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“Come in! Come in! Come in!”

The happy chef, the inflatable chef with the huge smile and a green hat and a platter held high, bounces in the pleasant breeze. That breeze tosses the happy chef’s hand back and forth quickly as if inviting passersby to come in and enjoy some fine Indian food.

Leo and Latha Titus of South India have blessed our community with the opening of Leo’s Grill Indian Cuisine along the main thoroughfare through Port Isabel.

Here you can enjoy fine Indian coffee, warm homemade garlic naan, and dishes packed with all manner of herbs and spices. The menu tantalizes the imagination with such listings as paneer tikka grill, lamb biryani and veg chettinaad.

Such intriguing names fascinate me. This isn’t just a restaurant, it’s an adventure.

The moment I enter Leo’s at 1200 TX-100, a young man greets me and gestures for me to sit. He has the dark complexion of his South Indian roots and the accent of an American-born citizen.

He asks if I would like something to drink and I say water and …

“Do you have coffee?”

He shakes his head a couple of times in uncertainty and then says, “We have Indian coffee.”

“I’ll have that.”

Looking at an Indian menu is always exciting to me because, as I’ve already stated, it’s like an adventure, a journey across India.

Words like Madras, masala, tikka, dal tadka, what do they mean? In which Indian language and from what part of India? There are so many. And I think each word has a story to tell.

Choosing one meal from an Indian menu always presents great difficulty for me. I want to explore each and every one, but I can’t. So, what should I choose?

When I first entered the restaurant, a sign suggested “chicken tikka wings.” I recalled how my friend Norma the night before saying she liked chicken tikka masala.

I am grateful Norma mentioned chicken tikka masala because she has released me from the extended confusion and frustration of making such a decision.

I quickly find chicken tikka masala on the menu and I place my order and a side of garlic naan and as I wait I enjoy my Indian coffee.

As I sit here in this restaurant, this new and refreshing place, I find the dark brown wooden walls and tables provide a calming and cooling effect and it is a fine place just to relax.

The owner chats up two women and a very small boy at a nearby table.

“Do you need help?” he asks, and the woman holds up a glass the small boy has emptied.

“Yes,” the woman says.

He takes the glass and says, “Good job” and the boy says, “Don’t put any lemon in it.”

Laughter and the waiter brings a full glass.

He comes toward my table and I ask, “What part of India do you hail from?”

“Tamil Nadu,” he says, referring to a state in South India.

“We have dishes from both the north and the south,” he said.

By now I am enjoying a delicious warm bowl of chicken tikka masala, and I am dipping my naan into the bowl and it is all fine and fabulous. He says the tikka masala is from South India.

It seems that there is something of India everywhere I go, and now Port Isabel has something of that country where I can enjoy the quiet and the tastes and the nuances of India, and the memories.

Even more so that the owner is so friendly and engaging and ready to talk about his food and his country.

He notices a tattoo on my arm. It is written in Tamil, one of India’s many languages.

“Wanga,” he said. “Wanga, it means come.”

I can’t eat anymore so I ask one of the young men for a box. I fill the box and leave, taking a little bit of India with me home, as I have so many times.

The only thing I would suggest is putting a much bigger and more eye-catching sign close to the road to grab people’s attention. Because if you’re passing through Port Isabel, you don’t want to miss this.

The post Leo’s Grill Indian Cuisine delightfully expands Port Isabel cuisine options appeared first on MyRGV.com.