Letter to the Editor: Restaurant's Closing Leaves an Empty Feeling

Sunday, June 21, 2009

The closing of my favorite restaurant, Silk Road in the Lansdowne Town Center, has left me with a hollow in my heart and stomach.

When Walli and Mariam Nadim opened the restaurant a little more than two years ago, I was there for lunch, and was so impressed that I brought my daughter and son-in-law for dinner the same day. We were hooked, and from then on all our guests and relatives ate at this lovely Afghan retreat.

It catered perfectly to my semi-vegetarian diet — I am already showing signs of butternut squash deficiency — and all the dishes showed a healthy variety. An inexpensive lunch buffet offered lamb, chicken and beef dishes, along with wonderful baked rice. Afghani spices are not too sharp and are easy on the stomach. A light and tasty rice pudding, elephant ears and Middle Eastern pastries were welcome desserts.

Silk Road's ambience was so welcoming that I felt like part of its family. Walli often sent out, for my opinion, a new recipe he was trying. One day he served an amazing French dessert, which he told me came from his friend who had just opened Cafe Rumi on Waxpool Road.

It was this friend who broke the news to me only two days after I had taken a friend to eat at Silk Road: Walli was closing down my home-away-from-home.

Why? Isn't there a need for this reasonably priced ethnic paradise?

Mary L. Bradford, Lansdowne

Your Thoughts...

Are you happy that the school year is over?