Gold Dig #53

I’m always looking for delicious food at a great price, so one of the things I like about Jonathan Gold’s 101 Best Restaurants list is that there are some $$$$ places on it. Kobee Factory and Syrian Kitchen is one such spot. It is in the middle of nowhere Van Nuys, where I had no reason to go except to try Kobee Factory, but I found a reason to make the trek.

The Dish

In case you couldn’t figure it out from the name of the place, they serve Syrian food, particularly specializing in kobee, a.k.a. kibbeh or kebbe, which is bulgur wheat formed into balls and filled with ground meat.

Shish Taouk (chicken), Beef, Filet Kabob Plate

We did a kabob plate, filled with the typical things you’d find in this common Middle Eastern dish (meat, rice, hummus, salad, grilled tomato), but done superbly well. You can get chicken, beef, or filet, but you might as well just get them all!

Kobee Barbecue, Kobee Fried, Kobee Veggie

And of course we had to try all three of the different kinds of Kobee on offer. They do a barbecue, a fried, and a veggie. I kept switching from one, to the next, to the next, trying to decide which was my favorite and finally coming to the surprising conclusion that I couldn’t pick a winner. The outer shell is crisp but has a pleasing texture in the chewing, and the fillings are full of good flavor. Definitely get them all, and then go back to the counter to order more of whichever you like best.