London Sizzler

Hidden away on the side of a shopping center at the corner of Hillcroft and 59 (also called Southwest Freeway) is London Sizzler… one of the crown jewels of Indian Restaurants in Houston.

Rani and I (Ghopaul) have been going to London Sizzler since the early days of dating (we’re married now with seven lovely kids) and we’ve always enjoyed the excellent fare. For this experience, we invited a couple of our friends to join us and partake in a feast of food!

We started with an order of Mogo with chili sauce (on the side!) that was very good and quickly inhaled. Next, we ordered Bombay Nachos, which were decent, but we struggled to find anything "Bombay" about them. They were just regular nachos with tandoori-style chicken on top.

Undeterred, we ordered chicken puri, which was savory and not too spicy. Here, the puri was the size of a corn-tortilla, and you end up eating it pretty much like a soft taco. This too went very quickly so we ordered the shrimp puri. Again, excellent appetizers that seemed to disappear before the plate had a chance to cool down.

From there, our main course arrived:
Saag Paneer - Perfectly creamy and delicately spicy. We really like their version of Saag Paneer because it is lighter than the usual North Indian fare.
Chicken Samosas - We got two orders so all four of us could try one. Nice crunch, not greasy. Could have eaten another batch of four!
Lamb Kebab Roll - Basically, this is a shawarma without many of the pickled veggies that the traditional shawarma features. Still, it’s a nice twist and makes for a great addition to our meal.
Tandoori Naan - Tasted fresh and light.
Masala Chai- Our favorite ending to a lovely, spicy meal.

For drinks, we enjoyed the excellent selection of beers on tap such as Boddingtons (Manchester), Newcastle Brown Ale (Newcastle – duh!), Stella Artois (Belgian). Plus, London Sizzler features lots of great music from all the Bollywood hits as well as a separate space for watching sports and a traditional bar room in the back along with well maintained fish tanks.

Our total tab for all four people was $90.54. Quite a bargain, right?!

On a side note, here is a list of dishes we usually get and HIGHLY recommend:

Pili Pili: A unique fiery blend of spices with East-African influence, pili pili is served on a sizzling plate, and is perhaps their signature dish. Available with chicken, shrimp, or lamb (our favorite), this dish is not for the weak hearted or the sissy-stomached. Even for veteran spice-lovers like myself who have endured years of kimchee training, this dish will make you sweat!

Masala Sizzler: A notch below the Pili Pili in spiciness, the Masala Sizzler is our second favorite! But don't let its second place rank fool you - it is spicy, and it is gooooood! Available with chicken, lamb, shrimp or fish (our favorite!)

Bhindi Bhaji: This fried okra dish is one of the best in Houston. It's a perfect balance of slimy-goodness and savory spices with a touch of tomato!

Chicken Tandoori: I (Gohpaul) use this dish as my litmus test for Indian restaurants, and I am pleased to report that London Sizzler gets high marks on the Tandoori. For meat lovers, try The London Sizzler... it's a great way to sample all of their Tandoori dishes and isn't too spicy for the uninitiated.

If this restaurant were a Bollywood movie, it would be:
Kabhi Khushi Kabhie Gham ~ Featuring the magical on-screen couple, Kajol and Sharukh Khan, the bulk of the movie takes place in ....**LONDON** of course! This star-studded film about a family torn apart by love, separated by a few continents, is filled with sassy dance numbers and great Bollywood music. While the movie is young, hip and fresh, it still focuses on family values...kind of like London Sizzler, which has a young, hip feel to the place, but totally family-friendly. Don't forget to count the number of times the Heroine changes her costume in the dance score!

London Sizzler
6690 Southwest Freeway
Houston, TX 77074
713-783-2754

Eastern Grill

Dubbed by its regulars as "The Muslim McDonald's" this cozy hole in the wall eatery serves up Halal burgers alongside authentic South Asian dishes. However, finding this hidden gem may be a task for those not familiar with the Alief area of Houston.

Okay, okay. So Eastern Grill is Pakistani and not Indian, but before 1947, it didn’t matter. After a quick scan of the menu, the distinction between the two countries was blurred further with all-American dishes like the full pound hamburger (Halal of course)! So we thought to try a little bit of everything.

Our lunch started with an order of their egg rolls, which featured a wonderful twist. On the outside, they looked like regular egg rolls, but inside, they were stuffed with cabbage, carrots, chicken, and spices - different and very tasty. The tamarind-based sauce was tart, spicy and sweet.

Next we ordered a half-pound cheese burger with everything on it. We requested the "spicy version" which adds chopped jalapeños on top of the burger. The meat patty was thick and tasted as good as something your Uncle Bob would make on the grill in the backyard. Ghopaul thinks they used an onion soup mix to give the burgers their backyard bar-be-cue flavor. We were told that the full pound burgers are served on a special large bun!

We also ordered the enormous $4.99 platter of chicken briyani, which was flavorful, spicy and not greasy like the usual Pakistani fare.

The meal was topped off with a wonderful chai that was right on! The chai featured such bold tea flavor that we didn't miss the masala. The total bill for our feast (we ended up taking a large portion of the chicken briyani home) was about $11 and worth every penny.

Neither one of us could believe that Eastern grill has been around for four years… and they cater! The owner told us that they recently served 500 plates of briyani to a party at Funplex, which explains the huge VAT of rice we saw in the back.

If this restaurant were a Bollywood movie, it would be:
Where’s The Party Yaar? ~ No further explanation is needed to justify this pairing with their burgers, fries, and goat briyani!

Eastern Grill
6788 Synott Road
Houston, Texas 77083
(281) 575-8185