Chef Ararat El Rawi introduces Brooklyn to Armenian cuisine at Café Little Armenia

I was first introduced to the eccentric world of Chef Ararat El Rawi via social media after reading about his gourmet “pop-ups” sprouting around Bed-Stuy, Brooklyn, born during the outdoor seating era of the pandemic.  “I opened the pop-up because I wanted to try catering,” he explained, baffled that these small dinners snowballed into cooking classes and then serious interest in a restaurant. Chef Ararat then spent months looking for a home for his authentic Armenian-style cooking,