Devon notes 8/15//04 (shahnawaz, bhabis kitchen, sonargaon,)

My Dad and I spent the afternoon on devon this past Saurday, we arrived post independence day parade, but still in time to see escalades full of desis driving erratically, waving flags, and blaring both hard-core rap as well as bhangra.

we were there for my dad to do his version of grocery shopping, i.e. ordering absurd amounts of carry-out from various places to store in his fridge for eating during the week, having lunch at another spot while his orders were prepared.

There was kind of a nostalgia theme to the afternoon as We had decided on Bhabi's for our lunch destination, hoping to get some sarsoon ki saag and makki roti for dad's punjabi lunch memories, and some sheer chai at king sweets afterwards for his memories of afternoons spent in kashmir.

First we stopped in to place orders. Shahnawaz, which took over the Bundoo Khan location on the south side of devon at Maplewood, is an outpost of a larger operation with loactions throughout california, as well as outside toronto. Stepping in we noticed a very hyderabadi spin on the offerings, and taking a look at the lunch buffet (sundays 8.95) it might be the best way to sample a broad variety of hyderabadi items in the city - on offer where alu bujia, masala dal, nehari, paya, Mirch ka salan, Chicken tikka (I should mention that their tikka, is not the small boneless pieces usually denoted by the dish but bone-in larger pieces most often used for tandoori chicken at other spots), chicken biryani, haleem, naan, plain rice as well as kheer, and gulab jamun for dessert

we decided to try a few of these and some of the other items on the menu on takeout (my impressions are from eating these later for dinner): Nehari (spiced well but without the richness and softness of say Sabri's version), Mirch ka salan (a curry of whole jalapeno peppers in a sauce similar to bhagare baingan, very tasty and one of the few indian restaurant dishes i've had in a while that made me reach for water repeatedly), Tala Gosht (strips of beef dry fired with chilis and mint that was quite tasty). Maghaz masala (brain masala - the brain was cooked to meltingness and the masala was very tasty, though i prefer Shaan's version strewn with green chilis and raw ginger) Dal Masala (channa dal with a nice tarka featuring heavily toasted dried red chilis), All pretty good if not all the best in class, the one shortcoming seemed to be in the tandoori stuff as the lamb chops were nothing special. For most of these we went across to Sher-A Punjab, whose peshawari Boti kabobs are very good.

Moving on past packed restaurant after packed restaurant we came to bhabi's which was strangely empty, sitting down we started to order, but quickly came to a halt when we learned that they were out of the sarsoon ki saag, in fact the husband came in as we were sitting down explaining that they had had trouble finding the necessary rapini, but that he had found a small bag full and that the next batch would be ready in approximately 6 hours. Since we weren't planning to spend that long on devon we picked up a few other things to go and decided to come back on a day when they had the saag. Since they were also out of urad dal, we got a channa dal (very nice a fairly thick version - though they explained they could make a looser one as well) a bhindi masala (which though it was less attractive than shah nahwaz's larger slices, was a little tastier), and a karela gosht (Bitter melon with lamb, something you don't see so often on devon, unfortunately I forgot to try this one once we got home) as well as a muli parantha - which was actually fairly disappointing with very little radish or chilis in the filling at all.

After a brief check on BBQ tonight, which always smells great but were I never end up eating because of their lack of air-conditioning we ended up at Sonargaon, the bangladeshi spot across the street, who during the day were only serving buffet - and a fairly full one at that, with karhai goat, chicken biryani and pulao, mirch ka salan again, (their version with the chilis sliced and including red and green bell peppers and onions was far less spicy and far less good than nahwaz's) , chicken 65 (A little too tomatoey for me), dal, veg jalfrezi (didn't try), tandoori chicken, and fish fry (the standout of the day - very simply spiced and fried fish but very fresh and very good)


Shahnawaz
2501 W. Devon
773-743-6800

Sabri Nehari
2253 W Devon
(773) 743-6200

Shan Food Restaurant
5060-A N. Sheridan Rd.
(773) 769-4961

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

Bhabi's Kitchen
6352 N. Oakley
773-764-7007
www. bhabiskitchen.com

Sonargaon Restaurant
2306 W. Devon
(773) 262-8008

Zim,

I have the feeling if I broke out each word in your post I didn't know the meaning of, worked to understand them, and then visited each place you mention, I would have a much better understanding of Indian food on Devon.

Wonderful post, it made me both hungry to learn and for something to eat simultaneously.

Enjoy,
Gary

Me and the family have been interested in the advertised buffet too at Shahnawaz . Do you think they will actually have all those items available? Also, did you notice that the people behind Shahnawaz apper to be the same people as at G something Khan, the place we went to on the Westernathon? I'm gonna try to get to the buffet this weekend.

On the other hand, we tried the buffet at Sonorogan a few weeks ago and I was less than impressed. Partly, the problem is that most of the Bangladeshi food either does not translated well to buffet--the fried fish, or it was not on the buffet in favor of the standard Muslim style cooking that dominates that part of Da'Bomb. I'd prefer to stick to dinner, although I did try to talk the partners there into offering their delicious fish ball curry on the buffet.

Rob

Hey Gary,

I was worried a little that i might be using too many foreign terms, if you post ones that you are unfamiliar with, i'll do my best at explanation

Rob,
As I was at Shahnahwaz and saw the items on the buffet, I'm pretty sure that will be on offer - I'm not sure about other days of the week, but Sunday they should have them. In terms of the Sonargaon buffet, you should remember that bangladesh is a muslim country and "standard Muslim style cooking that dominates that part of Da'Bomb" is also bangladeshi - in no way inauthentic, though I would have loved to have a couple of the fish curries on there as well. As I mentioned the fried fish, the one time I've had it on their buffet was actually very good, and the fried fish when i've had it during the week off the menu wasn't so great.

Zim,

A delicious post indeed.

Fall is my favorite time of year to head to Devon. I like it when it is a bit chilly outside and then dart into the warm inviting and often smokey environs for some warming food...I look forward to Fall this year, again.

Yes, hungry for knowledge, cultural exhanges and food.

pd

zim wrote:Hey Gary,

In terms of the Sonargaon buffet, you should remember that bangladesh is a muslim country and "standard Muslim style cooking that dominates that part of Da'Bomb" is also bangladeshi - in no way inauthentic, though I would have loved to have a couple of the fish curries on there as well. As I mentioned the fried fish, the one time I've had it on their buffet was actually very good, and the fried fish when i've had it during the week off the menu wasn't so great.

It is my understanding form extensive chit-chat with the owners of Sonargaon--truth be told the chit-chat is a bit too much--that Bengali cooking, Muslim or not, is not very common elsewhere on Da'Bomb. They told me, for instance, that there is a Bengali/Bangladishi haleem, but that is not what you would typically find at places like Sabri or Usmani. Also, they said that nehari is not a dish usually found in a Bangladeshi place. Rather, the nehari and such that they offer are accomondations. Finally, they told me that most of their business is catering, and most of the stuff they cook for the parties is generic "Indian". Their chef is actually Pakistani not Bangladeshi.

Rob

Rob,

I didn't mean to imply that bengali cooking is common on devon (I didn't think I had implied that), as you mention it is not.

Based on your extensive chit-chat what would distinguish Bengali haleem (it wasn't on the buffet)? Panchporan?

zim wrote:Rob,

I didn't mean to imply that bengali cooking is common on devon (I didn't think I had implied that), as you mention it is not.

Based on your extensive chit-chat what would distinguish Bengali haleem (it wasn't on the buffet)? Panchporan?

My extensive chit-chat got me a lot of news about the owners other job, his impending nupituals and even the state of Tigers in Bangledesh, but as to haleem all he told me was that the Bangladeshi version is different. Panchporan, have no idea what that is.

In terms of the Sonargaon buffet, you should remember that bangladesh is a muslim country and "standard Muslim style cooking that dominates that part of Da'Bomb" is also bangladeshi

Sorry, I took that quote to mean that standard Muslim cooking is the same as Bangladeshi, and it is my understanding that the Bangladeshi/Muslim cooking is not the same as other stuff on Da'Bomb. Not that it is common or not.

Vital Information wrote:Panchporan, have no idea what that is.

Panch poran is a mixture of 5 spices that is used in many bengali curries, (I am less sure of in bangladesh/east bengal)

it's a combination of cumin, kalonji/nigella, fennel, fenugreek and mustard seed

Re the fried fish at Sonargaon. I agree that it tastes very good.

However, the fish has so many tiny bones that it's almost impossible to eat. After working at it for a while, the wife and I both gave up on the fish, which was frustrating. Any thoughts/suggestions?

zim wrote:Rob,

I didn't mean to imply that bengali cooking is common on devon (I didn't think I had implied that), as you mention it is not.

In fact it isnt common in Chicagoland in general, is it? Have a Bengali friend,
he used to complain all the time that there wasnt a *single* restaurant
that served Bengali food in all of Chicago (or Chicagoland too, he said).
But he isnt neccesarily a food-freak, so he may not be accurate - he didnt
know of Sonargaon for example (and he is Bengali, not Bangladeshi).
We walked by Sonargaon when it wasnt open, and took a look at the
menu pasted on the window - he said (as I knew) that most of the
items were not Bengali at all obviously, but there *were* a handful of
menu items that were authentic things they made at home. He was most
excited when I pointed out they had "mishti doi" for dessert - his first
thought (as was mine) is that it is almost certainly not authentic/well done,
but he still was very very happy to see it, and Iam sure will try it when
eh gets to Sonargaon (not sure he has yet, will check on it sometime).

c8w