Indian Garden - under new management

It's a mixed bag.

Last night we were in the mood for some serious comforting (insert long, off-topic raving about crap week here) so we went to our usual spot for that sort of thing, Indian Garden.

Now, I know that Indian Garden doesn't set the world on fire, culinarily speaking. It's all pretty standard, expected fare. But it's always been reliable for those days when all you want to do is bury your sorrows in a nice bowl of makhani dal and some pillowy naan.

We'd heard that it was under new management, so we were kind of apprehensive about that. With good reason, it turned out.

We ordered one veggie thali, consisting of bangan bartha, saag paneer, makhani daal, raita, salad, and galub jamuns, and also paneer bhurji and a khurmi naan (which has, I think, garlic, onions, and chilis, although the exact ingredients are a mystery to me).

Everything in the thali was not just underspiced, but apparently lacked spice entirely. The bartha and saag paneer tasted pretty much the same, which was odd. The daal was also bland, but I don't mind that in that dish, really. The paneer bhurji was just OK. We were terribly disappointed in the plain naan, which was thinner and crispier than formerly, and the khurmi naan did indeed have the same filling as before, just so little of it that it was nearly indistinguishable from the plain.

The galub jamuns had a downright rancid flavor, at which point we had to flag down a manager. I do have to say that they were very good about fixing the issue, by removing the thali from the check (totally unexpected, but appreciated) and giving us carrot halwa instead (which also wasn't very good, although it was fresher, but the gesture was nice).

Apparently they are going to begin offering Chinese food. I'd hope they'd work out the kinks in their Indian dishes first, though.

I guess next time we will be forced to go to Tiffin

Thanks for the update - just to clarify, this is the location on Devon? Has there also been a change at their other locations? (I favor the one on Cass in Westmont, which was to my mind always a better bet than the one on Devon).

Oh, sorry, it is the one on Devon. I forgot there was more than one.

I don't think this affects the other locations in any way, as they are all managed separately.

Indian Garden
2548 West Devon Avenue, Chicago
(773) 338-2929

Interesting...I've always liked the one on Ontario, as it's the best lunch option in that area. It doesn't get a whole lot of respect, though, and while I can understand that it's not the best Indian to be had in the city, it's definitely among the best food to be had in that area.

I've always found the food at the one on Ontario to be very bland & rather Westernized - and after two Indian folks I took there had an awful meal & refused to go back (we picked it for the convenience of the location), I've ended up sticking with India House on Grand which has far, far better food IMO.

I've never made it over to India House, since it's a bit further of a walk than I generally have time for, but I'll keep it in mind.

They also charged our credit card twice, as it turns out.

All in all, a very Keystone Kops dining experience.

In the interest of full disclosure, I'll begin by saying that I know the owner of the Indian Garden Westmont location personally.

The different locations of Indian Garden are under different management. They all used to be owned by Moffat (sp?) Patel (same ownership as the Patel Brothers grocery store). A few years back he sold the Westmont, Ontario in Chicago, and Schaumburg locations to the managers of these respective locations. The Westmont and Ontario locations used to be owned jointly, but recently the owners split up. Ever since then, quality of food and service at the Ontario location has gone South. This is based on my personal experience eating there and based on reports I've received from other patrons.

As mentioned up-thread, India House is a much better dining option for Indian food in the downtown Chicago area.

went to the Schaumburg location a few days ago and the quality has really dropped off plus having to refill your own water when there are only 2 other tables occupied is always a plus.