As many of us probably know, Houston has the best all-around food scene in Texas. Some places may stand out with specific cuisines, but no place in the state captures high level variety quite like Houston.
It’s simple really. The diversity and size of the population, the influence of immigrants and first gens from all over the world, the business and commerce, the proximity to shipping channels, the arts and culture, the med center, the museums and more. What the greater metro area draws just can’t be competed with, at least not within state bounds.
With all this being said, if one ends up google searching local restaurants for a specific cuisine, it can be difficult to decide which place to try. One example would be a search for Arab and Persian food, which can easily take an hour to pick amongst the crowd.
There are alot of countries included in the Arab and Persian stretch, they all have regions with different flair, which is reflected by the restaurants that open with great offerings all over the city. That’s not even accounting for the fact that all these cuisines often get lumped around with Greek, West Turkish and other Mediterranean fare due to some shared dishes and spices.
To add to the buzz, the ingredients themselves tend to leave us feeling well balanced. Biomedical research does check out, as these cuisines do offer complete nutritional profiles and a list of anti-inflammatory, longevity positive benefits.
In general I’d say try any and all that catch your eye and have decent reviews… But it should also go without saying that the best ones shouldn’t break the bank too much. And with plenty of Arabs and Persians in Houston, we’ve got plenty of neighbors to point us toward the best of the best.
In fact, when deciding which restaurant to choose from a chosen cuisine, I like to settle with a combination of 3 factors: how much does it cost, what’s the look and vibe of the place, and what do people of that culture say about the food.
In the case of Reza Persian Grill, I tried it because I was driving into town with 2 Pakistani friends, one of them only eats halal meat, and they said they go there late at night sometimes, just to get hummus.
Just the hummus.
Hearing this, of course I had to try it.
We ordered a full spread, and invited another friend to make a feast of it. It was Ramadan so they hadn’t eaten all day, and chose this as a compulsory visit.
They weren’t lying. The hummus alone is that good, with a top shelf consistency and taste. We all agreed the dill and fava bean rice had a little too much dill, but that’s a small issue. The menu’s extensive and pretty much everything else was spot on.
We joked about the dill with rice, but were also too busy crushing everything else: tabuli, lentil soup, mast o moosir (yogurt with chopped shallots), mast o khiar (yogurt, cucumbers and mint), beef and chicken kobideh with basmati rice and grilled veggies, feta with herbs and radish, and braised lamb shanks. If you happen to like eggplant, caramelized onion and sauteed mint, I would also recommend being a little adventurous and giving the Kashk E Bademjan a try.
I didn’t have room for the cornish hen, but will definitely be making another visit for that, a mint lemonade and maybe a mango lassi or doogh. And while I don’t have much of a sweet tooth beyond lassi, those who do will want to try the pistachio saffron ice cream.
If there’s anything to draw from the visit, two Pakistani boys ate and drank nothing for a full day of Ramadan then went straight for this. Even when it isn’t Ramadan, they go just for the hummus. I am neither Muslim nor Pakistani, nor Persian or Arab, but Reza Persian Grill has definitely jumped the ranks for me as well.
