Hi,

While everyone else was on a diet Coke, I had the Salt Lassi. You need the milk to soothe the spiciness of some dishes. However every time I have it, and this no exception, they are surprised you ordered and worried you might not like it. I love it!

Regards,
Cathy

widebove, I had tried the chicken boti at Khan BBQ a while back, but was glad to go back today with a few other folks and try a r variety of things.

Ive tried that "variety of things" at Khan's a couple of times - and have always
decided that it isnt worth it, the BBQ is the thing there IMHO Their gravy
dishes are really pretty ordinary IMHO - when I rec it to people nowadays,
I specifically advise them to stay away from the gravy items, just go with
a couple of BBQ dishes.

Someone else may have to correct my memory of what we had, or provide the Pakistani names (UPDATE: I spotted the photo of the menu above and have added names), but it included:

Youve got most of them, but will try to guess at a couple..

- Chicken boti
- Spinach dish with little kernels of corn in it, very spicy (though GWiv spiced his up further) (Daal Palak)
- A nice grilled ground lamb kabab (Seekh Kabab)
- A fantastic tandoori goat chop dish, which we all suspected was really tender, non-gamey lamb, in a nice reversal of the usual thing where they say mutton to us gringos and mean goat (Tandoori Cham)

Well, a couple people claimed above that "cham" was horse This isnt on
the menu I have anyway - but maybe it was Tandoori Chaap? (ie the Indian
version of "chop"?) Chopal has a "goat chaap" that zim is very fond of
(though I havent gotten around to trying it yet).

- A stew with garbanzo beans in it which had a surprisingly rich smoky flavor and was my second favorite (Chana Masala)
- Roti with ground beef in it
- Roti with potatoes in it
- Onion naan
- Plain paratha

Roti with ground beef = Kheema paratha; Roti with potatoes = Aloo paratha
(kheema = ground beef, aloo = potato). Hmm. Though, looking at the menu
now, they also have a "kheema naan" - maybe thats what you had instead
of the kheema paratha, I dont know.

All in all, one of the best meals I've had on Devon in a long time. The next time someone says buffet I will really try to steer them here, despite the total lack of ambience. Hopefully someone else will provide the names to help first-timers know what to get...

Me, I get a normal paratha (hot and fresh off the griddle), and a chicken boti.
Add a chapli kabab sometimes - thats another of their great dishes. Stick
with that myself, dont care overly much for any of the other gravy items
(far better can be had across the street at Usmaniya, for instance).

BTW, Ive heard their halwa-puri breakfast is decent too, though I havent tried
it myself. And elsewhere in the Hyderabad House thread, there was a mention
of "Indian omlettes" - Ive had that often enough at HH, an "omlette paratha" -
but it is also available here at Khan's (listed as "desi omlet with paratha, for
2.99" as opposed to "fried egg with paratha" for the same charge).

c8w

C8w, what can I say? All these places are variable day to day and depending on who's been hired lately, but this one was spot on today-- and the most vaunted dish was not my favorite of the bunch.

It was definitely the Tandoori Cham, visible in the photo of the menu above, that the server pointed to and recommended. Whatever it might happen to be.

Mike G wrote:It was definitely the Tandoori Cham, visible in the photo of the menu above, that the server pointed to and recommended. Whatever it might happen to be.

Mike,

I agree the Tandoori Cham, lamb or goat, was excellent, though I very much enjoyed the Chicken Boti as well. Actually, as you said, today was simply one of those meals where the restaurant was dead-on with every dish.

As an aside, Farm City Meat, directly across the street from Khan BBQ, has a nice selection of meat, including, as Evil Ronnie has pointed out in the past, and today as well, great looking veal. Farm City has a good selection of dry goods, including two kinds of Marie Sharp's habanero hot sauce and, Dave Hammond take note, two kinds of ketchup from Macedonia.

Enjoy,
Gary

Farm City Meat
2255 W Devon
Chicago, IL
773-274-2255

Not only does farm city carry nice veal, marrow bones always on hand, and very good prices on lamb and goat, they also stock camel meat.

Fwiw, my experience at khan's has been similar to that of c8w's - go for the dry stuff, the wetter dishes have never really been to my liking. To me sometimes it tastes as if the flavors in the wet sauces haven't really come together.

Zim wrote:they also stock camel meat

Any comments on the preparation? Does any restaurant offer it?

Regards,

Not only does farm city carry nice veal, marrow bones always on hand, and very good prices on lamb and goat, they also stock camel meat.

It does - the meat is good, its where I buy most of my stuff actually. Havent
tried the camel, however They do also carry decent dates, the fresh
ones - and occasionally have pretty fresh pitas (they were still warm one
time, at any rate, even though in a package - the bakery had just
delivered them I think).

Fwiw, my experience at khan's has been similar to that of c8w's - go for the dry stuff, the wetter dishes have never really been to my liking. To me sometimes it tastes as if the flavors in the wet sauces haven't really come together.

Yes, thats what I felt. However maybe its just inconsistent with stuff other
than BBQ - for example, Ive never tried their biryani but someone the other
day told me he liked it plenty when he tried it (just the one time). They are
*very* consistent with chicken boti and chapli kabab however - their
two signature dishes I think. Thats because those things are marinated and
sitting there, and only get cookedup when you order them. Thus they are
as fresh as youre likely to get anywhere on Devon, even if there is a wait
involved in getting it. (And if you go on a Friday night, BTW, there is also
a wait in getting a table - the place was completely packed).

c8w

Cathy2 wrote:

Zim wrote:they also stock camel...

Any comments on the preparation? Does any restaurant offer it?

Regards,

I believe its smoked - and sometimes referred to as "Joe". But in these
politically correct times most restaurants dont even let you consume it,
leave alone offering it

c8w

In another thread publicblast wrote:... if I get nostalgic for Calcutta I'll get a frontier chicken roll from Bismillah (on Ridge near Granville): not the same as a righteous Calcutta kadhi roll, but it'll do.

Quick stop at Bismillah this evening for the roll (Shan was out of Brain Masala). The rolls were enjoyable and satisfying. Not quite the Calcutta roll as publicblast mentions, but still a good ‘sandwich’(?). They list three rolls – paratha kabab, chicken boti and frontier chicken. We tried the first two, specifying paratha for the chicken boti (just in case). The fried parathas were soft and flavorful and the kabab (a sheek kabab – handformed skinless sausage if you will) was tasty. Rolled up in the paratha with some iceberg lettuce pieces (a bit of which I jettisoned) and onion it was good. The chicken boti ‘wrap’ was even better. We also got the somewhat standard thin yogurt cilantro mint sauce. Especially nice was the hot sauce – a tangy cilantro chile sauce. Not a bad deal at all at $3.99.

Bismillah Restaurant
6301 North Ridge Blvd., Chicago, IL 60660
(773) 973-6602

We were lured from our usual devon buffet (Sher a Punjab) by the great pic of chicken boti. We were not dissappointed even though they were out of tandori cham and the bhindi, the latter of which is on the menu but apparently special order only? (something about calling ahead and needing to order alot)

Chicken Boti was everything we'd heard and seen. In addition, palak goshth was also excellent. The spinach had very tender chunks and bone-in pieces of meat (it was not gamey, we concur probably lamb), a nice spice profile and yes probably a ton of ghee. Onion naan was a lovely complement (onions are layered inside the pocket).

We will return. Thanks for the lure!

Palak Goshth at Khan BBQ

Motivated by this thread, I visited Khan's late afternoon Sunday. My visit was interesting and the results unexpected.

I had a good meal.

My intention was to have a meal of the Chicken Boti, but that wasn't to be. I had roasted/broasted chicken, instead.

I walked in the front door and knew I was in a place I'd enjoy. I'm 6'2" tall and there was smoke hanging down from the ceilling as far as my eyes. It was surreal. Many of the tables were occupied and nobody seemed put-out by the smoke. However, they weren't standing in its midst.

I walked to the counter to order and Mr. Khan quickly told me he was busy and I'd have to wait. He then asked me if I was going to eat-in or take-out. I said "eat in'. He told me to have a seat in a booth.

Quickly thereafter sitting in a booth along the window and facing the counter he shouted the question to me "Naan?". I replied "Onion." He nodded. Shortly thereafter an employee showed up with a lettuce/cucumber salad . . . and the order of onion naan.

5 minutes later the same employee approached my table with a plate of something i didn't recognize, and he set it down. I loudly asked him (he was across the room) what the plate contained, and he said "broasted chicken." I looked at Mr. Khan and said I want "Boti Chicken." He shrugged his shoulders and said, "You always eat broasted chicken." What a surprise the response was to me. I'd never eaten here before.

I waived to him and said the broasted chicken was fine. I'd eat it. 5 minutes later another plate arrived. This one was the ground meat (lamb?) cooked on a skewer. I didn't order this, either. I ate it, though . . . and it tasted good. The encountner was resembiling an out-of-body experience.

The onion naan is to die for. I don't ever again want to eat regular naan. I think I'm going to dream about onion naan for days to come! Wonderful!

Lots and lots of people came and went ordering to go and picking-up previously called-in orders. The place is primarily take-out, if what I witnessed is any barometer of what the routine is.

As I ate, one of the Mexican grillmen opened both the backand front doors to let out the heavy smoke. Wind whipped through the room, and it became cold. Other diners put on their jackets, as did I. It was surreal, once again. What strange happenings.

So, I ate the broasted chicken, the ground meat from the skewer and all of the naan. I'd have ordered a soft drink to wash down the meal . . . but was afraid of what might actually be produced. I drank from the pitcher of water on the table, instead.

The meal was flavorful, and I ate most of it. The chicken was not very meaty, but whet there was was good to the taste. I ate 3/4 of the ground meat skewer, and all of the naan.

I approached Mr. Khan to pay my check. Almost $16.00 it was, for one person. He apologized for the mix-up (roasted chicken instead of boti chicken). I paid and left - thinking that the meal cost too much.

I went to Khan following a bad meal at La Oaxaqueña the night before. Two strange meals in the same weekend. The only plausable explanation is that there was a full moon.

Beam me up . . . Scotty!

HI,

While I agree paying for food you never ordered is a bit unpleasant. However, I don't believe you were overcharged. Onion naan is ~$2, Chicken Botis (I know you had roast chicken but for comparative costs) is ~$6, which is $8 already without tax. If the ground meat dish is the same price or slightly higher than the boti, then $16 is about right.

I was there a week ago with Josephine. We had onion naan, Chicken Boti, Goat biryani, another bread with potatoes and chilis inside, two Cokes and a salt lassi, for a total cost of $26.

If you really want to go whole hog there, have the goat/lamb chops for $10, which are pretty good.

As for the smoke, my clothes went straight to the laundry. Perhaps they need a better ventillation system.

Regards,

I really didn't mind eating what came my way at Khan's. The visit was exploratory - my first time. I decided to "let it flow." You raise a good point about the prices. I had two entrees, and the naan. I don't think the exhaust system works well, there . . . and that should probably be a fire-safety concern for customers who eat-in.

After reading much praise about Khan's, Mrs. Johnny and I ordered take-out for our maiden voyage. We ordered two entre's, the Frontier Chicken and the beloved Chicken Boti, along with some garlic naan. I must say we were impressed! Both dishes had a nice spicy flavor to them. I can't say the interior ambiance of the restaurant makes me want to dine-in but this will definitely become a regular take-out option for us in the future. Thanks for the recommendation!

I walked in the front door and knew I was in a place I'd enjoy. I'm 6'2" tall and there was smoke hanging down from the ceilling as far as my eyes. It was surreal. Many of the tables were occupied and nobody seemed put-out by the smoke. However, they weren't standing in its midst.

This is quite like most places on Devon at certain times. If you ever venture
into one of the cabbie-joints after midnight or so (Daata Durbar across
the street from Khan's, or Hyderabad House 50 yards up the road),
those places too are about as smoky as it is possible to get. Though its
more the cigarette-smoke than anything else in those cases

Lots and lots of people came and went ordering to go and picking-up previously called-in orders. The place is primarily take-out, if what I witnessed is any barometer of what the routine is.

I think more people are beginning to take-out now, due to the size of the
place. If you ever go there on, say, Friday evening (especially over the
summer), the place is packed. A friend once went and had a half-hour
wait for a table - and there isnt any place to sit while you wait, either
Thus, takeout is seen as the best option sometimes. (OTOH, Ive
sometimes made it there at non-peak times and seen pretty much
nobody in there too).

I went to Khan following a bad meal at La Oaxaqueña the night before. Two strange meals in the same weekend. The only plausable explanation is that there was a full moon.

Beam me up . . . Scotty!

Unfortunately, one cant quite blame the Khan-experience on the full moon -
it can happen quite often

Went with a friend once, and ordered a couple of normal naans, a chicken
boti, and IIRC a mutton korma. Within a minute or two someone showed up
with an onion naan and a chicken tikka. I told them that wasnt what we
ordered, so they rapidly took it away ... and brought a normal naan and
a chicken korma Once again I told them we had a *mutton* korma and
a chicken boti, so off they went again. This time it took a good 10-15
minutes for anything to happen, but they finally showed up with the
right order (but were short on naans - which were replinished quickly
when we pointed it out).

Service is laughably bad there, especially when things are even a little
busy. This was the first time my friend had been, and he was most
unimpressed with it, asked why it was that I had wanted to go to
this place in particular since it seemed they were so disorganized
in general. It was only after the food was tasted that he figured it
out

The answer is to be firm as to what you want, and accept no substitutes
When I want the chicken boti (which I usually do), I always send back
whatever else they send me until the chicken boti shows up. Its probably
the only way you can be assured of getting what is, probably, their
tastiest dish

c8w

While the consensus seems to be that the chicken boti is the most desirable dish on the menu, I have to say that when I return to Khan's it will be for frontier chicken, which Mr. Khan cheerfully offered Cathy2 and me to taste. Cathy2-- You have won my undying admiration as the board's resident cricket champion, but when it comes to spice, girl, well. . . . All I can say is that IMHO the frontier chicken (at least what we tasted) is only mildly spiced, and very accessible to the modal LTH diner. As for the vagaries of ordering at Khan's, for me they only increase the charm quotient of the place.

HI,

It's not so much spice but the searing heat of chilis. Capsaicin is not my friend. I am more tolerant than I used to be, but it is not my favorite sensation.

Regards,

C2-- I stand corrected: "spice" and "hot" should never be conflated. In thinking about this a bit more, I realize that when dishes are not hot I often miss the spice. Of course, it's always possible to add the hot, but one can't really add the spice.

Huh?

Like the crazed little ravenous door mouse that I am, I leaped at the first stirrings of this thread, and invisibly/effortlessy scored me some Khan's chicken boti. My order was too spicy (MF-ing hot) and masked any flavor. I concluded due to this continued admiration this must have been an aberration. I have yet to return but will.

(I ordered my food to go, and my observations and interactions with the staff amused me enough that the time spent waiting went quickly.)

-ramon

About the smoke at Khan's - it was from a faulty/inadequate exhaust system, IMO, because I didn't see any of the other 10 or so eat-in customers lighting-up. They were doing a brisk take-out business with people carting-out large serving trays (buffet-type) and maybe they were cooking too much in too short a time span for the system to handle it. I think, also, that they were doing some cooking in the back, and maybe it's not ventilated well back there.

About the service - well, few of my friends would have stuck-it out . . . they probably wouldn't even have walked through the door in the first place. That's why I went alone . . . the first time. When I'm exploring a place I'm unfamiliar with I tend to be very open-minded, within reason. I don't get agitated when things don't exactly conform to my initial plan. I'm one of those people who think things happen to us mostly because they're preordained . . . by someone, somewhere out of our control. On many occasions I've been pleasantly surprised by what appeared, unexpectedly, on a plate placed before me. These aren't my last meals in life, so if one doesn't work-out . . . so what. Substitutes aren't necessarily bad for you! Had I really had my heart set on Chicken Boti . . . I would have rejected what I was served and insisted upon the Chicken Boti. I’ll keep my huffing and puffing in reserve, saving it for future visits.

As for my broasted chicken - I liked it. It was skinless chicken chopped into little pieces and had a breading/coating that was tasty. It was neither bland nor spicy (as in "hot"). The ground lamb off the skewer was tasty, too . . . but not spicy.

While sitting in Khan's and soaking-in everything (including the smoke), I had a sense of deja vu when I looked out the window next to me and across the street. There, staring back at me was Hemma's. I was a fan/customer of Hemma's for a long time, but no more.

about the frontier chicken - though I don't think it is too hot for most folks to handle (it is less so IMO than the boti), I actually don't care for it that much as I think it is spicier than I'd like - IMO frontier stuff is more about caramelization of onions and less about agressive spicing (my favorite was at the long since gone bundoo khan on the north side of devon, also generally when i go frontier, i go frontier gosht).

Oh and yeah you do have to check what you receive and hold out for what you ordered, though they are generally better in this regard with takeout orders (which is what I generally do there)

Josephine wrote: Cathy2-- You have won my undying admiration as the board's resident cricket champion, but when it comes to spice, girl, well. . . . .

Oy vay! I hope you are only referring to the insect, above, and not the
Sport of Kings?

c8w

c8w-

The cricket/cricket ambiguity was intended, but you don't have to enjoy my humor -- I'll be the first to admit that it's an acquired taste!

I'll never forget the time Cathy hit a double century against England. Damn fine cricketer for a filly, that one. Could I trouble you for a bit more of that pink gin? Splendid, dear boy, splendid.

Mike G wrote:I'll never forget the time Cathy hit a double century against England. Damn fine cricketer for a filly, that one. Could I trouble you for a bit more of that pink gin? Splendid, dear boy, splendid.

Nowadays the average cricket-fan is less likely to be consuming
pink gin, and more likely to be munching on...Chicken boti from
Khan's (thus we come back around to the original topic of
the thread

BTW, if anyone walks into a cabbie joint late at night this weekend,
they are likely to see a bunch of cabbies clustered around the ubiqutious
big TV, likely yelling things at 13 men in flannels half a world away.
They being cabbie joints, however, there will unfortunately not
be any pink gin in sight

c8w

P.S. Said cabbie joints above include both Daata Durbar's on Devon,
Ghareeb Nawaz, and probably Baba's and Kabab Corner as
well. Dont know if Zaiqa et al downtown will be doing the same,
they likely will.

Nowadays the average cricket-fan is less likely to be consuming
pink gin, and more likely to be munching on...Chicken boti from
Khan's (thus we come back around to the original topic of
the thread

It'll always be Wodehouse's England to me, or that of Caldicott and Charters.

That said, you've tempted me to be at one of those spots during the finals...

c8w wrote:
BTW, if anyone walks into a cabbie joint late at night this weekend,
they are likely to see a bunch of cabbies clustered around the ubiqutious
big TV, likely yelling things at 13 men in flannels half a world away.

This weekend = Shoaib's revenge...


I've found myself wishing that my cable's BBC or Fox Sports would show some of these matches. At least the ODI's in Feb.

Mike G wrote:
That said, you've tempted me to be at one of those spots during the finals...

Have you ever watched cricket You think baseball is slow and confusing...

Although any sport with lunch and tea breaks should be quite welcome on this board!

Hi,

You know this drift to cricket is pretty ironic. Just the other day I took out Lagaan, which is a story revolving around cricket. I have seen the 1st half about a year ago, then never saw the remainder.

Thanks for nudging me on to see this movie!

Regards,

Vital Information wrote:

Mike G wrote:
That said, you've tempted me to be at one of those spots during the finals...

Have you ever watched cricket You think baseball is slow and confusing...

Although any sport with lunch and tea breaks should be quite welcome on this board!

Indeed.

There are no "finals" in this case - in progress currently (or will be,
on the weekend) are "test matches". Which are played for 6 hours
a day, for 5 days straight (with, as mentioned above, 2 breaks during
each day, 40 minutes for lunch and 20 minutes for tea Sometimes
even after the 5 days there is no result, and the game is "drawn"
(this is probably why this form of the game isnt quite as popular
with the cabbies, leading to generally smaller crowds).

In a couple of weeks time will begin the "One Day matches", which
will last for about 7 hours, on a single day. That will be when the
cabbie joints are *really* rocking - with often over a hundred
people in each place, and much yelling and screaming (especially
when the aforementioned Shoaib is smacked all around the park

c8w