Street food in Belmont has worldly tastes

But lamb kofte and chicken shashlyk in Belmont?

Opened in February, Silk Road BBQ sits in a nondescript parking lot on Trapelo Road, just outside of Cushing Square, its bright red umbrella "roof" infusing color into a dreary day.

Facing the street is a narrow steel trough that holds a cooking fire and skewers of fresh beef, chicken, and lamb. The scent of sizzling meat wafts onto the street. "It's primal. It's almost unfair," says Ed Cornelia, co-owner of the new venture.

Modeled on the roadside stands along the ancient Silk Road trading routes through central Asia, this Belmont establishment offers shashlyk - barbecued meat - with rice pilaf and zingy salads, such as chili-spiced carrots and garlicky tzatziki.

"We're trying to execute an old idea aided by mobility and technology," Cornelia says. "This is some of the world's first takeout food."

Every day, the stand is erected in about 25 minutes from a small box truck: The grill, refrigerator, counters, cash register, cleanup sinks, security camera, music, umbrella roof, and computer all become part of an 8-foot-square configuration. A portable gas generator powers the operation, and a website alerts customers to its current location and hours.

Skewers holding 7 ounces of marinated chicken thigh, sirloin, or ground lamb are served solo or with pilaf and a salad. Hot dogs are available for kids. Tea is offered gratis, and soft drinks can be purchased. Desserts are coming soon.

Silk Road is the brainchild of Cornelia and two silent partners, all "passionate foodies and customer-service freaks." They had hoped to start serving in the fall, but the permitting process delayed the opening until February. "We were sitting around saying, what do we do now? Wait for spring?" says Cornelia, who was in software sales and marketing.

Instead, in the dead of a dreary winter, the bright red umbrella was erected. Cornelia diligently sits each day waiting for warmer weather to bring the hungry and the curious in larger numbers. "As you get away from suburban America, this is a much more common experience for people. I get nods from the elderly Chinese couples walking by. They recognize what we are," he says.

The Belmont location was chosen because "I've lived here for 25 years, raised my kids here," Cornelia says. However, expansion is very much on his mind. The owners hope to rent additional locations so they can bring their food to office complexes at lunchtime and commuter routes through the dinner hour. Last weekend, Cornelia began serving breakfast tacos, reminiscent of a time when he bought them from a truck when he worked in Austin, Texas.

"The idea is to be mobile and flexible and responsive to what customers want," says the entrepreneur. "There is a market for takeout food, but what's out there isn't very good. . . We've made a very sober-eyed assessment of a passion and we believe this will work."

There's no reason why not. The model has been successful since ancient times.

Silk Road BBQ, in front of 395 Trapelo Road, Belmont. Open Thurs-Sat 5 to 9 p.m. Breakfast tacos are served in the VFW Hall parking lot, 310 Trapelo Road, Belmont, Saturdays 7-9 a.m. www.silkroadbbq.com.