Bhabi's Kitchen-a couple to admire.

On the way up north from work today I stopped at Bhabi's for take-out dinner. It was 5:30 and there was an odd sign on the door saying the restaurant was closed until 5:00. Bhabi explained that they needed some time off because they were exhausted from recent special events relating to Dewali and Ramadan. He then mentioned that he and his wife had worked over 900 days without a day off. Even if that was a bit exaggerared (I have no reason to believe it was), it is clear this couple lives for that restaurant. I think that's why you feel like you're in their house when you eat there. The food, by the way, was wonderful, but knowing how much hard work this couple puts in made me doubly happy to support their business.

where is it? what's wonderful?

HI,

You will find a detailed report and address here.

Bhabi's is very tiny with a sign on Devon but it is just off Devon on a side street. The couple are very hospitable. They advised people from Check Please are frequent diners who desire to put it on their show. The husband does not want the publicity because only his wife and one other woman are the cooks. They cannot accomodate the rush of people this publicity would generate.

They are such a tiny establishment, I suggest having your fine meal there and choose someplace else to linger. I think it is polite not only to the customer who is waiting and generates more money for this business, which is one very practical way to support them.

I was at Bhabi's Friday night (excellent meal, nothing new to report), and Mr. Syed said that they were preparing 600 breads on Saturday for Diwali and Ramadan celebrations this weekend. To compound it all, Mrs. Syed (Bhabi) has been sick. That would explain their sign.

Best,
EC

I was there too Friday evening, and as usual had the same elegant food and warm interaction with Mr. and Mrs. Sayed (Bhabi). The room was full that night. We were the last folks to leave, I think -- there 'till about 11, and as is sometimes the case, ended up in the kitchen chatting with both of them. Mr. Sayed made a pistachio bread for us to take home to our kids (who also love it there but were at home this evening) and Bhabi gave us some sort of sweet confection to end the meal with. This restaurant is, to me, the hallmark of what a restaurant "find" should be: personable hosts who care about their customers and who are passionate about the food they prepare -- and the food, all cooked to order, is in class by itself, even amidst the great choices that Devon offers. Go and enjoy! Don't worry about deciding what to order -- ask Mr. Sayed what you should get and you won't have any regrets.

We were at Bhabi's last night (great food, nothing new: chicken charga, bhabi's eggplant, pistachio naan, onion/green pepper/garlic naan, lentil soup) and Mr Syed was very energetically offering to cook a whole turkey in the tandoor. You bring him the turkey the day before thanksgiving, he marinates and cooks it and you pick it up.

I'm not sure if he can cook it while saving the skin, though.

Oh, we also heard him namedrop chowhound, lthforum, and eatchicago to a table behind us. it was entertaining, to say the least.

and the meal was really satisfying, filling, and worth the money. and it was a lot of food for two people, but good enough that we nearly completely finished it off.

-ed

Well, I was finally able to try bhabi's vaunted sarsoon ki sag on sunday, we got it for takeout as well as a number of other things (karhai gosht, frontier gosht, bagaray mirch, and a few breads makki ki roti (corn) and sweet parantha)

The sarson ki saag was IMHO just ok, I wonder if all those folks who have talked it up (you know who you are) have had this dish in other places?

has anyone had it at the newish chopal across the street?

I was more fond of the bagaray mirch and the frontier gosht (though even that wasn't the best version I've had ).

I do admire their tenacity as it is basically a one person shop in the kitchen (At least it was on our visit) and preparing that food can take quite a while

zim wrote:Well, I was finally able to try bhabi's vaunted sarsoon ki sag on sunday, we got it for takeout as well as a number of other things (karhai gosht, frontier gosht, bagaray mirch, and a few breads makki ki roti (corn) and sweet parantha)

The sarson ki saag was IMHO just ok, I wonder if all those folks who have talked it up (you know who you are) have had this dish in other places?

I also finally got around to "trying" Bhabi's - had attempted it 3 times before but
not been able to get anything to eat, and so had considered myself jinxed
(twice it was not open despite it being a little bit past the "opening hour"
posted outside; once I got there with a veggie friend 20 minutes before
they were due to close, and we were told they wouldnt take orders
anymore for the night! This was a problem with a veggie aboard - there was
nothing veggie available in the cabbie joints or Usmaniya, really, so we
thats how we ended up at Jewel of India that Cathy just mentio0ned.
Anyway).

This wasnt much of a "try" of Bhabi's, I'll grant - was actually picking up
food at Hyderabad House, and suddenly it struck me that it was about
9pm and Bhabi's must be open... so after ordering one item at HH, I
didnt order the biryani there, but walked over to Bhabi's and got their
Chicken Biryani instead ("anyplace that makes good biryani is good",
Old Jungle Saying). Anyway. It wasnt bad or anything - looked and
smelled ok, decent amount of chicken in it and all that. But it was just,
IMHO, very bland. Not bland in the sense that there was no flavour -
there was, a fair few different flavours. But no heat to it whatsoever,
almost non-existant heat. One doesnt expect biryanit to be fiery or
burn-tongue hot - but surely there should be *some* heat IMHO. And
there really wasnt. Iam not sure I wouldnt have been happier with
HH biryani instead (actually I probably would have been - when theyre
"on" their biryani is actually pretty good). And while it had more meat in
it than Ghareeb Nawaz etc, the actual taste of the biryani IMHO is
better at Ghareeb. And much better at Usmaniya etc.

Again, it isnt much of a try for Bhabi's - will stop by again sometime.
But I also wonder if this "lack of heat" isnt going to be a bit of an
institutional thing - the place was busy the evening I stopped by, I
think only one table was unoccupied, but I dont think I saw any
actual Indians or Pakistanis there that evening. I think it was probably
a non-subcontinental crowd, drawn by the Reader reviews and such.
And if a lot of Bhabi's clientele are going to be non-subcontinentals, it
makes complete sense for them to tone down the level fo heat in their
food items to better fit the palate of their clientele (this is something
places like "Gandhi" did more than a decade ago, when *they* got
positive reviews from the Tribune etc).

Anyway. Its just an early theory - but the first one that crossed my mind when
the biryani was so completely free of heat.

c8w

The biryani at Bhabi's is definitely not a featured player. They treat their biryani as a supporting side dish, somewhat bland. I rarely ever order it and just go for plain basmati to accompany my meal.

The level of heat in dishes is varied at Bhabi's (as is the clientele). Mr. Syed is very interested in talking about their food. If, and when, you visit again, talk to him about the kind of food you enjoy and the level of heat you enjoy, and I'm sure that they'd be happy to accomodate.

Best,
EC

When we started going to Bhabi's, quite a while ago, we were usually the only caucasian types eating there, and the Indian/Pakistani diners who were there would often chat with us and congratulate us for finding this great place to eat. It's true that now there are many more non-Indian folks dining there, no doubt due to the publicity they've garnered. But they also do a brisk take-out business, whenever we've been there, for Indo/Pakistani customers. I find many of the dishes to be quite spicy -- the chicken boti, for instance -- but some are clearly not meant to be. I've certainly had "hotter" food elsewhere but rarely food spiced with the complexity you find there. But we don't get the biryani when we're there, I will confess, as we're always more interested in other things.

Tonight's experience at Bhabi's matched my last - near perfect. Syed rememberd us from our visit a few weeks ago, and reminded us to try a few new dishes. He also told us about several LTHer who had dined shortly before Thanksgiving, and took him up on his AMAZING offer to have them bring in a whole turkey, and have him marinate then cook it in the Tandoori oven for Thanksgiving. What other restaurant would offer such a BYOT deal?

Tonight we finally tried the broccoli rabe and, wow was it great. It was clear that it simmered for hours in cumin and other traditional spices. The naan was moist and wonderful - the pistacchio a refreshingly sweet contrast to much of the rest of the meal.

We also had tandoori chicken, which was tender and complexly flavored, a goat dosh marinated in yogurt which was quite tasty, and - to start - the chickpea "nuggests" which were moist, spicy, and reminded me of kicked up falaffel I used to have in NY.

NB - Syed told us of his plans to expand into the building nextdoor.

I simply want to reiterate what others have said about the spice levels at Bhabi's Kitchen. If you want your food spicy, ask. They will make it as spicy as you can handle.

While I have generally found the food at Bhabi's to be excellent (in my 20+ meals at the place), I must concede that my last couple of trips there have not been up to their usual standard: the food has been greasy, lacking its typically full flavor, and the portion size was smaller than usual. On my most recent visit, I overheard Mr. Syed's wife, who is the cook, discussing some health problems she was having while Mr. Syed complained to our party of the difficulty he was having in finding steady kitchen workers. I think these problems explain my subpar meals there, and hopefully they will be resolved soon. I especially hope Mr. Syed's wife (though I've spoken with her, I don't actually know her name) feels better quickly--she seems like a very warm, friendly person.

As far as Bhabi's largely "non-subcontinental" clientele goes, this assertion is, at least based on my experiences there, inaccurate. Plenty of subcontinentals frequent the place, especially for take out--as ToniG mentioned. Secondly, ToniG also accurately states that while more non-Indian/Pakistani people have been going there lately, this fact is probably almost entirely due to LTH and CH. It is almost impossible to miss overhearing (I'm really not an eavesdropper--BK is just a bit intimate) multiple references to one of these boards on almost any busy night at Bhabi's Kitchen. I find it more than a little ironic, then, that a poster to LTH would criticize a restaurant because so many other posters and readers of LTH go there.

There is a reasonable explanation (though not an excuse) for the varying grease levels of some of the dishes at Bhabi's. Syed provided it as follows: Most dishes are long simmered in some kind of liquid, and the succulent cuts of meat release a lot of fat. Normally, after the long simmering process, Syed or others in the kitchen let the dish rest, and the grease settles to the top - at which point they rather painstakingly skim off the top layer. Sometimes, however, there is an unusual rush of business (on the night we were there, for example, someone picked up an order for 50 people) and more must be made close to or right at service time . These dishes are then sometimes served before they have had time to settle. You get the same wonderful, complex flavors, but also some of the unsettled grease which, unfortunately, may begin to separate as it sits on your table.

Anyway, most people probably don't care about all this, but the explanation was helpful to me. It feels somehow better to know that I'm eating "meat grease" as opposed to an excess of oil of other added fat.

Kenny from Rogers Park wrote:As far as Bhabi's largely "non-subcontinental" clientele goes, this assertion is, at least based on my experiences there, inaccurate. Plenty of subcontinentals frequent the place, especially for take out--as ToniG mentioned. Secondly, ToniG also accurately states that while more non-Indian/Pakistani people have been going there lately, this fact is probably almost entirely due to LTH and CH. It is almost impossible to miss overhearing (I'm really not an eavesdropper--BK is just a bit intimate) multiple references to one of these boards on almost any busy night at Bhabi's Kitchen. I find it more than a little ironic, then, that a poster to LTH would criticize a restaurant because so many other posters and readers of LTH go there.

*That* was really not meant as a criticism Its a good thing that LTH'ers go
to a place (or Check Please watchers) etc - they help smaller places to
survive, and thats a good thing IMHO. It is a pity when such places fail,
if theyve been serving good food - I think its tragic that Chutney Janet's
did, for example, because I felt it was probablyt he best tasting Indian food
in the city. But it was in Des Plaines, and it was "unusual" Indian food - and
they had no publicity of the LTH/Reader sort. (Hema's was like that - there
was a time, a good 6/8 years ago, when a friend would pick up food from
Hema's 2 or 3 times every single week, because it was more of a "home
style" taste. But he stopped and hasnt gone back once in a couple of years now -
he felt they had deteriorated quite a bit, were blander etc. And it was only
*after* that that they suddenly showed up on Check, Please - and went
from a small operation to expanding next door, and now have a second
branch in Uptown as well). This is not a bad thing however, because
Hema's is still not *bad* - and its nice to see someone so nice do well with
her restaurant. Another example would be "Kabul House", BTW - we used
to be regulars about 5 years ago, when it was basically a pizza-joint
in Evanston! A pizza-joint that just happeend to be owned by an Afghan,
who served Afghan food on the side. It was terrific food, and ridiculously
cheap. Then it moved to Skokie, the portions got smaller, the food got more
expensive, 9/11 hit, Check Please happened - and now it also has a
couple of branches and is doing very well. Which is very good for them).

These are all good things in general IMHO. However, I still think that
Hema's is not as good as it was a few years ago - nor is Kabul House.
I wouldnt make any such comment about BK obviously, and didnt intend
to - but, as Zim says, at least a few of the things *may* be at least as
good or better in other spots? (Again, all I suggest so far is that the
biryani was very ordinary). This isnt *because* the Reader praises a
place IMHO - it is *always* a good thing if the Reader or LTH or CH tell
you about places (I know Ive found dozens of spots I never woul dhave
tried without them). And one should never criticize food just because the
Reader or LTH readers go there - the "fans" a place has should be IMHO
irrelevant, its only the food that matters

Anyway. Just to clarify - LTH-attendance wasnt meant as a criticism Merely
that the biryani which I ordered was one of the most heat-free Ive ever had
in Chicago, which surprised me - and then I thought *maybe* the explanation
was that, at the time, there were mostly non-subcontinentals there. That
*would* be a reason to lower the heat level - it is the reason most Indian
restaurants *do* lower their heat level, everywhere in the world (even
in India, the upscale places that draw more tourists have richer tastes
and more varied spices - but seriously lack the heat that a lot of other
restaurants in India always have). It isnt unusual at all. But again, it was
merely the first theory that hit me - it may well not be true at all (as most
theories arent

I will ask for higher heat next time - and that may well cure any
complaint But it did surprise me that the base-level of heat was as low
as it was, thats all. (Also, any suggestion that biryani is a "side player" at
any place should be blasphemy! Could Steak ever be a "side player" at
Morton's? Could Johnnie's be great without a sublime "combo juicy
hot"? Could Ditka be a "side player" with Da Bears? Could Chicago Politics
be the greatest in the country without "Da Mare"? Ok - scratch that).

c8w

c8w wrote:Also, any suggestion that biryani is a "side player" at
any place should be blasphemy!

Call it blasphemy if you will, but it's the truth at Bhabi's. Biryani is a side player, an accompaniment. It's buried on the menu with the rice. Of the dozens of things he's recommended, Mr. Syed has only once recommended a biryani to me, and in that case it was in the context of, "How about some rice to accompany?"

The biryani may be a side player, but I had the the sarson ki saag (broccoli rabe) which in all of the glowing accounts has been a featured player, it just didn't do much for me. Neither, really did the breads, though admittedly we had them for takeout and didn't do them real justice, though even fresh it seemed like the makki ki roti (corn roti) was a little too thick.

Don't get me wrong, I do wish them success, but I also wish success to a number of other businesses on devon.

I find the oil item a little humurous as the day we were picking up all the to go items, I was a little leery of the take-out containers (those round aluminum containers where you crimp the sides down over a cardboard round) and was fastening them more securely, when the proprietor told me - no worry they use very little oil. When we got home the bag was soaked.

This is in marked contrast to a much different Indian takeout meal we had, actually for thanksgiving.

We had malabar catering on montrose do us up a spread - rice, palappam, duck curry, mutton fry, beef fry, avial, black channa, kalan, chicken croquettes, fish curry with kappa (cassava), chicken lollipops, tandoori for the kids, long bean thoran, meat puffs, they even threw in a small container of shrimp curry when they saw us eyeing that when we picked up the food. Next time I'm gonna ask for them to do us a turkey as I saw a great looking one they had prepared for their own meal. For the amount of food they gave us, it was an amazing price and meal (the only dish I thought that was not VERY good was the avial) and all packed with obvious care.

Bhabi's Kitchen was written up in today's post at the Chicagoist.
Here's the link: http://www.chicagoist.com/

zim wrote:We had malabar catering on montrose do us up a spread - rice, palappam, duck curry, mutton fry, beef fry, avial, black channa, kalan, chicken croquettes, fish curry with kappa (cassava), chicken lollipops, tandoori for the kids, long bean thoran, meat puffs, they even threw in a small container of shrimp curry when they saw us eyeing that when we picked up the food. Next time I'm gonna ask for them to do us a turkey as I saw a great looking one they had prepared for their own meal. For the amount of food they gave us, it was an amazing price and meal (the only dish I thought that was not VERY good was the avial) and all packed with obvious care.

I noticed Malabar after a wrong turn took me way off course. It was one of those eye-brow raising moments - "what is that doing here?" Seems to be the only remotely Indian outpost in the area (please let me know if I'm wrong).

Though you called them "malabar catering," do they actually do restaurant service? Can I walk in and order take out or do I have to order ahead, catering style? I'd be pretty excited if I could since Devon is more than twice as far from my house as Malabar.

Many thanks,

Ryan

zim wrote:We had malabar catering on montrose do us up a spread - rice, palappam, duck curry, mutton fry, beef fry, avial, black channa, kalan, chicken croquettes, fish curry with kappa (cassava), chicken lollipops, tandoori for the kids, long bean thoran, meat puffs, they even threw in a small container of shrimp curry when they saw us eyeing that when we picked up the food. Next time I'm gonna ask for them to do us a turkey as I saw a great looking one they had prepared for their own meal. For the amount of food they gave us, it was an amazing price and meal (the only dish I thought that was not VERY good was the avial) and all packed with obvious care.

I noticed Malabar after a wrong turn took me way off course. It was one of those eye-brow raising moments - "what is that doing here?" Seems to be the only remotely Indian outpost in the area (please let me know if I'm wrong).

Though you called them "malabar catering," do they actually do restaurant service? Can I walk in and order take out or do I have to order ahead, catering style? I'd be pretty excited if I could since Devon is more than twice as far from my house as Malabar.

Many thanks,

Ryan

rien wrote:Though you called them "malabar catering," do they actually do restaurant service? Can I walk in and order take out or do I have to order ahead, catering style? I'd be pretty excited if I could since Devon is more than twice as far from my house as Malabar.

While it may not answer your question head-on, I suggest that you read throughthis, this,this, and this from Chowhound '02.

Crack a beer. You've got a lot of reading to do.

Erik M.