Grandma's Secret — Restaurant in Dania Beach

It's pretty rare to find genuinely authentic Uzbek cuisine; it's even rarer to find it so expertly prepared and cooked! Tucked away, behind an unassuming exterior, Grandma's Secret delivers a culinary experience that enables you to sample some of the finest foods Uzbekistan offers.

The first, and most important dish, is the Plov (Tashkent Pilav here). Plov is common throughout Eastern Europe and Central Asia but it is Uzbekistan's national dish. I have tried many and cooked many more, I never pass up plov when it is on offer! Although you can frequently find plov in Slavic restaurants and shops, if you want the very best search out an Uzbek restaurant.

Grandma's Secret delivers a mouth wateringly delicious plov that is on par with the best I have tried anywhere in the world. Perfectly slow cooked tender chunks of lamb that come apart at the touch of a fork adorn the surface of this delicious rice dish laced with julienned carrots and onion and garlic. This is all brought together with the perfect balance of cumin, coriander, garlic and fats to deliver that 100% authentic flavor. Getting all of these in the correct proportion is crucial to get the flavors to infuse and give you that 100% authentic experience. I could write a whole review just on the Plov alone! Consider it a must if you visit here.

Next, the Lamb kebabs. WOW! Beyond exceptional. For some reason Lamb is very difficult to cook well; I can't even begin to count the number of lamb kebabs/shashlik from various Mediterranean or Middle Eastern restaurants that have left me disappointed at how dried out, or chewy, the meat is. Once again we must turn to Uzbek cuisine as they demonstrate their true mastery of all things lamb/mutton. Mouth wateringly tender, juicy morsels of meat, deliciously marinaded, lined up on the skewer waiting to be devoured. The beef kebabs are also worthy of mention, again very tender and delicious, but if the beef was an A+ then the lamb was an A+++. You can't really go wrong with either ultimately.

Now let's talk about the Manti! These are a form of dumpling, similar in some ways to potstickers, pelmeni, vareniki etc Pretty much every country throughout Eastern Europe, Middle East and Asia have some form of dumpling. There are a few subtle differences that make good Manti stand out however. First, unlike most other dumplings the meat for Manti is diced very finely, not ground. This makes a HUGE difference, they feel "meaty" and juicy at the same time, in fact they are often so juicy it can spill out. Once again they are infused with that classic cumin+corriander flavor to give it that authentic taste. They are also larger than most other dumplings so be careful; the outer shells are quite thin, which is a good sign of a quality Manti, but they can break letting the juices escape. Pick them up gently! :D

Other mentions, the Bread dish at the start was beautifully fresh and fluffy and came out piping hot, another Uzbek specialty. The Samsa, a flaky, lightweight crust and bursting with flavorsome interior is worth a try.

The only nitpick I had was around another favorite of mine, Cheburek, a common street food through Central Asia and Eastern Europe. It is a form of meat turnover, deep fried in a crispy outer shell. A great cheburek, similar to the manti, is normally so meaty and juicy that the juices can have a tendency to come pouring out it not careful. This results in a delicious snack that bursts with flavor. Sadly the cheburek here was very light on meat filling and very light on juices. On a positive note the crust was thinner and less doughy than others I have tried, I prefer the thinner crispier crusts, I just wish there was more meat in the middle!

As for service? Well, it helps if you can speak Russian . I can only say a few choice phrases although I understand a lot more than I can say . Fortunately my wife is fluent. Overall not bad though, the staff are all polite and our food all came out in good time. It's a bit different (culturally) from what you might expect in a typical US restaurant but...

28 September 2024

Grandma's Secret Dania Beach Blvd - just east of Federal Highway in Dania Beach 28 September 2024

My friend and I went back and forth and finally decided to try something totally new to us both, an Uzbek restaurant, right down the street from home.

The waitress happily and patiently obliged to explain her favorites as well as what others seemed to order. Bravo to her in explaining it not just by ingredients but how it was to be prepared and what it maybe similar to in foods we would recognize.

We started with cheburek, my apologies for the spelling. It was two deep friend turnovers (I wasn’t sure if it was beef or lamb). Very similar to an empanada at any latin restaurant, except dough tastes home made and deep fried with a crispy shell and tender meat inside. Served with a side of a tomato-based almost like marinara sauce which complimented the meat and pastry shell.

We both ordered separately but shared equally our meals to enjoy trying two different meals.

My friend ordered the beef shaverma and side of home fries. Very similar to Turkish shawarma but compared to other ones we tried in the area, this was delicious, not dried out and filled with flavorful spices. Served in a wrap perfectly toasted and filled with various veggies and a white sauce inside. The home fries were crispy outside and soft inside. Almost like having a fried baked potato.

I ordered the fried lagman, a homemade noodle with various sautéed vegetables and seasoned tender lamb meat. My friend and I tasted the paprika – almost like a dry sauce, with other spices which we couldn’t make out, but combined made for an excellent choice as well.

We both agreed this was something different and even better that it was in our neighborhood, small family owned restaurant. Definitely will be on our rotation when we don’t want the same old, same old. The meal portions were large enough of for us to be so full (even with a small take-home package) that we didn’t get around to ordering dessert this time.

Hats off to this gem! Great job!

Food - chose to give 5 as it is different from anything else around us.

Service - small restaurant allowed individual non-rushed service and explanation of foods.

Ambiance - loved the various cultural mementos.

Only recommendation is provide tap water upon request to drink and have photos next to items on menu.

-= we were hungry -= =- sorry not photographs =-

What an exceptional treat for us both!

Hats off to this...

Today 5.7.2024 I came to have lunch with my friend (lady) I ordered Pilaf for my self and the lulya kabob for lady. They brought my food after maybe 10 minutes, but her food we were waiting for almost 30 minutes. Finally when I finished my meal they brought her food. While we are waiting for her food server didn’t come to us and didn’t say like “Hey guys we apologize for long waiting your food is coming” or something like that. Also we are ordered fries they gave us fries only after we paid the bill. When I asked the server like “Did you forget about lady’s food they start arguing with me like “You don’t see I’m busy”? I want to tell you something, instead of argue with the costumer they should say like “Hey sir we apologize for that” instead of arguing. The thing is if you taking orders and you know that meals won’t come out at the same time you should ask the customer “Guys how do you want me to bring you food everything together or which is ready”? Can you imagine I came with my friend especially with the lady, I finished my meal and she just watching on me? Are you okay with that guys? I’m not. Absolutely unprofessional. My rule 1. If the service is amazing and people are smiling, happy to see you I will come back anytime even if food 3 from 5 starts. But right there people no smiling no service but waiting for your tips, I’m sorry tips for what? For no service? I agree to pay tips and sometimes i leave more than I should but if you treat me right, not when you start yelling at me. I’ve owe business and I know how it works believe me. The costumer will always come back to you if you treat them well. Just think about it and it’s not the first time I’ve got this experience. Or hire professional server or teach your server to be...