Thanks for the update. If you find anything more about restaurants serving old Armenian specialties in Yerevan, we’d be glad to hear about it. Happy hunting.

First off, you touched on a fascinating point. People around the world are passionate about their country’s food and often times, they assert that features of their cuisine originated with what is now their culture. In reality, there is very little “original” out there; there’s been a lot of mixing over the millennia. I also think people tend to think that if their mothers made it, then it originated in their country. So the little Mediterranean geography lesson you give is only the beginning. The chicken soup example is perfect. Which raises the question: who invented it (that’s for another post).

The traditional Armenian foods you list sound great. We’ve had xashlama and I believe we’ve had harrisa. Jengalov hac sounds really terrific and fascinating — we are big fans of the pomegranate. I wish we’d had a taste of them while in Armenia. Next time — as we’ve traveled, we’ve definitely become more savvy at seeking out food. As for the influence on foods, the thing that surprised us in Armenia was that when our Armenian friends there would take us out for Armenian food, it ended up being something more like Georgian food — not the food you just described. I think that’s why it was so enlightening (and uplifting) to talk to the man who owned Nury’s deli because he hoped to focus on those elements of the Armenian table that were uniquely Armenian.

I’m certain Armenian food is very good. Next time we go searching for it, we are going to seek out some grandmas.

@Danielle unfortunately, Yerevan does not have a restaurant culture at all similar to what we have in the US…in fact, if you ask most Armenians why they don’t go out to eat traditional Armenian foods, it would simply be “Why would I go out and pay for something my Grandma can make at home for a quarter of the price?” There are, however, foods unique to Armenia that you would find in the home or in villages, for example Xash (cow’s foot soup), Xashlama (meat with potatoes, peppers, and tomatoes), Harrisa (turkey or chicken meat cooked with wheats), Jengalov Hac (bread made with greens and pomegranates inside), Kananci (greens cooked down and then scrambled with eggs), as well as various compotes (fruit with sugars that end up making a juice) and tetoos (pickles). It is true that there is a heavy Middle Eastern and Russian influence in our foods…but that is also true for Georgian foods….that doesn’t make it any less legitimately good…or any less legitimately Armenian.

Good luck in your search!