Monday, June 1, 2015

Samosa Hut & Grill: A Huge Disappointment

Restaurant: Samosa Hut & Grill
Address: 1129 Coker Street, Irving, Texas 75062
Buffet or a-la-carte: a-la-carte
Date of visit: 5/29/15



Photo Credit: http://rdc.rdcimage.com/partner-images/45892/micrositeimage_391981photo1.jpg


Background:
Salam/hey guys! Today I will be reviewing Samosa Hut and Grill. I first heard about this place from a good friend of mine from college back in Houston all the way back in December 2014. He told me to check this place out if I had a chance to. During the 5 month period, I was unable to because I had not visited Dallas during that time period due to school. There were three trips to Dallas done by my family during that time period. Two were during school, and one was during my trip to College Station (my review for Zand's Persian Kababs- http://zainshalalreviews.blogspot.com/2015/04/zands-persian-kababs-halal-restaurant.html). The other issue was that Irving is a 35 minute drive from my aunt's house in Allen, which is in Collin County. To add to that, you either had the choice of going through the construction on 635, or paying tolls using the Bush turnpike. Literally the only time we drove to Irving to eat was my first trip to Saravanaa Bhavan, since my aunt from Dallas, my aunt from Kansas, and my mom are obsessed with Indian Vegetarian food. Literally the main reason this trip was possible was because I came to Irving with my uncle and sister to listen to Sheikh Omar Suleiman give a wonderful khutbah at Valley Ranch Islamic Center. From there, it was a worthwhile drive since there was a major PGA tournament going on at the golf course off N MacArthur Boulevard. 15 minutes later, we arrived at the restaurant.



Let The Experience Begin!
Samosa Hut is located in the same strip mall as Subway and a driving school at the intersection of N MacArthur and Coker. The place was almost empty, since it was 3 PM when we came to the place. Inside were the normal tables and chairs with a few booths. There was music playing in the restaurant. The big menu was displayed. After taking a few minutes to see the menu, we were ready to order.



Let's Eat!
Since my uncle had to drive to Richardson to do something, we got takeout. I ordered the beef short ribs with regular fries, my sister ordered the tandoori chicken naan-wich with masala fries, and my uncle ordered the jerk chicken naan-which with masala fries. I thought of ordering a dozen samosas and paying for them from my own pocket, but my sister and uncle didn't want it, nor would they let me order it. We paid a total of $28.11 (tax included). The waiting time was 14 minutes and 12 seconds. To wait, we sat at a booth and talked.



Honestly speaking, it is better to either consolidate the menu into one hyperlink, or just simply put a PDF copy of the menu. I wouldn't want to hit the back button just to find another thing on the menu based on the category. Nevertheless, the menu here is one of the most interesting ones I have seen at a Indian/Pakistani owned place. It's a nice departure from the usual kababs, or biryanis you get at the majority of Indian/Pakistani places not just here, but all over the US. Until I came here, I had never in my life thought that there could be a thing like chocolate samosas or even nacho or cream cheese samosas. All my life, the samosas I have eaten either had keema (minced meat), or potatoes and peas. The ideal thing I wanted was a few of the jerk chicken or the nacho beef samosas with my ribs and chocolate samosas to finish the meal. Naan-wiches are basically sandwiches that use naan instead of the traditional bread. I was also interested in trying the beef short ribs because ribs are one of my favorite things to eat. I also like the idea of an Indian style burrito. Think of tikka masala burrito as your usual rice and tikka masala combo wrapped! Interesting fusion combo I must say.



Beef Short Ribs with Fries. The green things are romaine lettuce. I couldn't get the pics of the other items as we ate in the car and my uncle was getting increasingly mad for even taking a picture of this food.


The Verdict:
Well, did the trip to Irving end well? Nope. The ribs were a huge disappointment. They lacked flavor and was extremely chewy. My sister had a few pieces and she didn't like them as well. My sister liked her sandwich, but my uncle didn't. I didn't get to try the sandwiches because by the time I had eaten my food, they were one bite away from finishing their food. But I did get to try both fries, which were okay. Overall, one thumb down.
The service was fast and good. No one was grumpy and the owner let us take our time and decide what we wanted.



Conclusion:
If at all I were to come to Irving and try this place, then I would definitely come to try their samosas the next time I visit from Houston. I will give them a second shot, something I rarely do. This is mainly because trying different types of samosas was the thing I wanted, and my lunch companions didn't make it possible. Most of the time, me giving second shots have been successful. But for now, here is the grading based on the beef ribs. I will update the next time I come here

Note about updates: I will start updating if there are any significant changes (good and bad) in a restaurant, if a restaurant has closed down, or if a restaurant no longer serves halal meat. This is made possible by the fact that I do make multiple visits to places (which are currently posted on my Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook. I will also try a place that I have given a bad grade to if I am convinced by someone to give it a second try or if I didn't get what I wanted the first time I visit a specific place



Grading: 
Service: 8/10
Food: 6/10
Total: 14/20 = 70% (C)
Pricing: $$ out of $$$$



Restaurant Information:
Samosa Hut & Grill
1129 Coker Street, Irving, TX 75062
Phone: (972) 255-1894
Timings: Mon-Wed: 11:30 AM - 9 PM; Thu-Sat: 11:30 AM - 11 PM; Sun: 11:30 AM - 10 PM
Caters: Yes
Feel free to comment below, send me a message on Facebook or Twitter, or send me an email!

Cheers!
Zain Mohammed
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