Sabri Nehari Fire [Reopened]

I was just watching the WGN morning news and they were reporting on a fire overnight on Devon ave. They cut to videos showing huge plumes of black smoke pouring out of the doors and windows of Sabri Nehari.



Let's hope it rises from the ashes as successfully as Khan's did.

Best,
Michael

Here's the news story without a mention of the restaurant.

I also heard the news on WGN this morning and started to sweat. My wife and I were in Khans just hours before the old location burned. We were in their new location last Saturday night. Thank goodness we're not the jinx....

Link to the Tribune article, which specifically discusses Sabri Nehari.

http://www.chicagotribune.com/business/chi-0611250204nov25,1,5310417.story?coll=chi-news-hed

That's sad. One of the gems. Hopefully the Khan BBQ fire will serve as a template for building back bigger and better than before.

Any idea if there is a fund or donation center set up for the people affected by this fire?

I had a front row seat for this one. Brought a tear to my eye.
http://www.olkee.smugmug.com/gallery/2164538

LTH,

Housed in temporary quarters after a fire Sabai Nehari is 100% up to speed.

Sabri Nehari


They nailed the Charga Chicken, a marching band of loud, brash, big flavored crispy bird, one of my favorite dishes in Chicago.

Charga Chicken


Sabri hit a high note with blistered puffy naan, perfectly gridded parantha and continued the sweet melody with Dal Palak and Alloo Palak.

Naan


Parantha


Dal Palak, Alloo Palak


Appetizer of Shami Kabab, I'm not a fan, though Trixie-Pea thought it a very respectable version.


Temporary quarters are quite comfortable, though I'm looking forward to seeing the new restaurant.

Future home of Sabri Nehari


Enjoy,
Gary

Sabri Nehari
2502 W Devon
Chicago, IL

HI,

I drove by last week during mid-demolition. It looked like they were trying to preserve the facade. Either I was mistaken or it simply gave way.

Nice looking chicken and glad a fire didn't snuff out their business.

Regards,

G,
Thanks for the report. I will definitely stop there this week. I gather from your picture, the temp address is 2502 Devon, correct? Was that always their logo, an "S" surrounded by flames? How apropos.
D

d4v3 wrote:G,
Thanks for the report. I will definitely stop there this week. I gather from your picture, the temp address is 2502 Devon, correct? Was that always their logo, an "S" surrounded by flames? How apropos.
D

Dave,

Yep, 2502 W Devon. Far as the logo, yes, that was the logo, weird.

Front desk at temporary location.


Enjoy,
Gary

Over the last few years, I have established a tradition of dining on Devon on Easter Sunday. While the rest of the city is closed down for the holiday, Devon avenue is usually hopping. Tobnight was no exception.

Thanks to GWiv's earlier Sabri Nehari post, we decided to eat there. We were very happy we did. When we arrived at SN just after 8, the place was full of families, and it stayed that way until we left. The temporary location is rather spartan and brightly lit with flourescent lights, but that does not seem to have hurt their business. Moreover, while we were there, there was a constant stream of carryout bags going out the door.

We had the Chicken Charga and the signature Nehari. Both were exceptional. We also had some tasty crispy beef samosas that were great wth the mango chutney. I loved the ginger and jalapeno garnish they give you for the savory Nehari, but the star of the show was the chicken. It took about 35 minutes to prepare, but was definitely worth the wait. In fact, my dining partner pronounced it the best chicken dish he ever ate. I am not sure I would go that far, but it certainly ranked in the top 5. Thanks, Gary for bringing the "temporary" location of Sabri Nehari to our attention.

G Wiv wrote:LTH,

Housed in temporary quarters after a fire Sabai Nehari is 100% up to speed.

Sabri Nehari

Is it not Nihari?

Frenchy.

David Hammond wrote:Is it not Nihari?

Now that you mention it, they seem to use both spellings. I looked up the dish online, and found it spelled both ways. The restaurant is listed on Centerstage and Yahoo spelled with an 'e', but the awning definitely spells it with an 'i'. However, I am pretty sure the menu spells the name of the dish with an 'e'. I believe the front desk at the restaurant also had it spelled with an 'e', but I can't quite make it out in G Wiv's picture.

David Hammond wrote:Is it not Nihari?

Goes both ways.

Sign on temp quarters, obviously nihari, menu and front desk, nehari.

You pick.

Of course there are several systems of transliteration/romanization so some inconsistencies are bound to occur. The original (pre-fire) incarnation was "Nehari" with an "e".

A few brief Devon notes that I may as well put here:

1. Daata Darbar -- c8w's choice for dabal ka meetha -- has been closed since early February. A sign promises a reopening under new management.

2. A new(?) place called Mazza BBQ, located across the street from Hyderabad House, advertises Uzbek food in addition to Pakistani. I did not try it because...

3. Hyderabad House continues to offer its excellent Chicken 65 on weekends.

G Wiv wrote:You pick.

To confuse the issue even more...

cilantro wrote:Of course there are several systems of transliteration/romanization so some inconsistencies are bound to occur. The original (pre-fire) incarnation was "Nehari" with an "e".

A few brief Devon notes that I may as well put here:

1. Daata Darbar -- c8w's choice for dabal ka meetha -- has been closed since early February. A sign promises a reopening under new management.

2. A new(?) place called Mazza BBQ, located across the street from Hyderabad House, advertises Uzbek food in addition to Pakistani. I did not try it because...

3. Hyderabad House continues to offer its excellent Chicken 65 on weekends.

There were 2 Daata Durbar's, the "old" one is closed at the moment (and
will open under new management, but I hear may not be Daata Durbar
anymore - someone claimed it would be some kind of "Lahori" restaurant,
not Hyderabadi). The "other" Daata Durbar is still open (run by a guy who
used to run the "old" Daata 2 years ago)... it is next to King Sweets on
the north side of the street. Ate there a week ago - they have a buffet
on Friday, Saturday and Sunday afternoons, which wasnt a bad thing
to do while watching World Cup Cricket for a couple hours one afternoon
They had a Chicken Fry on the buffet that I liked, the other stuff was ok -
they have a basically Hyderabdi buffet, with "daalcha", "bagara rice",
"phalli gosh", "chicken korma" etc.

Stopped into Mazza BBQ after the Daata lunch, and picked up a menu. It
looked normal enough to me - didnt notice any Uzbek food! Iam sure I'll
try it sometime, since it is open from 11 am to 5am IIRC. (The menu has the
usual suspects - mutton and chicken biryanis, kadai's, korma's, haleem,
nehari etc. But also mutton pulao, Nargisi Kofta, Brain Masala, full
and half chicken charga's etc. And half a dozen veggie options.
Both qubani ka meetha and dabal ka meetha. And the menu advertises
a 5.99 "meal" with rice or chapati, daal, mutton or chicken curry, salad
and raita. Not many menus carry things like Nargisi Kofta anymore, so
its semi-interesting. As is gil-e-firdous for dessert).

Tried your rec'd Chicken 65 on one of the Saturdays at Hyderabad House,
BTW - it was just as good as I remembered it. I do wish theyd have it
on the menu more often though (the guy told me it was a Saturday dish
then - and I try and avoid Devon on Saturdays due to the horrendous
parking situation, usually

BTW, driving down Devon late Sunday night, I noticed a new restaurant
called "Charminar" in the Indian section of Devon, in the spot that has
been a travel agency (and, before that, a Hyderabadi spot the name of
which Iam blanking on). Given the name I presume its another Hyderabadi
restaurant, though it doesnt look to be a cabbie-joint like Hyderabad
House or Daata Durbar, but rather more of a sit-down, close at 10pm
type place. Might be worth exploring too - they might have Chicken
65 on the menu more often, for one

c8w

I've had Chicken 65 on many a Sunday at HH -- I too am not crazy enough to deal with Saturday traffic/parking on Devon. Seems to be a weekend dish more so than a Saturday one.

Will try out Charminar and the Uzbek place and report back.

cilantro wrote:Of course there are several systems of transliteration/romanization so some inconsistencies are bound to occur. The original (pre-fire) incarnation was "Nehari" with an "e".

Another example is Al-Khaymeih (Al-Khayameih) on Kedzie.

Al-Khaymeih on the awning.


Al-Khayameih on menu and business card.

thanks for the report GWiv... excited to go back tomorrow. Need to break out of my Khan's rut anyway. Not that its a bad rut.


Charga looks fantastic as always.

cilantro wrote:2. A new(?) place called Mazza BBQ, located across the street from Hyderabad House, advertises Uzbek food in addition to Pakistani. I did not try it because...
.

I was hoping to try this place out today but arrived an hour before the cook. In talking to the fellow who was there it seems that though the sign above the door advertises a number of uzbek items: manti, laghman, honim, osh palow the only uzbek item on the menu is the pilau. anyway, i mean to return and try.

I was driving along Devon today and beside the Uzbek place and Chaminar, I saw a kabob place called Uncle's, and I believe Halal Fried Chicken has a new name (something like Ferra E Rabbi) and may be a new restaurant, a semi-new restaurant from the same people, or just a new name.

Oh, and there's a Subway that might be new too.

Mike G wrote:Oh, and there's a Subway that might be new too.

The Subway just east of California on Devon has been there for about a year or two. I bought something from there once or twice back in the day, but haven't been back since.

That was a joke. The rest, though, there does seem to have been quite a bit of activity. Oh, and the old Sabri Nehari block is a big hole now.

Mike G wrote:That was a joke. The rest, though, there does seem to have been quite a bit of activity. Oh, and the old Sabri Nehari block is a big hole now.

Understood. I got a closer look at the gaping hole on Devon when I finally visited the newer Sabri Nehari on Saturday. I just wonder whether all the old businesses will return to the same spot after the location's rebuilt.

fastfoodsnob wrote:The Subway just east of California on Devon has been there for about a year or two. I bought something from there once or twice back in the day, but haven't been back since.

Lately I have found myself on more than one occasion saying, "What is that delightful smell?" only to discover it is emanating from a Subway.

I know better than to eat there, of course, but how on earth do they make such awful food smell so wonderful?