Indian Dinner Buffet on Devon

I am organizing a dinner event for 10-15 people at Devon on a week night and need a place that offers a buffet. Any ideas? Are there any south indian dinner buffets?

Thanks for your help.

Sizzle India is a place that serves food from Andhra pradesh, which is a southern state in India. Its also a buffet place that I've been pretty happy with in the past. I haven't been there that recently, and have heard a little bit of conlicting info about it current perfomance (One email from a three initialed source says very good, while another from a two initialed said pretty bad) but it has been in the past my buffet of choice. I'd say go check out the buffet once on your own and then decide from there.

A more standard N. Indian buffet that in some ways' is the best of a poor lot (I'm not a big fan of the buffet offerings on devon in general) is sher-a-punjab. I do like their dal makhani.

Sizzle India
2509 W. Devon
(773) 761-7777
http://www.sizzleindia.com/

Sher-A-Punjab
2510 W. Devon
(773) 338-2152

I am not certain if any place has a buffet at night (can't tell if Zim is saying the above two do) though probably someone does. Anyway, my last visit to Sizzle India was quite good food (all tending toward spicy, though, I should point out), but not much on atmosphere.

You know, with the number of attendees you have, you could basically make a buffet of your own-- pick four or five dishes that ensure something for everyone and order two or three each for the table. It'd be fresh at the table and you could pick places that score a little higher on atmosphere if that matters, like Indian Garden, or Mysore Woodlands or Udupi Palace (the latter two being vegetarian only however). Just a thought.

Though I don't think I'v ever eaten buffet at either during the evening, I'm pretty sure that sizzle has an evening buffet as well, though a phone call of course wouldn't hurt.

Mike's right that sizzle could be a lot better looking, if that is important. If you're looking for atmosphere, you're better off at either tiffin or indain garden (I always think the copper balti's are pretty cool at indian garden)

Mike G wrote:I am not certain if any place has a buffet at night (can't tell if Zim is saying the above two do) though probably someone does.

The "original" Shera Punjab has an "all yoy[sic] can eat" buffet for 8 or 9 bucks. I say "original" because at some point maybe ten years ago the location formerly known as Moti Mahal on Devon changed its name to Shera Punjab -- I have never figured out if they're connected.

SP is adequate, but nothing extraordinary. It's pretty grimy. I kind of feel like one of the joys of Indian food is variety, so I'll go for SP sometimes if I'm dining with just one other person, but if you have a quorum, you can definitely do better on Devon.

If I recall correctly, Arya Bhavan has an all vegetarian buffet for dinner as well as lunch. I think the food was fine there, but I've only dined in once and carried out once, and can't recall much specific about it.

Shera Punjab
2510 W Devon Ave
Chicago, IL 60659
(773) 973-4000

Arya Bhavan
2508 W Devon Ave
Chicago, Illinois 60659
(773) 274-5800

My boyfriend's parents are in town, and they and his aunt, and uncle want us to take them to Devon Ave. for lunch and general walking around today. They are a pretty tough crowd - they are not Indian, but all are foodies, and all but his uncle grew up in India (missionary kid boarding school). I've been lobbying for something other than buffet, because of more choices and freshly prepared food, but his aunt is heavily lobbying for buffet for some unknown reason. (They haven't been to Devon Ave. in years, though they live in the burbs and could easily come whenever they wanted, so she wants to be able to have a bunch of different dishes.)

My boyfriend and I are lobbying for Gandhi, and it looks like they have buffet if it comes to that. But what are some other favorites that have buffet, preferably with a large variety of things? And things that haven't been sitting in a vat for hours? We aren't vegetarian, but we do like our vegetables. (We are lobbying for Gandhi because the last time we were there, the meat dishes actually had decent meat.) I don't understand the buffet impulse - with a party of 6, we could have a bunch of different things - but justtrying to keep family harmony here.

(And yes, this is my first post, but I have lurked here a bit and read some threads on Indian recommendations, but didn't see any that specifically addressed buffet.)

OK, how the heck did this get combined with a thread from 2004? Sizzle India isn't even there anymore (and I do miss it, at least as it was when I was there not long after it opened. Toward the end, it was a) nasty, and b) had rude service that didn't want to let us order off the menu).

Any buffet recommendations besides Sher-a-Punjab? They are OK, but the buffet is somewhat lacking in variety.

Ennh, buffets. I don't think any buffet on Devon is as good as India House downtown, or Himalayan in Niles, to name two, or maybe even the downtown version of Indian Garden. They're kind of blah by comparison.

Here's the thing. The nicer buffets-- Indian Garden, Tiffin, probably Viceroy now that it's spiffed up-- tend to be close to $10/person. How much could you order, fresh off the grill, at Khan or Ghareeb Nawaz or Hyderabad House for $60? A heck of a lot. Enough to take one bite and reject a couple of dishes and still have plenty that you liked.

But, if you're stuck going buffet, I guess those would be my suggestions. To avoid things sitting in pots for hours, go at 12 or 12:30 when it has to have been made recently.

Eva Luna wrote:OK, how the heck did this get combined with a thread from 2004? Sizzle India isn't even there anymore (and I do miss it, at least as it was when I was there not long after it opened. Toward the end, it was a) nasty, and b) had rude service that didn't want to let us order off the menu).

It was likely merged by a moderator to keep posts on the same topic combined.

Mike G makes excellent recommendations--Create your own buffet at a place like Indian Garden or Mysore Woodlands (vegetarian) would be my first choice.

As far as food sitting in a vat for hours--I don't think you'll avoid that, even ordering off of a menu. In many cases, sauced Indian dishes and vegetable dishes are made ahead of time and held. Frankly, I think they get better with age. If you want things freshly made, fried, grilled, and tandoor items would be your best bet.

And personally, Ghandi would be one of the last places I'd take anyone.

Best,
Michael

eatchicago wrote:
Mike G makes excellent recommendations--Create your own buffet at a place like Indian Garden or Mysore Woodlands (vegetarian) would be my first choice.

As far as food sitting in a vat for hours--I don't think you'll avoid that, even ordering off of a menu. In many cases, sauced Indian dishes and vegetable dishes are made ahead of time and held. Frankly, I think they get better with age. If you want things freshly made, fried, grilled, and tandoor items would be your best bet.

And personally, Ghandi would be one of the last places I'd take anyone.

Best,
Michael

Buffet isn't my choice, either, but I am likely going to be overruled as a matter of family dynamics.

As for Gandhi, well, we were there a couple of months ago and had what was probably the best meat I've ever had in an Indian restaurant anywhere (though if I'm in a kebab mood, I usually go for Persian, preferably Noon-o-Kebab.)

If it were me choosing Indian today, I'd probably go veggie, to the newish place whose name escapes me...always chock-full, cleaner and more informal than most (linoleum floor), and the best saag paneer I've ever had. Almost nothing costs more than $7.

I'm skeptical about Gandhi but maybe its better than previously (I'm not sure I'd bother testing it though). If you want a non-veg buffet Tiffin or Indian Garden are the best options on Devon IMO, but if the parents want buffet you're better off taking them to India House on Grand downtown & driving up to Devon to wander around afterwards. If good meat is priority why not just go to Khan's & order off the menu.

Its the nature of Indian veg cooking that a significant percentage of dishes will have been made in advance & held whether they are on a buffet or ordered off the menu. if veg is a priority & you're foodies, go to Mysore Woodlands or Udipi (both south indian-style veg, but Updipi also has some north indian veg dishes). The dosas, idli, uthapum etc will be cooked to order.

ETA - thread for Khan's is here

I'd probably go veggie, to the newish place whose name escapes me

Uru-Swati. I hear it's the best vegetarian restaurant in town!

Mike G wrote:

I'd probably go veggie, to the newish place whose name escapes me

Uru-Swati. I hear it's the best vegetarian restaurant in town!

Yep, that's the one - we did end up at Gandhi (the buffet was fine, if unremarkable). But if I could have convinced them to go veggie, we would have gone there.

(We took my mom to Gandhi for Mother's Day; it was the first time I'd been there, and we had some really yummy kebabs and grilled chicken. I tried to get people to order from the menu, but alas, it was like herding cats.)

As an aside, Eva, I'm the MikeG you know from LJ and the SDMB You probably knew that but wanted to make sure.

Welcome to LTH! I love this place.

Octarine wrote:As an aside, Eva, I'm the MikeG you know from LJ and the SDMB You probably knew that but wanted to make sure.

Welcome to LTH! I love this place.

Yeah, I knew that - thanks for the recommendation!

Damn, now I want to go back to Uru-Swati for lunch, but it's a bit of a haul from the office.

Im looking for the best kid friendly buffet w plenty of veg options for lunch on xmas. Tiffin seems to be a favorite when I searched the LTH archives, but on Metromix there are so many with great reviews. Don't worry if they're open on Xmas, Ill call first, just let me know who has the best food. Thanks!

Old thread, but I thought I'd add a few. I generally like to go buffet when I want Indian and am with only one other person, as you just need to spend too darned much to get a nice variety unless you have a larger party. If anyone knows of any more, please add them.

Punjabi Dhabha on Devon. Not bad, and pretty inexpensive at $10.

Cuisine Of India in Mount Prospect. My personal favorite Indian dinner buffet. Good bright flavors, and in my experience, the most likely of any of these to change up their offerings. Also just sort of a fun place in general, large families of Indian descent are often having parties there and it's easy to get pulled into the festivities.

Bombay Kebab House in Evanston. Decent. All the standard offerings.

Taj Mahal in Orland Park. Quite good. A bit more expensive than average at (I think) $17. At that price I'm right on the edge of just ordering off of the menu even with only one dinner companion.

Standard India Restaurant on Belmont. This place is kinda weird. The dal makhani and the saag paneer seem like they've been pureed...? The naan they bring out never seems very fresh - not stale as such, just cold, which seems extra weird seeing as how they have these elaborate spheroid double walled stainless steel things on every table to put the naan in. Friendly staff.

Arya Bhavan on Belmont. Vegetarian. Dinner buffet on weekends only, raw buffet on Mondays. Not bad, but it seems they may have caught the crazy as of late. Salt lamps. Raw food. Flyers containing the word "detox".

Punjabi Dhabha
2525 West Devon Avenue, Chicago
(773) 262-2080 ‎

Cuisine of India
2348 South Elmhurst Road
Mount Prospect, Illinois
(847) 718-1522

Bombay Kebab House
1901 West Howard
Evanston, Il
(847) 475-4553

Taj Mahal
14812 South La Grange Road
Orland Park, IL
(708) 460-5800

Standard India Restaurant
917 W. Belmont Avenue
Chicago, IL
(773) 929-1123

Arya Bhavan
2508 W Devon Ave
Chicago, IL
(773) 274-5800

I am bumping this old thread looking to see if anyone has additional comments or recent experiences. Tomorrow is my birthday and we are taking my kids (6 and 4) out to a Devon Ave buffet. They are decent eaters for that age and we are hoping a buffet will expose them to a lot of interesting stuff. Their experience with Indian food is limited to my (admittedly kick-ass ) homemade red daal and samosas and naan from Trader Joe's, though I'm optimistic my son will eat all of the saag paneer.

ews wrote:Tomorrow is my birthday and we are taking my kids (6 and 4) out to a Devon Ave buffet.

Are you looking for a buffet for lunch or for dinner? A lot more places offer a buffet at lunchtime than at dinnertime. This discussion appears to be geared towards those offering dinner buffets.

Do your kids like Indian food? We hit Viceroy over Mothers' Day and one kid would not eat a thing and another just ate the mango ice cream-so we did not get the full buffet experience with them. Now that we went to India this summer the little one will just eat the naan and the chicken tandoori and the other will eat a lot more variety. So a buffet may not be the best bet for you if you want to feed your kids-it may be better to order a la carte. I am not aware of dinner buffets-only lunch buffets.

ews wrote:I am bumping this old thread looking to see if anyone has additional comments or recent experiences. Tomorrow is my birthday and we are taking my kids (6 and 4) out to a Devon Ave buffet.

A year ago on a shopping trip to Devon I stopped for the lunch buffet at Punjabi Dhaba, mainly because I'd never eaten there and didn't know much about it.



Not a very good photo but it accurately conveys my experience—everything looked and tasted nearly the same. I think Punjabi Dhaba might offer a buffet at dinner as well as lunch but I hope you're able to do better.

Punjabi Dhaba
2525 W Devon Av
Chicago
773-262-2080
http://www.punjabidhabhachicago.com/

As the post title indicates, I'm interested in a dinner buffett. I'm surprised there are so few options.

Rene G wrote:

ews wrote:I am bumping this old thread looking to see if anyone has additional comments or recent experiences. Tomorrow is my birthday and we are taking my kids (6 and 4) out to a Devon Ave buffet.

A year ago on a shopping trip to Devon I stopped for the lunch buffet at Punjabi Dhaba, mainly because I'd never eaten there and didn't know much about it.



Not a very good photo but it accurately conveys my experience—everything looked and tasted nearly the same. I think Punjabi Dhaba might offer a buffet at dinner as well as lunch but I hope you're able to do better.

Punjabi Dhaba
2525 W Devon Av
Chicago
773-262-2080
http://www.punjabidhabhachicago.com/

Yeah Punjabi Dabh offers a dinner buffet but it's not that great. The selection is small and everything tastes kind of generic. One point in their favor is that they bring out tandoori chicken cooked fresh to order so it doesn't get dried out. Charred, juicy and delicious. The other food is forgettable.

I'm also surprised that there are so few buffets in Chicago, Indian or otherwise. I cannot tell a lie; I love buffets of all kinds even the much-reviled cheap Chinese strip mall buffet. Chicago is great for food of all kinds but is lacking in buffet selection. When I lived there I found Indianapolis to be a very good buffet town, especially for Indian food. Amber Restaurant on 116th and India Sizzling on Lafayette had entrees better than many cook to order places I've tried.

eating while walking wrote:I'm also surprised that there are so few buffets in Chicago, Indian or otherwise.

Although not on Devon Ave., my favorite Indian lunch (only) buffet is Tava in Morton Grove. Mike Sula recently did this nice write up on Tava.

I like Viceroy and Tiffen, and prefer the former.

mdpilam wrote:I like Viceroy and Tiffen, and prefer the former.

I don't believe either has a dinner-time buffet, though.

=R=