NW Suburban Indian Food

I'm interested in delving into Indian food, but don't know where to begin. . . I've eaten at Hot Wok in Hoffman and really enjoyed it. Maybe someplace with Indian and Chinese, which seems to be fairly common. Maybe a good buffet so I can sample a lot of different items? I'm in the Algonquin area, but I only know of one out here..

jleblanc05 wrote:I'm interested in delving into Indian food, but don't know where to begin. . .

The Northwest Suburban Dinner group has a number of Indian places on their list of potential event locations... I suggest you pick a date and invite them to join you to maximize your ordering power^*. LTH events are a great way to taste a lot of things, and also get a lot of recommendations from people who know their way around a menu.

^*eatchicago, do I need to put a ™, ®, ℠, or other such?

There's an Udupi Palace in Schaumburg. Haven't been back for a couple of years but the dosas and uthappam have always been reliable.

I've had several meals, ranging from decent to excellent, at India House in Buffalo Grove. They have a very good M-F lunchtime buffet and a rather expansive menu, which is offered at other times . . .

=R=

India House Restaurant
228 McHenry Rd
Buffalo Grove, IL 60089
847 520-5569

There is a big difference between south indian vegetarian cuisine as featured at Udupi Palace and the typical curry kabob tandoori food. I love both.

A good way to try is to go to the buffets.

As for entrees, almost everyone will like masala dosa, a lentil potatoe filled pancake type thing. And tandoori chicken will also generally be liked as well as the breads and samosas.

ronnie_suburban wrote:I've had several meals, ranging from decent to excellent, at India House in Buffalo Grove. They have a very good M-F lunchtime buffet and a rather expansive menu, which is offered at other times . . .

=R=

India House Restaurant
228 McHenry Rd
Buffalo Grove, IL 60089
847 520-5569

Ditto.
The lunch buffet seems kinda dumbed down, but there's usually at least one or two really good items on it. There's also a place called Mansapand in Arlington Heights. I've never been, but have read mixed reviews. Some excellent, some 'meh.'
Mansapand
644 E. Golf Rd. Arlington Heights

Hmmm.. haven't been to IH lunch buffet in quite a while, and I think I've about had it with turkey. Sounds like Monday's lunch is settled.

From one Indian food newbie to another, try Milan Chat and Sweets. It's an order-at-the-counter, plastic plate type of place. The food is wonderful and tastes very fresh. The first time I went, the friendly man behind the counter saw the confused expression on my face and walked me through the entire menu. This helpful attitude has persisted through many more visits.

Milan Chat and Sweets
927 W. Golf Rd
Schaumburg, IL 60194

I've had a couple very good meals at Sizzle India in Schaumburg, and it's the place that I introduced my mother to Indian food with favorable results. Their menu is varied across a couple major Indian regions and the kitchen executes pretty well.

Best,
Michael

you've been here, right?

http://www.myindiacuisine.com/contact.html

I've been wondering about this place, it's about 1 mile from my house. Is it a good place to start??

This seems like as good a place as any to post this, but if the moderators think there's a better place, I hope they'll move this post.

I only learned today that India House in Buffalo Grove closed in the middle of last year, and Mango Leaf, with (so Yelp says) new owners, opened in the same space.

Mango Leaf
228 McHenry Rd
Buffalo Grove, IL 60089
(847) 520-5569
http://www.mangoleafchicago.com

I wonder how any mention of this change got past me, India House having been one of the more estimable Indian options in Lake County (granted, there are not a whole lot). I didn't find any mention of it searching LTH, and I wonder, if something like this is posted in a quarterly Openings and Closings/Comings and Goings thread, will it come up in a search once that thread is closed?

Just for fun, I've spent some time online tonight comparing Mango Leaf's menu with that of Aroma on Route 60/Townline Road in Vernon Hills. Not surprisingly, the menus are remarkably similar. Where they differ is that Mango Leaf's offerings are almost alway more expensive, most often by $1.05 but sometimes up to $4.95. I found only one instance of a Mango Leaf menu item costing less than the same item on Aroma's menu, and then it was only less by $0.05. Well, it's not cheap -- these days, unlike when I was a kid -- to live or run a business in Buffalo Grove.

I've gotten carry-out from Aroma multiple times, but I haven't tried their buffet yet, and my comments above only pertain to menu item costs, of course, not quality. BTW,

Aroma Fine Indian Cuisine
270 Hawthorn Village Commons
Vernon Hills, IL 60061
(847) 247-0898
http://www.aromavh.com

There is another fairly new Indian place in Buffalo Grove, near where Mango Leaf is/India House was, but I know nothing about it yet:

Rivaj Indian Cuisine
1034 Weiland Rd
Buffalo Grove, IL 60089
http://www.rivajofindia.com/index.php/dashboard

And as long as I'm posting updates about Indian restaurants near me, I should also mention that the longstanding Peacock in Vernon Hills is now called the Mumbai Tandoor:

Mumbai Tandoor
700 N Milwaukee Ave
Vernon Hills, IL 60061
(847) 816-3100
http://www.mumbaitandoor.com

Whether this is a venture by new owners or a reboot by the same owners I don't know.

Anyway, I'm up for figuring out what are currently the good Indian options around here and for checking them out with others, if anyone's interested. LTH North Lunch Group, perhaps?

(Just a little LTH website side note, trying to wrap the above websites in HTML code using the URL button to make them appear as clickable links didn't work for me for three of the four links. Maybe it only works when the link starts with http?)

Katie wrote:...
(Just a little LTH website side note, trying to wrap the above websites in HTML code using the URL button to make them appear as clickable links didn't work for me for three of the four links. Maybe it only works when the link starts with http?)

I edited to add "www" to the ones that weren't working.

Katie wrote:Anyway, I'm up for figuring out what are currently the good Indian options around here and for checking them out with others, if anyone's interested. LTH North Lunch Group, perhaps?

Subtle hint noted.

The GP wrote:

Katie wrote:...
(Just a little LTH website side note, trying to wrap the above websites in HTML code using the URL button to make them appear as clickable links didn't work for me for three of the four links. Maybe it only works when the link starts with http?)

I edited to add "www" to the ones that weren't working.

Thanks, Mary. That is interesting, that the www is required for a site address to display as a link, because that isn't necessarily required to access a site directly (e.g., "aromavh.com" takes me to the restaurant's site without the preceding "www."). I'll try to remember that when posting links here in the future.

Mumbai Cafe in Hoffman Estates is serving "India/Pakistan Street Cooking". The multi-part menu is extensive and filled with things I've been googling for the last 48 hours. At lunch today, I had Vada Pav, a Bombay Sandwich, and a chai falooda. It was very quiet at lunch, but it might be the kind of place that gets active later in the evening.

Bombay Sandwich


Vada Pav


I'm very excited to work my way through the menu, but it's going to take a while. The newer Patel Brothers grocery store is across the street too.







Mumbai Cafe
1069 W Golf Rd
Hoffman Estates, IL 60169
Ph: 847-466-7069