GN Devon: really the best biryani I've had in ages last night, with achar and raita on the side, a very cold lassi, and an ideally scorched made-to-order naan. The biryani was the mix - chicken and lamb, in little succulent knots within the fragrant al dente basmati. As previous posts will indicate I have bad luck hitting the right "on" hour (or day / prep cycle), but at its peak this is as strong as it gets, and still for a pittance.

Santander wrote:GN Devon: really the best biryani I've had in ages last night, with achar and raita on the side, a very cold lassi, and an ideally scorched made-to-order naan. The biryani was the mix - chicken and lamb, in little succulent knots within the fragrant al dente basmati. As previous posts will indicate I have bad luck hitting the right "on" hour (or day / prep cycle), but at its peak this is as strong as it gets, and still for a pittance.

Agreed. It's probably the least consistent dish at one of the least consistent restaurants, but when it's "on" it is one of the best around.

After years of "I really gotta get there," finally hitting up the Ghareeb Nawaz tomorrow night and I'm hoping for some guidance to avoid the land mines on the menu. From the looks of the thread, the essentials are chili chicken, parathas, palak gosht, and some sort of biryani. Is there any other required dish on the first go? What are the things to avoid at all costs (got it on the gyros tip)? How many dishes would be a hefty meal for four?

Thanks in advance!

For the prices, not too many landmines. Consistency CAN BE an issue among all of their dishes, but for the price, don't be worried too much about trying anything. I would order one naan at first, and then order more if you like them. If you're doing takeout, sure, order a few naans, but keep in mind, that their other breads are usually MUCH better. I do not order naan from there any more. I wouldn't order the gyros, either.

Once you understand that some of the stuff is gonna be great, and some of it is not, but all of it will be DIRT CHEAP, you'll probably learn to love GN.

As for heftiness? If you do NOT want leftovers...Damn. Tough Question!
I always just order anything that strikes my fancy to try, sorry.
For four ppl with appetites...

One meat biryani...maybe two if you want lots of rice.
Two veggie dishes
One pulse dish - probably chana masala
Two meat (gravy) dishes (don't be surprised if these are not overflowing with meat for the price)
Chili Chicken
Four paratha and one naan (more naan if you try theirs and like them)

I'm up and down with Ghareeb Nawaz, decades of patronage have yielded stretches of obsession and years of neglect. Currently on an up phase, three tasty meals in the last month.

For those who have not been in a while, G N is brighter, cleaner, more comfortable (in relative terms) and there seems consistency /care in whats on the plate. Prices remain absurdly low.


Ghareeb Nawaz, Count me a Fan!

Ghareeb Nawaz
2032 W Devon Ave,
Chicago, IL 60659

Ghareeb Nawaz Halwa puri. Breakfast, 9am, twodaysinarow. $3.66

Remember that even on its worst day, Ghareeb Nawaz is still 2/3 of a GNR.

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I've been on, as Trixi-Pea called it on my Instagram feed, Ghareeb* streak!

5-times in as many weeks, counting a few recent tip-top meals at Pakeeza, I'm definitely on an IndoPak streak.



Ghareeb Nawaz, Count me a Fan!

*2032 W Devon Ave
Chicago, IL 60659

Ghareeb Nawaz, lunch for 4 for 2.

Glad to hear that they have updated the place without raising prices. One of our favorite spots but the decor was a turn off for our kids.

The struggle is real, Ghareeb addiction . . .

.

Damn, G Wiv on a serious roll here

A quick shout out to Ghhareeb Nawaz (SOUTH.)

Ordered 45.00 worth o stuff, and not really one disappointment.
Butter Chicken
BUTTER BEEF!
BUTTER Paneer
Ok, I over makhani'd, I admit, BUT it wasn't my fault. I assumed the Butter Paneer was a typo, and they'd have peas in it, too, AND ALSO, once I saw Butter Beef on the menu, I just had to. I think they'd hit their makhani stride at GN South. It was all the same makhani curry, but it was decent - not lackluster. Certainly not the bestest ever, but much better than their past offerings. I'm guessing it's from a giant food service masala, but, I would definitely be happy to order any butter dish here every time, if this is their new standard. The Butter Beef, btw, was stringy stew meat. Not stringy in a BAD way. It was just long threads of stewed beef. The beef was great, stewed right - long and slow, and then plopped into the butter curry.

Palak Paneer - Awesome, not too soupy, and HOT (spicy) YAAAY. Well flavored, It "popped."

Dal - What is going on here? The dal was fantastically done, and HOT! (Spicy.) Again, the flavor was popping - nice and bright, and it wasn't soupy, OR a sludge of overcooked pulses.

Green Chili Chicken Biryani - fantastic as well, and again...HOT! (Spicy.)

Also rocked a Chicken Boti Paratha which was great.. Chicken was nice and spicy.
I was not only surprised by the popping flavors in every dish, but also, somone finally brought the heat, too! Surprisingly spicy this go-round. I loved it!
I shied away from their naan, as I often do - I've never liked theirs, but the paratha and chapati are either a buck or 75 c each, so I load up on those instead.

Don't sleep on this place if you're nearby, and lookin for a taste of Devon on the cheap!
Roosevelt and Halsted, SW corner, set way back off the street.

seebee wrote:. I assumed the Butter Paneer was a typo, and they'd have peas in it, too.

Whatever happened to banner quotes?

JoelF wrote:Whatever happened to banner quotes?

They're still there, as always but not on the mobile version.

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seebee wrote:A quick shout out to Ghhareeb Nawaz (SOUTH.)

Ordered 45.00 worth o stuff, and not really one disappointment.

Holy Houston Chronicle $45 at Ghareeb is a sh*t ton of food, impressive!

Exactly. 45.00 IS a lot. I'm usually prepared for one or two clunkers to throw away per order, but this time, everything was great.

seebee wrote:I shied away from their naan, as I often do - I've never liked theirs, but the paratha and chapati are either a buck or 75 c each, so I load up on those instead.

I love their paratha. It's still cheap at its current price, but I do miss their old pricing (at least the Devon location) where paratha were just $0.50 when ordered with an entree.

And agreed with others--$45 buys a shit ton of food at GN. I used to get about $25 worth during grad school to have lunch and dinner for the whole week during finals.

Behavioral wrote:And agreed with others--$45 buys a shit ton of food at GN. I used to get about $25 worth during grad school to have lunch and dinner for the whole week during finals.

A bunch of years ago I took two younger cooks I worked with for a late night feast at Ghareeb N on Devon. We were slightly inebriated, them more so than me, and I went a little crazy with 3am ordering.

$43 filled 12 linear feet of table space, an impressive display. Even youth and hunger, once again them not me , did not make an appreciable dent.

One of the fellows moved out of the city, I see and am friends with the other, he brings up that meal to this day. He worked an event with me earlier this month and mentioned the meal fondly.

Ghareeb Nawaz, count me a Fan!

Stopped in yesterday and had Gyros Paratha. What a story of multiple levels of assimilation is represented in food form by Gyros Paratha. And its so good. I think it may be the plate I like the best from there.

bw77 wrote:Stopped in yesterday and had Gyros Paratha. What a story of multiple levels of assimilation is represented in food form by Gyros Paratha. And its so good. I think it may be the plate I like the best from there.

I’m so glad someone else besides me likes it!

Octarine wrote:

bw77 wrote:Stopped in yesterday and had Gyros Paratha. What a story of multiple levels of assimilation is represented in food form by Gyros Paratha. And its so good. I think it may be the plate I like the best from there.

I’m so glad someone else besides me likes it!

The Appropriation Police will be after both of you soon.

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Guilty as charged!