hema's kitchen

finally got around to bringing my family there for a meal yesterday. this is the most authentic indian food I have had outside of india, bar none. obviously not in the league of the top notch indian places, but just like a basic indian resteraunt.

I love chicago.

I've been to hema's once before. I remember the food as being good but nothing spectacular, and I thought it was a bit pricey. I've never been to India so I can't say much about authentic Indian food, but I do prefer my $12 Indian buffet back home to Hema's.

globetrotter wrote:finally got around to bringing my family there for a meal yesterday. this is the most authentic indian food I have had outside of india, bar none.

I guess technically "authentic" is not necessarily a compliment, but I'm assuming that you all enjoyed your meal? What did you have? Hema's has historically drawn a pretty mixed reaction around here, although my last meal there was pretty good. (Of course, at the moment I can neither recall what it was nor find my post here about it... channa masala was one of the dishes we enjoyed, for sure...)

Anyway, opinions are appreciated, but detail doubly so...

sorry, I should have posted more detail before.

we had shami kabab and tandoori chicken for an apetizer, as well as a masala papadam, what I would have called a papamasala. all good, with a nice bit of fire in the aftertaste. my wife was suprised at the tandoori chicken - she has had this any number of times, and this different from what she is used to -it was basically the way you would get it in india.

then we had the butter chicken, which was an excellent example, imo, of basic indian butter chicken, kheema mutter - which was also a basic example of what you would get at an indian resteraunt (not the best example I have ever tasted, but pretty good, nice little bit of burn, good mix of spices, the peas could have been firmer and larger, maybe), chana masala (which was actually the big disapointment, but I put that down to possible regional differences, but I didn't think it was hot enough, or that the chick peas were firm enough, and it has potatos mixed in, which I don't believe I have seen) and some parathas and some poori - the breads were excellent.

all in all a simple meal, but very nice.

I lived in india for 3 years, with an expense account, and it is very hard for me to find food that even remotly reminds me of india, so this was a real treat.

LTH,

Had lunch last week at Hema's with Pigmon and the ever delightful Trixie-Pea. Hema's was picked solely on the basis T-P had never been. Frankly Hema's was pretty much as I remembered, middling food, ok service, relatively muted flavors for cross cultural appeal, the Indian equivalent of Wholly Frijoles.

Hema's stumbled right out of the gate with Potato Bhajia, greasy leaden coating encasing undercooked thinly sliced potato, one small bite was enough, actually, one small bite was too much. Vegetable Pakora fared better, crisp though the chick pea flour coating was underseasoned.

Potato Bhajia (L) Vegetable Pakora (R)



Chicken Mulaghatami Soup was fine, pleasant tasting, though one note.


Chicken Vindaloo was disappointingly mild, though we asked for spicy heat. Boneless breast meat, slightly overcooked at that, added to the ~blah~ factor. Lamb with okra seemed muted as well which, when combined with tough slightly dried out chunks of lamb, did not for a delectable dish make.

Lamb w/okra (L) Chicken Vindaloo (R)


Paratha were greasy and leaden, poori oily and dull flavored, rice was the starch star of the meal and then only in comparison to the paratha and poori.

Hema's must have appeal I simply don't see as there were two large multi generational groups of Indians and by the time we exited from our somewhat early weekend lunch the place was packed.

Pigmon, Trixie-Pea


Enjoy,
Gary

Hema's
6406 N Oakley
Chicago, IL 60645
773-338-1627

G Wiv wrote:Chicken Mulaghatami Soup was fine, pleasant tasting, though one note.

"One note" pretty much sums up my last experience there. Cookie really wanted to eat there one night. Everything I tasted seemed to be lacking in something.

Best,
Michael

I ordered Chicken Tikka Masala for take out from the Clark/Fullerton location... and was disappointing. It didnt have as much kick that I wanted and I thought the sauce/chicken ratio was off. As a result, I ended up taking it home and adding more spices and chicken for a more filling meal. And as previously mentioned, it was overpriced for the product I got.

We also had the chicken tikka masala at the Clark/Fullerton location and were very disappointed--not much flavor at all. We also had the aloo matar paneer, which was excellent but maybe only seemed so because we regretted the tikka masala so much? As a starter, we had the tandoori chicken, which was dry--I wouldn't order it again.

I don't mean to be argumentative or abrasive - I am just curious: do the posters who don't like Hema's kitchen have eating experience in India?

I found the food to be exceptionally authentic - very much like a basic resteraunt in india. not nessasarily great food, but the type that one would encounter at something like an office cafeteria or some such. But I also asked for the spice level to be "authentic".

globetrotter wrote:I don't mean to be argumentative or abrasive - I am just curious: do the posters who don't like Hema's kitchen have eating experience in India?

No I do not. I've never been to India and, as I said upthread.

G Wiv wrote:Hema's must have appeal I simply don't see

globetrotter wrote:I found the food to be exceptionally authentic - very much like a basic resteraunt in india. not nessasarily great food, but the type that one would encounter at something like an office cafeteria or some such. But I also asked for the spice level to be "authentic".

I also asked for the spice level of the vindaloo to be authentic, mentioned I knew vindaloo was a notoriously spicy dish, but what was served was mild enough for my Aunt Tilly, who views black pepper same as I do powdered habanero, to eat.

It's not that I'm doubting your statement Hema's is similar to cafeteria food in India, it's simply likely I'm not appreciative of Indian "office cafeteria" cuisine. I should also note that a few years ago I was at Hema's with friends and friends of those friends, one of which was a 50-year-old Indian man who had been living in suburban Chicago for years with a wife who, while a good cook, did not cook Indian food. As our food started to arrive he became very emotional, almost to tears. He said the sight, smell and taste of the food brought him back to his mother's kitchen.

Enjoy,
Gary

G Wiv wrote:He said the sight, smell and taste of the food brought him back to his mother's kitchen.

strangly enough, I had an emotional expereince there, too. it really brought me back to time I spent in india.

there is, on the chowhound, always a running discussion about authentic versus good. in most cases, I don't worship the issue of authentic. with a few types of food - mostly italian, thai and indian, I do, just because the food is assosiated with memories. but that is a whole different issue.

have anice week.

globetrotter wrote:I don't worship the issue of authentic. with a few types of food - mostly italian, thai and indian, I do, just because the food is assosiated with memories. but that is a whole different issue.

Globetrotter,

I don't see this as an issue of authenticity, simply one of preference.

Enjoy,
Gary

Speaking of Vindaloo, if I had to guess what the dish pictured upthread was I'd have said Butter Chicken, not Vindaloo. I think it's pointless to deny Chicken Vindaloo's right to exist -- like Veal Parmigiana, if it's good then it's good, shut up and eat it. But the dish pictured above is much too light in color and, as Larry David would say, too saucy.

globetrotter wrote:I don't mean to be argumentative or abrasive - I am just curious: do the posters who don't like Hema's kitchen have eating experience in India?

I found the food to be exceptionally authentic - very much like a basic resteraunt in india. not nessasarily great food, but the type that one would encounter at something like an office cafeteria or some such. But I also asked for the spice level to be "authentic".

yep, I'm one of those who don't care for it so much.I'm a desi

found the food to taste fairly like home cooked, but by a not neccesarily very good home cook

zim wrote:found the food to taste fairly like home cooked, but by a not neccesarily very good home cook

exactly.

Zim and Globe, I have found this thread to be very interesting. So, where would you two go for a better indian meal. A place that has all the things you are looking for, especially more flavor and spice. I am going to be making the trip to Devon soon, and there are so many conflicting opinions, that I can't decide what to choose. It seems some days, in some of these restaurants, food is better than others.

well, from my perspective, I honestly dont know if I will be looking for another indian resteraunt in the near future - my wife likes this place, and I like it, and it is about 10 minutes from my house. when I lived in NY, I would travel almost 2 hours for such authentic food, and my wife didn't like the place.

In new york, there were a number of places that have "London Style" indian food - good food, but not real indian. I am guessing that there are places like that in Chicago.

also, there were places that had very high end indian food - which was very good, but not what I was looking for. I think, from a cost effective poitn of view, that the people who cook very high end food in india, find it atractive to come to the US, so you can find that kind of food. I get to india for work periodically, and eat at some fo the best resteraunts their, on expense account, so that isn't what I am looking for here.

so, sorry, can't give you a good answer.

globetrotter wrote:In new york, there were a number of places that have "London Style" indian food - good food, but not real indian. I am guessing that there are places like that in Chicago.

also, there were places that had very high end indian food - which was very good, but not what I was looking for. I think, from a cost effective poitn of view, that the people who cook very high end food in india, find it atractive to come to the US, so you can find that kind of food. I get to india for work periodically, and eat at some fo the best resteraunts their, on expense account, so that isn't what I am looking for here.

so, sorry, can't give you a good answer.

As an Indian, I get asked fairly often what I think is the best Indian restaurant
in Chicago - and Iam always at a loss to answer There are so many
varieties of Indian food, depending on region and religion, and so many of
the restaurants in Chicago are excellent for only certain types of dishes.

I dont know if Id agree with the "high end cooks from India" bit neccesarily -
it is true in parts, but there are many restaurants in Chicago that do not
aspire to what is high-end (and wouldnt be, either in Chicago or India). Ive
done the high-end places in India, and theyre good, but IMHO the "dives"
in India are better than the high-end places in India itself (if you can get
past the lack of service and ambience, which I can fairly easily). Of the
dozens of meals in restaurants the last time in Bombay, for example,
several of them high-end, my two most memorable are probably
Nalli-nehari at a place called Noor Mohammadi, and tandoori-masala-raan
(of goat) at a place called Persian Durbar; Persian Durbar is sort of
middling-end, Noor Mohammadi is as low-end as you get ... but has
by far the best nehari Ive ever eaten in my life).

Just this weekend someone asked me for an Indian restaurant rec... and I
suggested Khan's. Only to later discover that she was almost exclusively
vegetarian (only sometimes eats chicken). For someone like that, Khan's
would be an *awful* choice. As it would be for some Indians too (South
Indian friends, for example, stick to Mysore Woodlands and Udipi on
Devon, plus Sukhadia's etc, and are usually very happy - they know
not to step into places like Khan's

In terms of authentic food and good food from India that *I* like... Id still
go Usmaniya, Sabri Nehari, Khans for kababs etc. But again, that is only
one particularly kind of Indian restaurant - none of them are high-end,
none of them aspire to high-end, they are basic and authentic IMHO
and very good... but theyd appeal to only a couple hundred million
of India's near-billion population Udipi and Mysore Woodlands
(and Dakshin etc) are similar in a way - authentic enough in their
way, not particularly high-end, and appealing to a certain crossection
of the Indian population. Hema's, IMHO, is not dissimilar - it doesnt
restrict itself entirely to one regional or religious group (as the ones
mention above sort of do), instead they try and make simple home-style
food that might appeal to a variety of regional groups... but IMHO dont
do any of those outstandingly well. Id drive a ways to get goat-biryani
or Haleem from Usmaniya, or Nehari from Sabri, or Chilly-Chicken from Chopal,
or Chicken Boti from Khan's. I dont think Id drive any distance to get
anything from Hema's (but it would be a decent option if I was in a
group that was in the area, wanted Indian, and wanted all of veggie,
non-veggie and BYOB options).

c8w

I'll note that I have never been to Hema's (so you can easily choose to ignore my comments), but I have some experience with "authentic" and good food in India – restaurants and home-cooked - and here in my own kitchen.

I've always been perplexed by the mixed reviews and particularly the extent of like/dislike for Hema's (both locations) - and this thread isn't helping much

globetrotter, I'm curious as to which part of India your experience is from? "Indian" is rather a catchall term for rather diverse, even completely distinct cuisines - and that's without throwing in British Indian and also Indian-for-foreigners-because-that's what-they-think-Indian-is-and-thus -back-integrated-into-Indian-cuisine-so-now-no-less-‘authentic’. Ok, I'll start a new sentence now. So I'm curious as to where your experience in India is (I’m guessing broadly ‘North’, possibly Delhi based on the dishes you liked/mentioned in your post upthread). I ask, not to dispute your experience at Hema's, but because I seek to understand better what expectations the term ‘Indian’ evokes.

Possibly (and obviously I'm just venturing, nay hazarding a guess) – Hema’s does a limited set of dishes very well. GWiv seems to have ordered a totally different set of dishes. Chicken Mulaghatami Soup - I guess this may be available in India but is a totally British dish, and vindaloo is a Goan dish but ‘popularized’ through the west - it's spicy 'notoriety' is also somewhat self-fulfilling (and yes, looks way too saucy; did it have potatoes, then it must be vindaloo? )
But the fact that the breads and pakodas were so-so is disappointing – any Indian place should be able to do that well - consistently, as these are found in all parts of India. 'One-note' is probably the last thing Indian food should be. Is it possible that there’s more than one crew in the kitchen? That’ll explain the mixed reviews even more.

FWIW, an earlier Indian food thread

corollary to what zim noted - just because a lot of Indians are eating the food at an ‘Indian’ restaurant (comment not directed at Hema's) - doesn't mean it's good (or even ‘authentic’) Indian food… there is a lot of bad Indian food in India, and there are a lot of Indians abroad who hanker for the same food they are used to. I suppose this would be true of other cuisines as well. My apologies, if I'm simply rehashing old discussions.

Sezerac,

I lived in India for 3 years - mostly in Mumbai, but I traveled for work to pretty much every big city on a regular basis. My office was in Delhi, and my right hand man was a sikh. what that means, sort of as you guessed, is that while I enjoy south indian and veg food as much as the next guy, what I ate 3-5 times a week was butter chicken and black dhal with roti. and, when I was taking people out to dinner, it would usually be to kybber or resteraunts in the Bhukhara chain. my favorite food was in Hydrabad, at Paradise, and usually the only time I would have pure veg was when I was in the south and wanted to hit the tiffin room in bangalore or someplace similar.

what hema's reminds me of is the cafeteria in my office building in delhi - basic non-veg food, not great, but pretty good, with very authentic spices. after I left india, I had a great deal of trouble finding that kind of food, so while I have eaten at a number of pretty good places in london and new york, none of them were very authentic, in my opinion.

globetrotter wrote:what I ate 3-5 times a week was butter chicken and black dhal with roti.
<snip>
what hema's reminds me of is the cafeteria in my office building in delhi - basic non-veg food, not great, but pretty good, with very authentic spices. after I left india, I had a great deal of trouble finding that kind of food, so while I have eaten at a number of pretty good places in london and new york, none of them were very authentic, in my opinion.

Interesting. I made a decent guess. Butter chicken and Ma ki dal (literally, Mom's dal, sometimes called dal makhani) is very 'Punjabi'. I've longed (I remember asking here too) for a good butter chicken and never found one (for sale).
I think in Chicago you'll find many 'decent basic' places. None will probably excel in everything but many will hit the spot.

If you do want memories of the cafeteria - try some of the 'cabbie' places near Orleans
Baba palace comes to mind, and I've tried one other - Kababish or Zaiqa (don't remember which - it had the steam table). These are less 'restaurants' than joints which'll make you wonder which side of the oceans you are on. The food isn't great or even very good (IMO), but somehow down-home decent authentic in a cafeteria-ish way, if that makes sense (and I hope people don't misundersand the use of the term 'cafeteria').
Offhand here's a thread - there are many others.
Devon-side you'll get a good sampling of 'authenticity' (globetrotter, why do I feel you've yet to spend an afternoon strolling around Devon?)

sazerac wrote:

globetrotter wrote:Devon-side you'll get a good sampling of 'authenticity' (globetrotter, why do I feel you've yet to spend an afternoon strolling around Devon?)

I have twin 5 month olds, a five year old, and a very stressful job that keeps me on the road 140 days a year. I dont stroll anywhere.

unfortunatly, I ususally find myself in a situation where I identify a handful of places that fit what I like - an authentic indian, a good italian, a good thai, a few reasonable chinese places, a barbque place, a chicken place, a vietnamese place, a middle eastern place. and I end up going back to those pretty often. not as adventourous as some, but, my wife's idea of a successful day is one when she has time to shower, so I have to fit my life into the contraints that I have.

globetrotter, I am in total understanding...
Best wishes to all of you!

It's good to read a review of someone who's comparing the food at Hema's to what was experienced in India (which I've yet to visit). I was, for several years, a regular customer at Hema's (4/5 times a year). However, I stopped going there 4/5 years ago because I thought the place had deteriorated so badly - and the Mexican cooks/wait staff insisting I didn't really want to eat what I'd ordered, the Mexican music playing from the almost open kitchen area - ruined the experience for me. If I wanted a Mexican environment I'd have chosen another restaurant. I'll probably give the restaurant another try one day, but I've come to think of Hema's as highly over-rated - and once I get that notion in my head (rightly, or wrongly) it's not easy to change.

This month's Saveur has a great article on the evolution of Indian cuisine and how it came to the U.S. Definitely worth reading. (Just checked, no link yet).

As a soon-to-be Rogers Park resident, I can't wait to try out the Devon scene. While I'm totally comfortable ordering Thai/Lao food, I'm all thumbs when it comes to the subcontinent, so I usually just hit the good ol' buffet with and wipe it all up with a pile of naan.

pcharrig wrote:As a soon-to-be Rogers Park resident, I can't wait to try out the Devon scene. While I'm totally comfortable ordering Thai/Lao food, I'm all thumbs when it comes to the subcontinent, so I usually just hit the good ol' buffet with and wipe it all up with a pile of naan.

This puts me in mind of a story I tell perhaps too frequently. For my first real introduction to Indian food (at Udupi Palace on Devon), a friend who was also in general a role model for expanding one's scope of food, music, etc sat me down and said:

Do you want to eat too much? Or way too much?

We ate way too much, and it was fantastic. Alas, Udupi does not offer a buffet, but I continue to enjoy their food (well, it's been many months since my last trip...)

Remember that in LTH you have a lot of people who would probably be willing to bolster your numbers and make it easier to order a lot of tastes even when there's no buffet. All it takes is your willingness to invite a bunch of strangers to join you for a meal! You'll be pleasantly surprised at how easy it is to convene an agreeable group of people for whatever kind of food you're looking to try...

Actually, some kind of Devon-o-thon would probably be a pretty nice way to spend a warm weekend afternoon -- I honestly don't know my way around the snacky places very well but wouldn't mind learning... but even if it's just "I want to go to X next week -- who's in?" posted to the events board, it doesn't need to be a major production.

Bill wrote: I thought the place had deteriorated so badly - and the Mexican cooks/wait staff insisting I didn't really want to eat what I'd ordered, the Mexican music playing from the almost open kitchen area - ruined the experience for me. If I wanted a Mexican environment I'd have chosen another restaurant. I'll probably give the restaurant another try one day, but I've come to think of Hema's as highly over-rated - and once I get that notion in my head (rightly, or wrongly) it's not easy to change.

Though I also don't care for Hema's that much, it isn't because of the "mexican environment", a lot of the kithen staff in a lot of the restaurants on Devon are from Mexico, and if I were to pick one other culture that most closely approximates subcontinental approaches to flavor it would be Mexico. Btw, last time I was there (a while ago) the staff wasn't from Mexico but I think from Colombia

pcharrig wrote:As a soon-to-be Rogers Park resident, I can't wait to try out the Devon scene. While I'm totally comfortable ordering Thai/Lao food, I'm all thumbs when it comes to the subcontinent, so I usually just hit the good ol' buffet with and wipe it all up with a pile of naan.

my own theory, which I've also said too often is that buffets on devon are only good within the first 6 months or so of the restuarant's opening. You could always check the name of the dish you like on the buffet and use that as an "anchor" dish to order off the menu - You know you'll get a one dish you know and like and then order something else that looks interesting. And also a number of posts/threads here can give guidance on particular dishes to order at particular places - most of the places I have posted on in the area I've tried to highlight particular dishes which are worth ordering.

Of Course it always helps to know the region of India that they the restaurant is representing and a little reading here or say one of the Jaffrey books that looks at different regions might give you a little more knowledge to be able toascertain that.

Joe - I was actually going to post on the events board about scheduling a Devon-a-thon, something I've been thinking of planning but waiting until the weather improved. Look over there sometime soon.

Hellodali wrote:Joe - I was actually going to post on the events board about scheduling a Devon-a-thon, something I've been thinking of planning but waiting until the weather improved. Look over there sometime soon.

hey, I'd be in!!