The smell of carefully-charred animal flesh has for millenia defined cultures merely viable, and great. Where outdoor grilling is frowned upon, the Gods are displeased. And so I stand solidly with the Armenians of Glendale, California, against a city ordinance which bans all outdoor commerce, including grilling, unless a special use permit is obtained. The ban rightly rankles the city's substantial Armenian population; which hankers for the old-country tastes of the more than one dozen Armenian banquet halls in town offering chicken, beef and pork grilled outdoors at high heat over mesquite-flavored charcoal.

Some banquet hall operators in Glendale have been defying the ban, which - wonder of wonders - is not well-enforced. But a three-member Armenian majority on the city council of five tried to clear the decks with a repeal of the onerous law. No surrepititious grilling for them, and their constituents. However, they needed four votes to amend it, and fell short in a recent vote. The words are still flying like sparks, though. The Los Angeles Times reports:

"This is the epicenter for fine Armenian cuisine," said a frustrated Councilman Ara Najarian, who believes that the grilling rules are stymieing the development of Glendale's dining scene. "Most Armenians are highly sophisticated, and they demand the best. A second-rate restaurant would not make it in Glendale," he said.....While the city has struggled to strictly enforce the ban on outdoor grilling, Najarian and other backers of the rule change say it would bring outdoor kebab grilling out of the shadows and send a message that the city supports the pursuit of Armenian cuisine.

Mayor Dave Weaver, who opposes lifting the ban, believes that the debate has gotten too bitter and denounced his Armenian American colleagues on the council for "using the race card." "We're portrayed as anti-Armenian, and that's so far off the mark," he said. "We got a lot of complaints saying, 'Why are you allowing them to grill outdoors?' I'm philosophically opposed to commercial grilling outside. If we open the door, then anybody from Bob's Big Boy to a barbecue place can do it."
...The city has received complaints from residents about the smoke from food being grilled outside banquet halls."Would you like to smell other peoples' food all day long?" asked longtime resident Nancy Campbell. "We were all OK stopping smoking in a lot of public places."

And the problem here is....what? Eau de Barbeque seeping through the streets of Glendale? That's a GREAT smell. Beats the heck out of what you usually smell in cities these days. As for Nancy Campbell: "smelling other people's food all day long" is no problem unless you're a vegan revolted by meat (in which case, please get a life), or you must negotiate a hallway in a stuffy apartment building full of fish- and cabbage-cookers (in which case, deal with it or move!) And Nancy: To compare the smell of succulent kabobs to that of cigarettes is just plain absurd.

The Armenian bloc on the council had proposed a reasonable compromise, as the L.A. Daily News reported last month.

The proposed ordinance would require grill operators to register with the South Coast Air Quality Management District. Businesses with grills larger than 10 square feet and used within 200 feet of homes need to apply for a conditional-use permit. There also were specific guidelines for grill construction and fire safety regulations. In a last-minute attempt to sway the dissenters, Councilman Ara Najarian proposed the ordinance expire in December 2007 so the council can remove or adjust it if needed.

Ultimately, the best argument for the Armenian grill halls of Glendale is economic. There's a sizeable market because they purvey an authentic culinary experience of high quality. Some complaints from local pollyannas don't constitute a public burden anywhere near negating the substantial consumer and economic benefits - including, ahem, sales tax revenues. Local and regional economies need to go with their strengths. This is part of the cultural and economic fabric of Glendale. Why not capitalize on it?

One commerical grillmeister quoted in The Times story says if he must, he'll attempt to reproduce the outdoor grill set-up indoors, at an estimated cost of $80,000. That'd be a shame. But if it happened, I'd bet you dollars to souvlaki someone would still complain about the exhaust.

TECHNORATI TAGS: GLENDALE, CALIFORNIA, OUTDOOR GRILLING BAN. ARMENIAN, KEBABS