Carlos Alberto Kabatián. Surely a name unknown to most. But if we say Sarkis (pronounce Sárkis) more than one will make his mouth water with the image of falafel, hummus or baklava. A little over 40 years ago, the Villa Crespo restaurant has been synonymous with Armenian food. And popular. People of all kinds sell out the 200 covered in the room both at noon and at night, when the queues start before 19.
Sarkis was written down as Carlos Alberto, but the name his mother wanted to give him accompanied him all his life. Like the passion for gastronomy, which premiered with a grill and later with a pasta house. "For those things in life he sold everything. But he already had in mind to start an Armenian restaurant," recalls his son Willy, heir with his brother Ricardo of the family legacy.
Even though ethnic food was an eccentricity, Sarkis wanted to make known the dishes of the land of his ancestors. "We found this corner (Thames and Jufré) and worked at first as a warehouse and bar, with the whole family at the foot of the canyon and Amado, an Arab cook," says Willy. Charismatic, porteño and entertainer, Sarkis continually invited friends and acquaintances to lunch. Word of mouth consecrated them until today.
What to eat at Sarkis
Sarkis at noon, complete. Photo Constanza Niscovolos
Obviously, in Sarkis there are the Armenian classics, but with the imprint of family recipes. And it follows the tradition of serving small plates – even half portions – so you can try everything. There is a chopped with more than 20 ingredients. The inevitable ones: chickpea puree and eggplant puree.
The most requested are the falafel (medallions of chickpeas and fried spices on a sarawak mattress – pickled cabbage salad – that are worth $ 2,200 or $ 1,600 a half portion), with a distinctive touch. "In general it is served with yogurt mixed with sesame and here we do it with a sauce based on peanut paste, lemon, garlic, parsley and a pinch of pepper," explains Willy.
Two classics, chickpea puree and eggplant puree. Photo Constanza Niscovolos
Another favorite is the mousaka (eggplant pie minced meat with walnuts, mozzarella, red sauce and parmesan worth $2,400).
Stuffed grape leaves, tabule salads and Bethlehem (sautéed eggplant, pumpkins and peppers with raisins and almonds) also come out a lot; and carne al fierrito (beef brochette with tomato and onion, which can come with toast, yogurt sauce and Provencal for $ 3,000).
Vegetarian and diabetic, Willy says he has suffered from a lack of options when he goes out to eat. And that is one of the reasons why in Sarkis the premise is to achieve a cuisine that we could call inclusive. "In recent years what I've explored the most is the area of veganism, because that's what's coming, and we don't want to leave anyone out."
The typical dishes of Sarkis. Photos Constanza Niscovolos
They also have a menu for celiacs, vegetarians (they replace meat with seitan or soy), desserts for diabetics and if there are hypertensive people you can order their dishes without salt.
Tireless traveler, with a creativity inherited from his father, he is always thinking of new dishes, an innovative touch for old acquaintances. "Abroad I like to try different things and from that experiment together with Martín Cornalino, who has been our chef for 30 years." One such dish is eggbill, which has smoked eggplant cut with a knife, tomato, garlic, and nuts.
Sarkis also "invented" things that he later included in the letter. "I was a donkey and with the cook they used to go to the racecourse. Together they devised the Sumatra, which is a dish with eggplants, pumpkins and peppers. They named it after a horse," he recalls. Sarkis also had the sensitivity to pick up in the air what could work.
Sarrkis desserts Photo Constanza Niscovolos
One noon when his son was eating dried tomatoes macerated in olive, with paprika and ground chili, just because he liked them that way, the preparation interested a couple of customers who asked for it. The next day he incorporated it into the menu as "Tomatitos Willy".
Sarkis' family recipes
In the early years the restaurant's kitchen was the territory of Sarkis' wife, Amalia, who although she was a descendant of the Toltec Indians and had been born in Santiago del Estero, soon learned the secrets of Armenian culture.
Mom, Nevart, took care of desserts until she got older, including baklava (row dough with nuts and syrup for $800) and kadaif (row dough with walnuts and ricotta for $800). Then the sweets were left in the hands of Willy's aunt, Maria. And as the quantity and variety increased – they went from offering two oriental desserts to six – they had to start outsourcing.
Father and son: Sarkis and Willy. Photo Constanza Niscovolos
The same happened with some basics, such as bread and empanadas dough (they come from the Armenian Bakery), the typical cheese -very light, with a lot of water and enough salt- and the laban (a kind of cream cheese); the bohios, the subereg (cheesecake with four layers of row dough).
"Things that have a lot of elaboration and take time out of us. We can't do them anymore. But we control everything, we are always testing to maintain quality and identity."
On the walls you can see several family portraits, traces of Sarkis' history. "He was the head who made this work and when he passed away (in 2005) there were people who didn't bet anything on us. But he made a silent job, he made us work everywhere, nobody can tell us how this is done."
In Sarkis there are always people. Photo Constanza Niscovolos
Willy is convinced that in the end they were all references. "My old man because he was the one who made the decisions, me because I brought him an idea, my brother because he changed some things. It was everyone's task."
Who will eat at Sarkis
Sarkis' audience is constantly growing. "That's one of the things that surprises me the most," says Willy, "40 years ago the one who came to eat was the married man with children or the one who became a boyfriend."
Then they began to see groups of schoolmates or young couples at noon. "If there is something that excites me is that many older people come, especially Saturday and Sunday at noon. With cane, with walker... This place is more than a restaurant, it's like a social club..."
Sarkis is open practically every day, except for the New Year's Eve holidays – some time ago they also closed on April 24 (for the Armenian genocide) and May 1 – because those days are reserved to spend with the family, the beginning of everything.
Stuffed grape leaves, another classic. Photo Constanza Niscovolos -
"My elders were two unique beings. So Sarkis is not a coincidence, it is the essence of the family they formed and the love they put into it. Just like us and the people around us: 50% of the employees have been around for more than 30 years."
They also make time for solidarity, every October they travel to Santiago del Estero to bring food and donations to four schools. And they have an urn in the living room for those who want to collaborate. "We go to the mountains, to their province, and we take care of the people who do not have, as my mother taught us."
With an average covered of 5 thousand pesos, the idea of its owners is to remain a popular restaurant, where people can indulge. "Our menu is very versatile, out there you order a single dish and it's done," says Willy, although he observes that in general people choose to give themselves a panzada.
"We could charge more and people would still come, we would earn the same. But we don't want that, we want to continue with the original message: to spread Armenian food."
Sarkis. Thames and Jufré, Villa Crespo. Open every day from noon to 15 hours and from 19 to 24 hours. IG: @restaurantesarkis
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