Restaurant: Silk Road Grill
Address: 9211 West Road, Houston, TX
Buffet or a-la-carte: a-la-carte
Date of visit: 10/10/17
UPDATE 11/16/18: This place has been closed for about a month
Background:
Salam/hey guys! I've been out for a while. School started again, and this time I work part time at the place where I interned last year. So time is really tough nowadays. I just go to places I've visited before to eat the food, and for the most part they hit the spot. Deciding where to go next was tough because I had limited time and it is at least an hour if I wanted to head to the Energy Corridor or Westheimer from Prairie View. So I decided to hit up this place after a few minutes of contemplation. I chose this place because it mainly had a new cuisine, though they serve traditional Mediterranean fare as well, and because it was only 10 minutes on my house and using one road to travel to it. Also, I wouldn't need to take any toll roads to get there, so it would be a lesser burden on me.
The new cuisine is the cuisine of Uzbekistan, a country in Central Asia. They have dishes that are common to other parts of Asia. Their bread is called non, similar to naan in the Subcontinent. They also have Samsa, which is similar to samosas and sambusak.
Let the Experience Begin!
Silk Road Grill is located at the intersection of Beltway 8 and West Road. It is a small area, but the inside looked nice. The menu was illuminated on screens behind the counter. The person however didn't even bother to say hello. Since this was a new cuisine I was trying, I already knew what I was going to order.
Let's Eat!
I ordered the traditional Uzbek plov. They have it available in two sizes: medium, and large. I ordered the medium. It turned out that it was the last one available for ordering at that time. I wasn't sure if it is because they make it in short supply due to people ordering the Mediterranean food more (honestly speaking, we should be more adventurous), or because they sell so much of it since it is the only place in the state to get authentic Uzbek food. Plov, or commonly pulao, is popular in many Central and South Asian countries. They vary based on what country you go to. For example, Pakistan has Yakhni pulao, which uses goat in flavorful rice. Afghanistan has Kabuli Pulao, where it is lamb shank with rice, raisins, and carrots. For plov in Uzbekistan, it is chunks of beef/lamb with rice, raisins, and chickpeas, and carrots. Here, they use lamb and it comes with Achick-Chuck salad (salad mainly consisting of onions, tomatoes, and cucumbers). I paid $11.90 (Tax included) for the dish. Wait time was 13 minutes. I just sat around and waited for the food to come.
Menu: they have a website, but I took pictures of it BECAUSE THEY COULDN'T BOTHER POSTING THE MENU PRICES ONLINE. For people like me who budget in order to write this blog and also not overspend, it's a frustrating thing to see. There were menu pics on Yelp, but I don't use them unless the prices there and the actual ones are the same. The only thing really worth noting is the fact that this place serves traditional Uzbek food. Otherwise, it just the basic Mediterranean fare.
9211 West Road, Houston, TX
Phone: (832) 912-4663
Website: http://www.silkroad-grill.com/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/silkroadgrill/
Email: silkroadgrilltx@gmail.com
Timings: Mon-Sat: 11 AM - 9 PM; Sun: closed
Caters: N/A
Feel free to comment below, send me a message on Facebook, or send me an email!
Cheers!
Zain Mohammed
Address: 9211 West Road, Houston, TX
Buffet or a-la-carte: a-la-carte
Date of visit: 10/10/17
UPDATE 11/16/18: This place has been closed for about a month
Background:
Salam/hey guys! I've been out for a while. School started again, and this time I work part time at the place where I interned last year. So time is really tough nowadays. I just go to places I've visited before to eat the food, and for the most part they hit the spot. Deciding where to go next was tough because I had limited time and it is at least an hour if I wanted to head to the Energy Corridor or Westheimer from Prairie View. So I decided to hit up this place after a few minutes of contemplation. I chose this place because it mainly had a new cuisine, though they serve traditional Mediterranean fare as well, and because it was only 10 minutes on my house and using one road to travel to it. Also, I wouldn't need to take any toll roads to get there, so it would be a lesser burden on me.
The new cuisine is the cuisine of Uzbekistan, a country in Central Asia. They have dishes that are common to other parts of Asia. Their bread is called non, similar to naan in the Subcontinent. They also have Samsa, which is similar to samosas and sambusak.
Let the Experience Begin!
Silk Road Grill is located at the intersection of Beltway 8 and West Road. It is a small area, but the inside looked nice. The menu was illuminated on screens behind the counter. The person however didn't even bother to say hello. Since this was a new cuisine I was trying, I already knew what I was going to order.
Let's Eat!
I ordered the traditional Uzbek plov. They have it available in two sizes: medium, and large. I ordered the medium. It turned out that it was the last one available for ordering at that time. I wasn't sure if it is because they make it in short supply due to people ordering the Mediterranean food more (honestly speaking, we should be more adventurous), or because they sell so much of it since it is the only place in the state to get authentic Uzbek food. Plov, or commonly pulao, is popular in many Central and South Asian countries. They vary based on what country you go to. For example, Pakistan has Yakhni pulao, which uses goat in flavorful rice. Afghanistan has Kabuli Pulao, where it is lamb shank with rice, raisins, and carrots. For plov in Uzbekistan, it is chunks of beef/lamb with rice, raisins, and chickpeas, and carrots. Here, they use lamb and it comes with Achick-Chuck salad (salad mainly consisting of onions, tomatoes, and cucumbers). I paid $11.90 (Tax included) for the dish. Wait time was 13 minutes. I just sat around and waited for the food to come.
Menu: they have a website, but I took pictures of it BECAUSE THEY COULDN'T BOTHER POSTING THE MENU PRICES ONLINE. For people like me who budget in order to write this blog and also not overspend, it's a frustrating thing to see. There were menu pics on Yelp, but I don't use them unless the prices there and the actual ones are the same. The only thing really worth noting is the fact that this place serves traditional Uzbek food. Otherwise, it just the basic Mediterranean fare.
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| Menu Part 1 (click to see) |
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| Menu Part 2 |
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| Menu Part 3 |
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| The Plate |
The Verdict:
My first experience with Uzbek food was a great one. The food was actually tasty. The lamb wasn't too dry, the rice had a lot of flavor, and the salad was very fresh. Though the plate was small, it was filling. Money well spent in my opinion.
Service however was really meh. The guy wasn't really that nice from start to finish. He seemed to have an attitude.
Conclusion:
While the food was good, I won't be returning until the service gets better. Such a shame that the food is good. One suggestion I would give is that you should consider doing the lunch specials with the Uzbek food as well, since this is also an Uzbek place and it would also give the customers more exposure to Uzbek cuisine at a lower price.
Grading:
Service: 5/10
Food: 8/10
Total: 13/20 = 65% (D)
Pricing: $$ out of $$$$
Restaurant Information:
Silk Road Grill9211 West Road, Houston, TX
Phone: (832) 912-4663
Website: http://www.silkroad-grill.com/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/silkroadgrill/
Email: silkroadgrilltx@gmail.com
Timings: Mon-Sat: 11 AM - 9 PM; Sun: closed
Caters: N/A
Feel free to comment below, send me a message on Facebook, or send me an email!
Cheers!
Zain Mohammed
Zain, you are cheap idiot. If you can not afford to eat at the restaurant, eat at home or go to McDonald's to buy something from dollar menu. Real food cost money, who is gonna lose money just to convince idiot like you. Bastard
ReplyDeleteAssuming that you are the former owner of this establishment, it is uncalled for that you insult me and my family just because of a review. Your comment just simply validated the fact that you had an attitude. I think that you deliberately missed out the fact that I said the food was good.
DeleteAlso, I know that real food costs money, and there are many places where real food is served.