodle, are slow-cooked for hours at the commissary.

Big Plates Shawerma Plate ($12) are cooked in front of your eyes, the beef stacked in vertical flame-broilers after being marinated for 18 hours.  Rice pilaf, roasted tomato, piaz, fattoush and tahini plates not for the faint of heart.  We made three meals of one. The Rice Pilaf made a rice-eater out of me.

The Bok Bok Chicken Plate ($12) is a meal of  half a Rotisserie Chicken, Rice Pilaf, hummus and fattoush.  The chicken is cooked on the rotisserie to allow the flavor seep into the juices.   Chickens are cage-free, hormone-free, antibiotic-free and never frozen.

Large slabs of Baklava make a satisfying but not overly sweet ending to a meal.
“That’s because I don’t add extra sweetness with honey as most do,” Jacob explained.  The same is true of Gatnaboor or Rice Pudding made with cinnamon and rose water.  When I protested to Jacob and pointed to my hips to show where the desserts ended up, he laughed and said, “that’s what we call a low-fat diet!”

To view the full menu, visit bokbokchicken.com.

SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA LOCATIONS:
Bok Bok Chicken – Culver City, 4114 Sepulveda Blvd., Ste. E, Culver City 90230 Opens Oct. 21
Bok Bok Chicken – Downtown Los Angeles, 108 West 2^nd St., Los Angeles 90012 Now Open 
Bok Bok Chicken – Eagle Rock, 2146 Colorado Blvd., Eagle Rock 90041 Now Open 
Bok Bok Chicken Venice Beach and Century City in progress

For more information, visit BokBokChicken.com or connect socially on Instagram @EatBokBok