Tucked into the corner of a Glendale strip mall, a onetime doughnut shop now smells like smoke, spices, and fresh-baked bread. It is home to Yerord Mas, a tiny bakery-and-deli that has abruptly landed on many Angelenos' radar. Chef-owner Arthur Grigoryan’s signature move is a fluffy pita stuffed with a towering basturma brisket sandwich, a creation that went viral long before he ever had a brick-and-mortar space. Around that headline-grabber, he has built a compact menu that layers Armenian heritage with assertive smoke and plenty of spice.
The online buzz just graduated to full critical treatment. Critics Bill Addison and Mark E. Potts recently filed a review in the Los Angeles Times, spotlighting how Grigoryan reimagines basturma using a Texas-style brisket technique and folds in Armenian, Egyptian, and Lebanese influences. According to the Los Angeles Times, Yerord Mas officially opened in January in the former doughnut shop after years of pop-up and ghost-kitchen work.
Small Space, Big Flavors
The menu has more going on than that photogenic brisket. Eater LA points to patots, multiple styles of kyuftah, and other Eastern Mediterranean dishes that push past the Armenian standards most Angelenos are used to seeing. In the same write-up, Eater LA notes that Yerord Mas sits near the Glendale–Burbank border and that the dining room holds only a handful of tables, an intentionally tight setup that keeps the operation feeling focused and intimate.
From Pop-Up To Permanent Home
Yerord Mas did not appear overnight. The business built a following through years of pop-ups, Smorgasburg appearances, and ghost-kitchen stretches before landing in its current storefront, according to local coverage. The Infatuation has tracked how the basturma brisket evolved over nearly a decade of tinkering. Local listings also note that Grigoryan trained in Bordeaux and worked for Nancy Silverton before striking out with his own Armenian-focused concept, a background that helps explain the kitchen’s technical polish; see Corner for more on that history.
What To Order
Plan to share. The flagship basturma brisket sandwich, priced at about $38, can easily feed two people. A smoked pork version and a vegetarian kyuftah help round out the short menu for different appetites. The Los Angeles Times points out that the sandwich’s punch comes as much from the puffy pita, baked outdoors, and the lengthy smoking and curing process as from the beef itself. For current hours and ordering details, check Yerord Mas' website.
Whether Yerord Mas settles into life as a full-fledged Glendale institution or remains a cult favorite that keeps food lovers lining up, it is already woven into a broader moment for Armenian cuisine in Los Angeles. Eater LA has framed the shop as a potential vanguard for the city’s Armenian food scene, a reminder that ambitious, story-driven cooking can thrive even in the most unassuming strip-mall corners.
