I noticed Afters near an alley slash parking lot. Known for their "milky buns" (ice cream donut sandwiches but without a hole). We ended up parking on the street, near the restaurant...
In front of the Pizza Man, a pizza joint complete with a mustachioed and soul patched hipster man logo...
One of my good friends who is of Armenian descent highly recommended Zankou as well as Cathy of mmm-yoso.
We definitely had to try their chicken so we got a combo plate of their half chicken along with a beef kabob combo. For TC, we got a salad for her to enjoy later.
Meats on a spit ready to be sliced.
This photo was taken while we were finishing up our meal. When we initially arrived, it was pretty crowded and there were several lines going on.
The chicken combo came with pita bread, tomatoes, pickled turnips, peppers, hummus and their famous garlic sauce. The beef kabob plate also had hummus, a grilled tomato and cucumber salad.
This was a lot of food. There were leftovers for sure. The chicken was so juicy and tender. The skin so tasty. I skipped out on eating the pita and instead, ate the rice (it's been awhile since I've had white rice) and that wonderful beef kabob. Both meats were so flavorful and delicious.
That garlic sauce is so light and fluffy and if I could, I would slather it on everything, ha ha. It's that good.
For the record, we did not go to Afters for dessert. We were already full from dinner and I wasn't feeling it for a donut/ice cream combination.
In researching Zankou chicken for this post, I found out that there was a reference to their chicken in the song "Debra" by Beck. I actually hadn't heard of this song before but it was released November 1999 for his album "Midnite Vultures". Sorry, his music was never on my radar back then as well as now After listening to his song, it sounds like Beck was trying to have that classic retro 70's soul vibe with his falsetto and the instrumentation (organ, horns)
"Like a fruit that's right for pickin'...I wouldn't do you like that Zankou chicken..."
Remember that dude Duff from the now defunct Foodnetwork show, "Ace of Cakes"? Here he is on "The Best Thing I Ever Ate" for Zankou Chicken's garlic sauce.
Man, I want some of that chicken and sauce right now!
Article:
"15 things you didn't know about Zankou Chicken" Thrillist May 25, 2015
Who else went to Zankou Chicken?
Here is a super old post from Mary from 2006, May 2006
plus a more recent one by Cathy of mmm-yoso,
"Road trip Pasadena 2013 - Rose Parade float decorating day and Zankou Chicken" December 2012
On a more serious note (and since I live in a cave and hadn't researched Zankou Chicken prior to eating here), I found out about the tragic double murder and subsequent suicide committed by Mardiros Iskenderian, the son of the founder of Zankou Chicken. Whoa....In the first article, they mention that he liked the detailed and gridded conciseness of Thomas Brothers maps. In the Pasadena location there is a huge blowup of the Thomas Brothers L.A. map on one of the walls. I remembered looking at it the night before and wondering about it. It was really sad reading about the tragic history. There are different factions of the Zankou Chicken locations due to the rift in the family, for example, the brochure in the Pasadena location does not mention the locations owned by a different branch of the family.
Articles about the Zankou Chicken murders:
"The Zankou Chicken Murders" LAMag, April 2008
"Zankou Chicken's tragic family rift impedes chain's growth" LAMag, March 18, 2010
Zankou Chicken
1296 E. Colorado Blvd.
Pasadena, CA 91106
(626) 405-1502
zankouchicken.com + reviews from trip advisor and that four lettered site
The last two days in review:
Day 1 of mini roadtrip to Pasadena
We made it through the rain...to Pasadena - Pho Banh Mi Che Cali, Cafe 86 and Copa Vida
Day 2
Breakfast at Lincoln
Seed Bakery
Parks closed, 10k steps achieved and enjoying the sights on Colorado Blvd.
Military latte & cortado @ Art+Science Cafe
Vincent Price Art Museum fail...
NADI Myanmar Cafe
Return to Nucleus Art Gallery
plus this last post!
We wouldn't mind coming back here. I want to try that chicken tarna wrap, with garlic sauce of course.
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