It should serve as no surprise that Glendale, which houses more Armenian immigrants than all but Dearborn, Michigan, contains numerous Armenian pastry shops. I’ve eaten at most of them, and I’ve enjoyed several, but I haven’t found a better combination of quality and variety than what I encountered at Oasis Pastry & Cafe.
The Lebanese-owned bakery re-opened after renovations in an otherwise drab strip mall on July 22, 2003. Most people who visit the bakery are local, but I could easily understand if someone decided to drive a half-hour out of the way to sample Oasis’ delectable products.
Oasis devoted the top shelf to traditional square-shaped baklava filled with crushed walnuts or pistachios. The second level showcased fingers, mini roses, birds nests and almond pastries. I’ll get to level three in a minute. Level four contains more mini roses, Swar Alsit – a pastry hoop filled with crushed pistachios – and more birds nests.
Clockwise from top left: Osmalie, Ballurie, Bassma, Namoora, and cashew fingers. Osmalie and Ballurie involve kataifi, whisps of shredded filo similar to shredded wheat. Osmalie contain a center of syrup-bound crushed walnuts. I didn’t just like the Ballurie because it has Lurie in the name; I liked them because they contained crushed pistachios. Bassma featured knafee dough fortified by clarified butter, filled with pistachios. Namoora was kind of like a macaroon, with shredded coconut and a golden roof studded with a single almond. Everything was exemplary.
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