WHY For excellent barazek (sesame-pistacho cookies), cheese pastries and burma (rolls filled with kadayif nuts).

WHAT A solid bakery with all the Middle Eastern classics, from baklavas to maamools, with European petits fours, too.

WHO Although smaller than in the neighboring town of Glendale, Pasadena has a thriving Armenian-American community, as well as those who hail from all over the Middle East, and they come here for a sweet taste of home.