Review by Hasan Abdul Tawab
Most restaurants take their name from owners, cultural influences or a highlight dish. By this principle, one expects Skewerz Pizza K to be some sort of a pizza parlor.
It is not.
Sure, pizza is served here, but none of its regular clientele are patrons of its pizza. What draws people to this rather small eatery is the ethnic fare, evident in its curry and specials menu. This curry menu is complemented by a selection of rather eccentric Indian-based pizzas (Tandoori Chicken pizza, Paneer pizza, and Samosa Pizza to name a few). Add a splash of Middle-East to the mix and you have a perfectly multi-ethnic array to choose from.
Located at the Georgia Tech Plaza on 10th Street, this is probably one of the closest places to find Indian cuisine for Georgia Tech students. As a result, students craving that Tandoori Chicken or Shawerma on a Tuesday night often drop by.
Upon entering, you are faced with a narrow and bare nondescript dining room with one end serving as the counter. There is absolutely no ambiance to speak of: no paintings or posters adorn the walls, and no mood lighting or even a theme is visible. The day’s menu is usually handwritten over the counter with chalk (which is ocassionally indecipherable) and this is in most cases, the menu you should trust. There is an endless plethora of outdated printed menus lying around the place, along with a good handful of online ones. While the diversity of dishes that this place offers is quite impressive, considering the small scale of the restaurant, you have to check the chalkboard for what’s available on that particular day and time.
Not that this is necessarily a bad thing. The rough and semi-impromptu nature of the menu somehow manages to convey a sense of homeliness, especially for regular diners here. Imagine having lunch at your mom’s place, when the table is set with the usual main courses, but everyday there’s something new on your plate as well. That’s exactly what eating here regularly feels like. Given that most of its clientele are Asian-Americans or international college students, (most of whom miss that homely feeling) Pizza K has a significant business advantage over its numerous rivals at Tech Plaza.
Unfortunately, Pizza K fails to properly utilize this advantage. For one thing, the hours are not exactly college-lifestyle friendly (11 AM – 11 PM Mon-Sat, 5 PM – 12 AM Sun). Secondly, the delivery window is even tighter (no deliveries after 10:30 PM) which begs the question: why would a restaurant forgo the enormous business opportunity that exists for late-night deliveries and takeouts?
Even so, delivery is an option I would recommend as a last resort. Most deliveries take 45 minutes to more than an hour, depending on your location on campus. A case in point: even though it would take approximately 7 minutes to walk from my residence hall to this place, I found myself waiting for over 50 minutes for a comparatively small order. What’s more, the nature of the food is such that it is best consumed hot and fresh from the kitchens, and not pulled out of a refrigerator and microwaved at three in the morning. So unless you are considering chicken wings or garlic bread (which usually remain acceptably edible in Styrofoam), deliveries are a no-no.
All these factors make Pizza K an underrated place, which is distressing because the food is quite good. Once you get over the apathetic, slightly clinical décor and the claustrophobic dining room, a tastebud wonderland awaits you. And if you turn up regularly, the staff becomes quite friendly too. Not only did I find myself in engaging conversation the numerous times I’ve dined alone, but the occasional preferred pizza slice or chicken leg inexplicably found its way onto my plate. Commitment and dedication, it seems, have their rewards here.
No doubt a large number of people may denounce this as favoritism which discourages new customers and impedes business outreach. Nonetheless, I rather enjoyed this added dimension of eating out. Not only because of the larger portions, but also because I felt that I was building this relationship with the establishment – just like any other social relationship: the more time and resources you devote to friends and family, the more you get back from them.
Regarding the menu, most of the appetizers and side items are frankly avoidable. Presenting nothing that any other fast food chain would not offer at a better price and quality, these are mostly there to complete the menu. However, the unique chicken wings are a must-try – regardless of whether you like it or not. Served hot, medium, honey bbq, lemon pepper or teriyaki with a choice of dressing, this is fail-safe appetizer that is available at all times. Also, you may want to try the Shawarmaz/Happytizers menu, which is mostly Arabic cuisine that adds a nice variation of flavor to the palate. Butter naan is a must when ordering extensively from the curry menu, which will be discussed presently.
Similarly, a majority of the pizzas are available just to justify the restaurant’s name, and though they offer good value for money, they pack nothing out of the ordinary and can be skipped too. If you happen to have a craving for pizzas, I recommend the special Pizzaz menu and the quite delicious Paneer pizza (spiced cottage cheese toppings) or Tandoori Chicken pizza (specially marinated oven-baked chicken toppings).
The famous curry menu here is divided into Vegetarian and Non-vegetarian specialties. Palak Paneer (cottage cheese served with spinach gravy) and Chana masala (chickpeas steamed with tomatoes, onions and garlic) are picks from the former category, but most of these dishes are sadly underprepared and bland. It seems the staff here is not very enthusiastic about it, and one can justifiably state that it exists just to balance the non-vegetarian selection.
Here the story is much better. Every single item on the non-vegetarian curry selection is top-notch (considering the price), and I was literally lost for choice every time I visited. Chicken Makhani (butter chicken) and Chicken Kadai (stir-fried chicken) are safe places to start, and Chicken Achari (green leaf sauce chicken) or Chili Chicken Curry (a famous Indo-Chinese spicy chicken curry) are also rewarding once you develop the taste for them. If you are fan of kabobs, you can try the Beefbob, Lambob or even the mixed Kabob sampler. Perhaps because I belong to a family specializing in good kabobs, I found these to be a disappointment – they contain none of the charcoal flavor that makes them so special, nor is the meat juicy enough to sustain your appetite.
If you are looking for a quick bite, falafel or the range of salads would be good choices. The special Skewerz salad is essentially a choice of kabob meat, onion, cucumber, tomato and lettuce served with ranch or bleu cheese, and aside from the forgettable kabobs, the ingredients are almost always fresh and crunchy.
Completing the Indian picture is the selection of Indian beverages, including chai, kulfi and lassi. If you come here expecting to be served with English tea or the terrible iced confections that Nestle markets, prepare to be shocked. Indian chai and bubble tea is nothing like tea you have known (if you happen to try these for the first time). Kulfi is a special ice-cream that was perfected over the centuries of Mughal rule in India. Essentially it is a Persian delicacy, and the unique pistachio flavor makes it in my opinion, a required dessert here.
Of course, if you’re looking for more familiar drinks, soda and water are always handy.
Skewerz Pizza K
★★★
____________________________________________________
The review was much better than your original. Your revisions definitely contributed to the further coherency of the argument and review.
ReplyDelete