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TASTY, HEALTHY ARMENIAN FARE IN GLENVIEW
Lincolnshire Review
http://lincolnshire.suntimes.com/entertainment/9931616-421/tasty-healthy-armenian-fare-in-glenview.html
Jan 10 2012
When you come for lunch or dinner you are a guest in our house,"
says Levon Kirakosyan, chef/owner of his Siunik Armenian Grill,
which he opened in Glenview in October.
Born in Armenia, Kirakosyan hopes his eatery will fill a void in the
ethnic restaurant scene of the Chicago suburbs. He named it Siunik in
honor of a region of Armenia that he said is known for its outstanding
cuisine.
"Cooking for our customers connects me with people and it allows me
to do what I care most about, which is cooking our amazing food and
sharing our culture," said Kirakosyan.
Despite the relatively small population of Armenians estimated to
live in Chicago (approx. 8,000), Kirakosyan insists that people
of all ethnicities are interested in delicious, fresh food that is
"prepared with passion and care."
He is committed to making his dishes as healthy as they are tasty and
to that end has installed a specialized grill to cook all Siunik's
meats on suspended stainless steel skewers. These allow the fat to
melt away during grilling and reduce the fat content of the meal.
Currently, Siunik has a limited menu focused exclusively on the
culturally well-known meat dish, the kabob.
Customers can choose from four different kabob styles: the Lula,
chicken, steak or pork served up in either a traditional organic
Armenian lavash bread wrap or as a plate with side pilaf and choice
of salads.
The Lula kabob is one that Kirakosyan calls "a very typical Armenian
recipe," made with a mixed bag of ground meat that is 90 percent beef,
5 percent chicken and 5 percent pork. Siunik's vegetarian plate option
consists of rice, beans and salad varieties ($5.90-$6.60/kids $4.50).
"We are working on the menu, hopefully we will do little adjustments
and most likely we will lower the prices," said Kirakosyan.
Accompanying the meats, Siunik offers a traditional Armenian main
dish as garnish serving three different varieties of pilaf: mushroom,
made of cracked wheat, mushrooms and onions; rice/noodle, cooked with
chicken broth; and gluten-free buckwheat.
The plate is made complete with a small variety of traditional
Armenian and Middle Eastern salads including: baba ganoush, hamov
(eggplant), cabbage salad, homemade hummus, Armenian tabouli and
homemade yogurt. All sauces are made in-house by Kirakosyan's mother,
Hayastan, who is also head baker and makes the traditional lavash
and homemade breads daily.
In early January, Kirakosyan opened a second location in Skokie and
has plans to have five working locations by 2015.
"Siunik is an extension of our home. It is wonderful seeing repeat
customers, entire families coming in. And, it's tremendously gratifying
when they tell us how much they love our cooking," Kirakosyan said.
Lincolnshire Review
http://lincolnshire.suntimes.com/entertainment/9931616-421/tasty-healthy-armenian-fare-in-glenview.html
Jan 10 2012
When you come for lunch or dinner you are a guest in our house,"
says Levon Kirakosyan, chef/owner of his Siunik Armenian Grill,
which he opened in Glenview in October.
Born in Armenia, Kirakosyan hopes his eatery will fill a void in the
ethnic restaurant scene of the Chicago suburbs. He named it Siunik in
honor of a region of Armenia that he said is known for its outstanding
cuisine.
"Cooking for our customers connects me with people and it allows me
to do what I care most about, which is cooking our amazing food and
sharing our culture," said Kirakosyan.
Despite the relatively small population of Armenians estimated to
live in Chicago (approx. 8,000), Kirakosyan insists that people
of all ethnicities are interested in delicious, fresh food that is
"prepared with passion and care."
He is committed to making his dishes as healthy as they are tasty and
to that end has installed a specialized grill to cook all Siunik's
meats on suspended stainless steel skewers. These allow the fat to
melt away during grilling and reduce the fat content of the meal.
Currently, Siunik has a limited menu focused exclusively on the
culturally well-known meat dish, the kabob.
Customers can choose from four different kabob styles: the Lula,
chicken, steak or pork served up in either a traditional organic
Armenian lavash bread wrap or as a plate with side pilaf and choice
of salads.
The Lula kabob is one that Kirakosyan calls "a very typical Armenian
recipe," made with a mixed bag of ground meat that is 90 percent beef,
5 percent chicken and 5 percent pork. Siunik's vegetarian plate option
consists of rice, beans and salad varieties ($5.90-$6.60/kids $4.50).
"We are working on the menu, hopefully we will do little adjustments
and most likely we will lower the prices," said Kirakosyan.
Accompanying the meats, Siunik offers a traditional Armenian main
dish as garnish serving three different varieties of pilaf: mushroom,
made of cracked wheat, mushrooms and onions; rice/noodle, cooked with
chicken broth; and gluten-free buckwheat.
The plate is made complete with a small variety of traditional
Armenian and Middle Eastern salads including: baba ganoush, hamov
(eggplant), cabbage salad, homemade hummus, Armenian tabouli and
homemade yogurt. All sauces are made in-house by Kirakosyan's mother,
Hayastan, who is also head baker and makes the traditional lavash
and homemade breads daily.
In early January, Kirakosyan opened a second location in Skokie and
has plans to have five working locations by 2015.
"Siunik is an extension of our home. It is wonderful seeing repeat
customers, entire families coming in. And, it's tremendously gratifying
when they tell us how much they love our cooking," Kirakosyan said.