For those of you don’t watch Curb Your Enthusiasm, or live in the greater Los Angeles area you may be wondering why in the heck I’m posting gluten-free news about a chicken joint. But Zankou is not just any chicken joint (see: Curb, and more recently, Saturday Night Live), it’s an institution. A hole-in-the-wall that serves up the juiciest chicken, and the freshest hummus (with paprika? I think? whatever — it’s yum-rika) in the SoCal area, Zankou is addictive. I know addictive roast chicken sounds completely insane to the rest of the world. But there’s also the amazing garlic butter, and pita and hummus that round it out. And yes, I realize those things also don’t exactly scream, “gotta’ have it!” So you’re just going to have to trust me on this one.
Naturally once I went gluten-free, Zankou was off the list, since seeing the pita made me sad. But gradually I came around again and last night I thrilled my entire family by stopping by Zankou Chicken and picking up a bird and a falafel plate.
I was inspired by not only my children’s new-found love for the Zankou (their father was sneaking them there when I wasn’t around — hey, it’s better than the strip club), but also by the FAQ section on their website that proudly announces that everything but the pita and the tabouleh salad are gluten-free. Woot!
So this is what our dinner table looked like last night.
I realize take-out chicken does not translate well, but look at that kid’s face! The pita aside, the chicken is totally garlic-y, greasy, and delicious. You should go to there.
Have you been to Zankou?
Gluten is my Bitch 
And I’m off to Zankou!
Enjoy that pita for me, Macki.
I feel I may need to go to LA one day just to try this….
I used to love this place when I lived in LA. Whenever we go there to visit we always make sure to stop by. Delish!
I can walk to there! And do. Often. I’ve been skeptical of the gluten-free-ness of the falafel just because it’s so breaded and deep friend and how can it be?
So I haven’t tried it. Which devastates me, because in Knoxville I used to live above ‘The Falafel Hut’ and ate a falafel pita almost everyday on the way into class. So I miss it. And I want it.
WAS IT SAFE, ARE YOU OK, TELL ME IT’S OK.
Nvmd, I’m walking there now.
I was skeptical too. But they said there’s no gluten, and since I get sick right after I eat gluten, and I didn’t when I nom-nom’d, I think they’re kosher.
How did it go? Are you okay?
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Zankou RULES!!! But seriously – should life be so stressful just because you don’t eat a piece of bread because it has gluten in it? I understand and know all about gluten free, as my husband has MS and avoids it. But whoop de doo…in this case maybe you can pretend that you’re on a protein diet and can’t have the carbs. Oh yeah…then one couldn’t eat the falafel or hummus or tahini – too many carbs…ha!
Golly people ~ if there was some catasptrophic event, and times were tough, what would people with such delicate needs do? No gluten, no gmo’s, no beef or chicken, vegan, extreme vegan, no fish, on and on and on and on….
Zankou does rule.
Well, I’ll tell you what would happen if there was a catastrophic event and the only food was gluten. I would die of malnutrition. So it is a huge deal for celiacs. You see, when you have celiac disease and you eat gluten it causes your body to attack itself and destroy the villi in your small intestine. In turn, your body can no longer absorb nutrients. Which leads to malnutrition, or cancer, or stroke, really whichever comes first.
Even though I follow the gluten-free diet religiously, my villi have not totally grown back because if I ever go out to eat there’s a chance (or it’s a reality, given the fact that I have not totally healed) that I’m still ingesting gluten, albeit without me knowing it. Naturally, this is stressful. Because you know, cancer and death and all of that.
That particular location is right up the street from us. Funny. Thanks for pointing out the EVERYTHING BUT THE…part. We’ve gone a couple times since I’ve gone GF and while I really, really, really miss the pita, it’s still quite yummy!