10,000 pieces of Middle Eastern monti are handmade daily at LA's Monta Factory

The Monta Factory in Los Angeles, California, primarily in Glendale and Pasadena are owned by the Egiazaryan family (Grant, Evelina, Francine, and Sarkes). They have been prepping handmade monta for over a decade. Monta or monti can be found on the menu at various Middle Eastern restaurants, and this is how the family makes it based on their Armenian roots and recipes. The dish consists of marinated ground beef stuffed inside a boat-shaped dough shell. The tiny monti pieces are then oven baked until the edges are crisp, and served with tomato sauce, garlic cream, or both. Customers can also order soup monta, which consists of closed monta pieces inside a tomato herb or garlic cream soup. The family first started the business when they immigrated to the US from Armenia in the early 90s opening up a small shop in Downtown. The shop closed a few months later, only for the dream to be picked back up 16 years later with a hole-in-the wall wholesale shop in Pasadena, and later a larger dine-in restaurant in Glendale. The family hopes to pass the monta-making tradition down to the younger generation and preserve the dish and family memories. For more, please visit https://montafactory.com/m https://www.instagram.com/montafactory https://www.instagram.com/montafactory_glendale/