Uru-Swati Group Dinner - Sunday 8/31 - 6PM

photo courtesy of G Wiv

Edited to pick a date per the advice of many kind advisors. Sunday, August 31st at 6 PM. This will be an early evening Sunday affair that hopefully is convenient for most of the people who have expressed interest. If the mods would be so kind as to edit the title to reflect the time and date.

I have been getting more interested in veggie and Indian food and the reports on this place have me very curious. Thaobsessed's most recent post compelled me to act.

After my last Devon trip, I pledged to only revisit an Indian restaurant with sufficient posse-backed ordering power.

The last dinner sounded like a real hit. I would like to create another set menu and variety we can sample will depend on the number attending. The price for the previous dinner was $20. Even adjusting even for food inflation, I should think that $25 would be an upper estimate of what we can expect for similar volume, if not fare. The menu can develop given the wishes and number of interested parties.

At last check, the restaurant was not BYO and the agreed-upon price included non-alcoholic beverages. I would be looking to do something similar.

I am not that familiar with parking availability this far West on the strip so maybe others can chime in with suggestions given the day and time.

Update:
We have hit the magic number of 10 for a set menu. Hansa, Vishal's mother is getting back to me this week with a prospective menu and cost. Until I talk to her again, I do not know how many they can accommodate. I will set a provisional cap of 15 until I get the OK from the restauranteurs for more.

Confirmed guests
gastro gnome + 2
na
Cynthia
Suzy Creamcheese + 2
GAF
BR
RAB, REB

Uru-Swati - Healing Through Food
2629 W. Devon
Chicago, IL 60659
773 262 5280

I loved the first LTH Uru-Swati dinner so much that I'm definitely in for a second one. Thanks for organizing this. I'll try to make it for whichever evening you choose.

I organized the first dinner at Uru-Swati; please contact me if you have questions.
We did it on a Wednesday. Vishal, the owner, is very easy to work with, and he passed around 10% discount certificates after dinner.

I definitely plan to attend...

The first Uru-Swati outing was a smashing success.

I suggest you review the post with suggestions for event planners, start with item 1 ("choose a date") and dive in!

Aside from those suggestions (or in reinforcement of them; I haven't reviewed them carefully), I would say:

1) set a maximum number for the event when you post the event, so that things are clear
2) If you have more than six people, think about setting a fixed menu with the house before the day of the event. If you have ten or more, I think this is just about a must.

I appreciate the suggestions. I will talk to the restaurant and settle on a date, party size and discuss a set menu. Will report back shortly with more details.

Hi,

Depending on the date, I will be pleased to attend. I was very sorry I couldn't make the first event. I have since been there and look forward to the next opportunity to dine there.

Regards,

gastro gnome wrote:I have been getting more interested in veggie and Indian food and the reports on this place have me very curious. Thaobsessed's most recent post compelled me to act.

Excellent notion. I, too, would be interested in attending, depending upon the date/time.

Depending on date/time, I'm in for two, one, or zero. I will be watching this thread for more specific information.

Thank you for all the noted interest. I am awaiting a call back from the owner/manager to discuss time, size, spread and cost. I will update the thread when I have the info.

It sounds like we have interest for at least 10. Last group dinner was close to 20, so an upper limit there might make sense. All pending discussion with the Uru-Swatians.

There's interest, but I'll echo Germuska's advice upthread. Rule #1: Pick a Date. So far all you have is theoretical interest. Until you pick a date, no one will be able to commit one way or the other about attending. Once you pick a date and see how many people can actually attend, then it's time to move on to the next steps, which include talking to the owner about menus, costs, etc.

Count me in for my first event. Looking forward to it.

Do you still have room for this event? If so, I'd love to join you.

I, too, missed the first outing, and am delighted to have a second chance.

Thanks.

I just got back from out of town and never heard back from the owner. I will follow-up this week to move planning along.

Cathy2 wrote:Hi,

Depending on the date, I will be pleased to attend. I was very sorry I couldn't make the first event. I have since been there and look forward to the next opportunity to dine there.

Regards,

HI,

As much as would like to attend, I am committed to another event. Of the two, I would much rather be with everyone at Uru Swati.

Regards,

I think this date will work for us - however, we might have an out-of-town guest that weekend, and I think it would be a bit rude to go off and leave him to twiddle his thumbs. Can I say we are definite for two, and possibly plus one more?

As noted above, plenty of room and all are welcome.

Cynthia, you're in.

Suzy, you two (possibly three)

Well, since there's so much room, I took the liberty of asking a couple of non-LTH friends if they would be interested. A set menu is preferable I think

I will RSVP on their behalf as quickly as I can.

I'd like to join you. My first meal at Uru Swati was very impressive.

I'm in for 1 on 8/31 . . . thanks again . . . looking forward to it.

As stated above, we have hit minion for the dinner, which is a great thing. Until I confirm that a party approaching 20 or so (like the last dinner) is OK, I will set a temporary cap of 15.

Because I have not been here, I welcome input on the menu. The last dinner seemed to feature bhel puri and, later, curries. Are there favorites folks would like to see repeated? Want to push further into the menu to find out what a vegetarian biryani tastes like?

I will ask if there are any special dishes they might be willing to prepare for a larger group. Of course, we will look to strike a balance between variety and what is convenient for the restaurant.

Shucks! gastro gnome, you changed the initial post. I wanted to say, "Throw me into the pool!"

I'd love to join the group for dinner on the 31st. Thanks for organizing.

If you are starting a waitlist, please add me and Mr. X.

Thanks!

happy_stomach, I didn't want to single out 1 person, so the pool dried up for the moment

Since Suzy is still checking with her folks, I will confirm The GP and Mr. X.

I think the restaurant should be able to accommodate everyone, but I want to make sure that they can deal with the larger group. Update soon.

I spoke again with Hansa yesterday. Everything is a go for the larger group. She said that 15 was fine and if we get closer to 20 to just let her know.

She had not yet put together a menu, but for now assume a price of about $25 all inclusive. If folks have suggestions as to the make-up of the menu, let me know.

I am in Peru right now and will be here until the 24th. I will talk to Hansa on the 25th to try to finalize plans in terms of a number, menu and cost. Looking forward to it.

Since my people never got back to me, I'm assuming they are a "no". Just FYI.

Regretfully, Mr. X and I must withdraw our RSVP for this dinner. We are double-booked and the timing just won't work. I look forward to reading about the dinner. Thanks to gastrognome for organizing.

Just in from Peru, I have updated the group size to 11.

If anyone else wants in, there is obviously room. I will try to post the outline of the menu and finalize cost tomorrow. The menu being discussed will currently be with the 11 confirmed participants in mind.

Not sure if I need to do this (can't hurt, I guess) but I am definitely for sure confirming for three. One of whom is from Memphis, so this will be...novel for him

Suzy, gotcha down for 3. Sorry about the mistake.

It'll be novel for me too!

I'm very sorry, but I need to back out of this event. I just realized that I'm registered to run a race downtown. These things are usually in the morning, so I didn't even think about a possible conflict with dinner, but I just noticed that Sunday's race starts at 6:30pm.

Thanks for organizing gastro gnome. I look forward to the reports.