I book a table at Raffi's Place in Glendale about once a month and I order the same chicken koobideh every single time, which at this point is not really a choice, it is a reflex. A friend pointed out that I drive past twenty other Armenian places on Central to get to the one plate I already know by heart.
So help me break the habit. What should I be ordering over there that is not kabob, and where do I go for it? Bakeries absolutely count, I am very easy about bread.
Zhengyalov hatz is what you are missing. It is a flatbread from Artsakh stuffed with something like fifteen different greens and herbs, griddled in front of you, and the place on East Broadway named after the dish does basically nothing else. A few dollars each, they come out hot, and two of them with a yogurt drink is a full meal. It tastes like nothing else in this city, which is the whole reason to go. Get there before seven on a weeknight and the line is short.
Then walk into Panos Pastry on Central and buy a box. Nazook, kadayif, the pistachio stuff. Half the point of Glendale is that the bakery side is as deep as the kabob side and nobody ever mentions it. Also ask for mante wherever you end up, the little baked beef dumplings in tomato with garlic yogurt on top. People eat that at home and never think to order it out.
Sasoun Bakery is not Glendale exactly, it sits on Santa Monica Blvd in East Hollywood, but it is on my way back and I plan around it anyway. Lahmajun is a couple of bucks a piece, the cheese boreg is better than it has any right to be, and three people eat for under twenty. Not a sit down dinner, more a grab a bag and eat it warm in the car situation.
Kendrick is right about Panos!! I went in for a coffee once and walked out with a whole box of nazook and zero regrets, the pistachio baklava there is dangerous. Not a dinner answer I know, but if you are driving to Glendale anyway, come home with dessert.
Since you already like koobideh, at least go eat the best version of it. Mini Kabob on Vine is a tiny family operation, the parents are the whole kitchen, and the chicken koobideh there will ruin you for the rest. Call ahead, the wait gets long and there are about four tables. It is not a night out, it is one plate of food that happens to be perfect. Worth the drive from the Marina, si amigo.
Carousel on Brand is where I take people when I want the whole table covered in small plates. Order the mezze spread and the muhammara, add a glass of red, and do not fill up before the mante arrives. It is the dressed up version of what you are asking for.
Glendale is fifteen minutes from me on the 134 so I am over there constantly. Elena's Greek Armenian on South Glendale Ave is my default, nothing fancy about the room, but the lahmajun and the combo plates are consistent and cheap and I have never had a bad plate.
I love that one. 
Their food is great.
Yep, skip the skewer and go to Zhengyalov Hatz on E Broadway. They got a lot of interesting stuff and their service is superb.
I wouldn’t leave Raffi’s. Order kashk o’bademjan and scoop it with the lavash they already put on the table. Or get the vegan ghormeh sabzi. It’s on the menu. Herbs, kidney beans, dried lime. No skewer required.
Ikra plus mast-o-moosir. Eggplant dip and shallot yogurt as an appetizer.
