My daughter and I, when we want to experience a certain culture and their food, walk up and down the street as if we were tourists in that land. There are many places to eat Indian food on Devon, so we take about an hour trying different Indian snacks, sweets, a light lunch. We also go to music stores find some Indian pop
music for the memories and even some Indian knick knacks for display. On the way home we buy some Indian spices or dry snacks for later use.
For some reason the food tastes better and the whole experience is fun.
Some other Chicago ethnic streets you can do this Argyle for Vietnamese or 26th street for Mexican

c8w wrote:Ive ended up never actually eating at this place, mostly because when the mood for Indian-style food strikes when Iam in the area, my default-spot has been Tandoori Restaurant (which is round the corner, about a quarter mile away from Chilli's Garden).. or else Ive just headed for carryout at Malabar Catering (about a mile away).

This area of Niles/Glenview (within a couple square miles) is beginning to explode with South-Asian options.

There are the aforementioned Chilli Garden, Tandoori Restaurant and Malabar (pure carryout, but perhaps the best Indian food in the city). There is the Gujarati-food/cheap-lunch at MAFS in a stripmall on Golf Road. There is the India Food and Video grocery store next door, which has quite excellent homemade food for carryout. And now there is the newly-opened Bombay Chaat House (also in the same stripmall, next door to India Food and Video!), for supposedly pretty decent Indian snacks.

And coming soon, yet another place, a half-mile down Golf Road (bang opposite The Works, one of the better Gyro places anywhere)... a place called Pakwaan. Saw the sign today, stopped in, the owner said they had just gotten thru their first inspection and he hopes to open in a couple of weeks. He claimed it would be Indian/Pakistani food, both meat and vegetarian options, and a fresh juice bar.. and they are going to be allied to a Halal Meat Market opening next door (also in a couple of weeks). On hearing about the meat-store, it sounded more Pakistani to me, so I asked about Nehari, Haleem etc, and he assured me that both would be on the menu (along with, he said, biryani, chicken tikka, chicken boti and all the rest Thus it sounds more of a Usmaniya-style menu - a nice complement to the many Indian-style spots listed above in the near vicinity.

c8w

NRaleeRalee wrote:Sukhadia is by far one of the worst places to eat...because of it's cleanliness. I've know a few family members that have worked there and they had nothing good to say about the fast food area of the store(and they weren't of the disgruntled kind when they left either). IMO, if you wanted "indian street food," go to Kamdar Plaza a few blocks west. The restaurant portion of the business is shared with the grocery store.

I guess the one good thing I could say about Sukhadia (i'm about to have a schizophrenic moment) is that their sweets are really good. If I am celebrating a special occasion, I don't think I would go anywhere else for them. My relatives did say that this is the one area of the business that take so much pride in that they are meticulous about it. It just pains me to hear about the two polar opposites.

worse than other places on the strip? that's disconcerting as i do like the taste of their snack food, especially the channa - though oddly I've never cared for their sweets, but maybe that's just the sweets I tend to order - are there particular ones you think they make well?

NRaleeRalee wrote:If you want good Gujarti food, go to Rasoi in Melrose Park. The majority of their business is catering so they don't have much of a sit down area. I recommend getting it to go. The food is always spiced perfectly and well priced. I pick it up when I'm missing my mom's home cooking.

I'll echo c8w here - please give us some more details - I've driven by this place a couple times and have been curious - what's the setup - is it like malabar where there are a few extras from catering available for takeout, or is more full-service? favorties among their offerings?

also in the general area of Rasoi, there's a pupuseria - el Gunachapin - does anyone know the deal on this place - i tried to stop by a couple weeks ago but the only light on was the big neon open sign in the window.

c8w wrote:There is the Gujarati-food/cheap-lunch at MAFS in a stripmall on Golf Road.

have you tried this place out - how was it?

c8w wrote:And coming soon, yet another place, a half-mile down Golf Road (bang opposite The Works, one of the better Gyro places anywhere)... a place called Pakwaan. Saw the sign today, stopped in, the owner said they had just gotten thru their first inspection and he hopes to open in a couple of weeks. He claimed it would be Indian/Pakistani food, both meat and vegetarian options, and a fresh juice bar.. and they are going to be allied to a Halal Meat Market opening next door (also in a couple of weeks). On hearing about the meat-store, it sounded more Pakistani to me, so I asked about Nehari, Haleem etc, and he assured me that both would be on the menu (along with, he said, biryani, chicken tikka, chicken boti and all the rest Thus it sounds more of a Usmaniya-style menu - a nice complement to the many Indian-style spots listed above in the near vicinity.

do you know if this place is any relation to the "Pakwaan" that used to be on devon (or rather a half block north of devon - they did a very nice daal gosht - and being allied with a meat market is a promising sign

c8w wrote:There is the Gujarati-food/cheap-lunch at MAFS in a stripmall on Golf Road.

have you tried this place out - how was it?

Decent enough Gujarati food, at very very cheap prices. I actually stopped in and took it to go, and it was near closing time, so I didnt actually have the "best version" of it. Its home-made style Gujarati food prepared every morning, serves anyone (though probably aimed at seniors). They like you to bring something to take the food in, if youre picking up to go (you can eat-in too - its only from about 11am to 2pm though, Monday thru Saturday). You get 5 chapatis, rice, daal and a veggie-of-the-day, all for 5 bucks in total (and if youre over 60 years of age, you actually get it for 2 bucks I believe).

o you know if this place is any relation to the "Pakwaan" that used to be on devon (or rather a half block north of devon - they did a very nice daal gosht - and being allied with a meat market is a promising sign

I actually remembered the name Pakwaan (which is what first drew me to this place), but couldnt remember where from... I did ask the owner if they were related to the other Pakwaan restaurant ("in Chicago", I think I said, or maybe "downtown".. might have mixed it up with Pakeeza in my head), and he appeared surprised and said they were not. And I agree, *the* most promising thing about it to me was the fact that it was allied to the meat market (the Subhan Halal Meat Market, IIRC), along with the fact that it will be a menu including Haleem/Nehari etc. Its still a couple of weeks from opening, but I'll let friends know - a couple of them live in Glenview and will probably check back and try it much sooner than I might

c8w

Vishnu Vilas is the restaurant next door to Vishnu foods at 621 Algonquin Rd. Schaumburg. They serve mostly south Indian food, with both veg and non-veg dishes. To my taste, the food is fantastic. Some dishes, like the Chicken Varutha curry, fish pulusu,chicken 65 and especially the paneer butter masala are among the very best Indian dishes I've had. Haven't tried the buffet, but each day they have at least two non-veg and four vegetarian options. Buffet gets amped up on weekends. Several Indian friends tell me it's the best currently available. If there's food this good on Devon I haven't found it.

c8w wrote:There is the Gujarati-food/cheap-lunch at MAFS in a stripmall on Golf Road. There is the India Food and Video grocery store next door, which has quite excellent homemade food for carryout. And now there is the newly-opened Bombay Chaat House (also in the same stripmall, next door to India Food and Video!), for supposedly pretty decent Indian snacks.

c8w,

These places sound very interesting, are we talking the mall that houses Metropolitan Asian Family Services?

Remember many, including me, are not familiar with the burbs in the least.

Enjoy,
Gary

Metropolitan Asian Family Services
9050 W Golf Road
Niles, IL 60714

G Wiv wrote:

c8w wrote:There is the Gujarati-food/cheap-lunch at MAFS in a stripmall on Golf Road. There is the India Food and Video grocery store next door, which has quite excellent homemade food for carryout. And now there is the newly-opened Bombay Chaat House (also in the same stripmall, next door to India Food and Video!), for supposedly pretty decent Indian snacks.

c8w,
These places sound very interesting, are we talking the mall that houses Metropolitan Asian Family Services?
Remember many, including me, are not familiar with the burbs in the least.
Metropolitan Asian Family Services
9050 W Golf Road
Niles, IL 60714

Indeed we are. I couldnt actually remember what MAFS stood for, and was too lazy to look it up It is indeed the Metropolitan Asian Family Services, they are an organization that I believe helps out primarily South-Asian seniors, and they have a vegetarian primarily-Gujarati-food spread between 11am and 2pm, Monday thru Saturday IIRC. The stripmall above is where they are located... and that same stripmall also houses India Food and Video, Bombay Chaat House, a Korean restaurant of some kind, and Filipiana Restaurant (one of the better-known Filipino-food restaurants in town, sometimes mentioned on here).

BTW, for all of you non-suburbanite residents of the boonies of Chicago .. MAFS also has a couple of locations in the city of Chicago itself, as well as a few other suburban locations (at 7541 N.Western, for one; and there is one in Roselle too). Iam not sure if they also serve the Gujarati lunches that the Niles location does, but they well might (their website claims they do, but Ive never personally verified it).

c8w

Take it from me, I have Indian parents, and my mum is an amazing cook. I know what true Indian food tastes like from trips to India, if you want real Indian food you need to go to Tiffin on Devon Ave. Price isn't great, but it's not outragous. It is a formal sitdown restaurant. To the post from 2 years ago about kulfi, kulfi is a type of icecream typically mango flavoured and garnished with sliced almonds. The sweet balls in syrup are called gulab. If you go to Tiffin I highly recommend their tandoori chicken and fresh naans. When I was 9 my family and I used to go there so often I became friends with the chef who operates the tandoor, he let me cook our naans everytime we went there. It has a great atmosphere and friendly staff, I highly encourage people to go there. Another great restaurant, in Schaumburg is called Gaylord, forget about the name, their weekend buffet is extroardinary.

c8w wrote:And coming soon, yet another place, a half-mile down Golf Road (bang opposite The Works, one of the better Gyro places anywhere)... a place called Pakwaan. Saw the sign today, stopped in, the owner said they had just gotten thru their first inspection and he hopes to open in a couple of weeks.
c8w

I live within a one minute walk of where Pakwaan will be filling a former outpost of Bellacinos pizza/salads/subs. It must have been their day for visitors as I stopped in as well. Very friendly family who are working hard to get the operation up and running as soon as possible. I'm sure I'll be able to report back within the first twenty-fours they are open....

c8w wrote:Malabar (pure carryout, but perhaps the best Indian food in the city).

I'm going to be in the vicinity of Malabar Catering this week and wondered if it was worth a stop on a weekday--or if it would be better to plan for a Friday or Saturday (when they would ostensibly have more catering jobs)? Any idea about hours?

tarte tatin wrote:I'm going to be in the vicinity of Malabar Catering this week and wondered if it was worth a stop on a weekday--or if it would be better to plan for a Friday or Saturday (when they would ostensibly have more catering jobs)? Any idea about hours?

They arent open on Mondays, and maybe Tuesdays? Not sure. Hours are... well, theyopen in the mornings (probably by 11ish), are usually open till 8 or 9pm Id guess. In some ways what they have is what they have - your best bet is probably to call and ask.Most of the items are pretty good I think, and there are items available every day pretty much.

Weekdays are probably fine - weekends *are* better, because their menu is just more extensive. But the more popular items are available on weekdays too, a lot of the time - and there is usually something fresh every day I believe. If you want their Pork Fry for instance (very good), its not always available - only on a few random days, weekdays or weekends, no set pattern. However their Beef Fry (also very good) is available and fresh a fair bit of the time, it just happens to be a very popular catering dish I believe. They will probably load up on Easter weekend Id guess, with more-than-usual variety.

But again, your best bet is to try calling when youre in the area.

Malabar Catering
Ph 847-998-5635
Cell 773-842-5179

c8w

LuvstoEat wrote:

c8w wrote:And coming soon, yet another place, a half-mile down Golf Road (bang opposite The Works, one of the better Gyro places anywhere)... a place called Pakwaan. Saw the sign today, stopped in, the owner said they had just gotten thru their first inspection and he hopes to open in a couple of weeks.
c8w

I live within a one minute walk of where Pakwaan will be filling a former outpost of Bellacinos pizza/salads/subs. It must have been their day for visitors as I stopped in as well. Very friendly family who are working hard to get the operation up and running as soon as possible. I'm sure I'll be able to report back within the first twenty-fours they are open....

I drove by today and I saw a grand Opening sign @ Pakwaan on Golf Road. If anyone trys out this place in the next few days please report back on your experience.

Walked over to Pakwaan for dinner tonight after daughter #2 got home from ISU. I'm usually suspicious when I'm the only customer in a place, and the owners kids are occupying one table while doing homework. We had met the owner several weeks ago when they were first moving into the empty space and he remembered us as soon as we walked in tonight. They still seem to be suffering some start-up issues, but overall we were pretty impressed. The wait staff (a male/female tag team) brought us complimentary tastings of fresh squeezed juice (vegetable and "sugar cane"). The veggie was acceptable, but the sugar cane was way too sweet for human consumption. Then came complimentary bowls of chicken-corn soup which was very good. The Missus ordered Bihari Kabab, the Daughter ordered "Chicken Tikka Boti" and I had the Frontier Chicken. We also ordered Garlic Naan. Wifey quickly opined that she enjoyed tonights version of the kabab much more than Khan's (which she adores, BTW). I had asked for my chicken to be spicy, and they came through in pretty good style. The dish was both flavorful and plentiful although the bright red color was somewhat off-putting at first. The Daughter enjoyed her chicken as well, although she's used to it being a bit less spicy (they have her order down pat at Khans...). I tasted their dishes (in the interest of science) and was fairly impressed with both.
They still seem to be having some start-up issues in that it took about twenty minutes for the food to arrive. While we were sitting there, several to-go orders were picked up. Both the owner and his kids came by our table to make sure all was OK....and the daughter became our instant best friend when we realized there was a chance my daughter could be her student teacher next year.
I wish them well!!

Pakwaan
7947 Golf Rd (Washington Commons Shopping Center)
Morton Grove, IL
847-965-2422

dropped in for a menu last night. most meat dishes are 8.99, some grill items are 7.99, veggie dishes are 6.99, garlic/onion naans are 1.99... they have charga, tandoori and broast chicken. i also saw lamb chops and leg of lamb on the menu (you need to order 24 hours in advance) they also have a buffet from 1130AM - 230 PM. im glad to hear the food is good. i will definetely give it a try.

Quote:
There's also Chopal with good sarson ka saag (mustard greens and spinach)
Iam not a vegetarian, and so have not tried their sarson ka saag But
I can confirm that they have the best chili chicken in the city, and their
chaap is well spoken of. Good place overall IMHO.

Ended up at Chopal again last week, with a vegetarian Indian friend in from Philly (late night, post-afternoon-Cubs-game and evening pub-stop).

I had my usual combo - chilli-chicken and lamb-kabab. Friend (on my second-hand rec) had the sarson-ka-saag. We both had lassis (one sweet, one salty, both arriving in big ol earthen pots).

The chilli-chicken has long been the best version in the city, and remains so IMHO - nicely done, a very fine dish. My veggie friend raved about the sarson-ka-saag, said it was the best he'd had in ages (and he's spent some time growing up in Delhi, so he knows something of authentic sarson-ka-saags.. not rural-Ludhiana-authentic, but pretty darn North-Indian-authentic nonetheless). One of my other friends had recommended we specifically ask for "no garlic" - that was the only specification we made (not sure if the cook always uses garlic in it, but better safe than sorry).

I wrote above (a couple of years ago) that Iam not a vegetarian and so had not tried their sarson-ka-saag...Iam still not one, but my friend raved (this is the 4th purely veggie Indian friend Ive taken to Chopal to try their sarson-ka-saag, and theyve all loved it).. and this friend absolutely insisted I try some too, despite my well-known vegetable-phobia. And darned if it wasnt actually pretty awesome - I even had seconds And the lassi was fantastic, easily the best in the city IMHO, my sweet-lassi was near-perfect, not too sweet as everyone else in town seems to make it (and a *huge* quantity in the earthen pot - took half of it to go, and that half pretty much filled up a normal-sized glass by itself). We were quite stuffed by the end, but the owner brought out some dessert gratis - kheer (not sure what they call it on the menu). We intended to merely taste it, but it was really outstanding kheer - and we each ended up finishing all of it before we left.

All in all, a quite terrific meal - one of the better Indian meals Ive had in a while, taking everything into account (great beverage and excellent dessert, and tastes of 1 very very good and 1 outstanding entree).

Chopal remains a place sort of under-the-radar on Devon, to some extent. But, really, if there is a finer sarson-ka-saag or lassi in the Chicagoland area, Iam yet to hear of it - both those items at Chopal are, IMHO, by a mile the best of their kind in the city. Bhabi's kitchen, for example, has received much love in publications et al in the past, especially about their sarson-ka-saag (a fairly inauthentic broccoli rabe) - and Bhabi's version at least doesnt hold a candle to Chopal's. (Not that Iam complaining in any way BTW - as a result of lack of hype, Chopal remains relatively quiet when visited, and its superior items remain very reasonably priced.. heck, at lunchtime you can even get a chilli-chicken and sheek-kabab, plus accompanying rice-and-salad, for under 5 bucks!)


c8w

Rasoi was my first forray into "gujarati" cuisine and I quite enjoyed it. IIRC there was three dishes, one with lima bean, one cauliflower and another I can't recall, along with white rice. We went on a Sunday and our meal (the special) came with some kind of soup that had a vaguely anise-y flavor that I have not encountered before (in indian food) and that I have been eager to try again.

Their to-go containers were awesome - heavy duty plastic with compartments that have subsequently been very useful.

In addition to the restaurant there is a shop attached that was closed when we went. It was a dismal strip mall area, but it was a nice option to find in addition to Khyber Pass for our lazy Forest Park household.

c8w wrote:
I wrote above (a couple of years ago) that Iam not a vegetarian and so had not tried their sarson-ka-saag...Iam still not one, but my friend raved (this is the 4th purely veggie Indian friend Ive taken to Chopal to try their sarson-ka-saag, and theyve all loved it).. and this friend absolutely insisted I try some too, despite my well-known vegetable-phobia. And darned if it wasnt actually pretty awesome - I even had seconds

c8w

I'm glad you finally tried the saag, you know though I often eat with vegetarians something like that would not normally be first on my list of must orders (actually chicken wouldn't either), but there it IS very good, even by the standards of my punjabi in delhi grandmother. Normally they do use garlic, and quite a bit of it actually, so you'll have to try the normal version.

btw, - have you ever read "Eating butter chicken in ludhiana" by Mishra - thoroughly interesting book, though not nearly as foodcentric as the title would suggest.

Dig wrote:Rasoi was my first forray into "gujarati" cuisine and I quite enjoyed it. IIRC there was three dishes, one with lima bean, one cauliflower and another I can't recall, along with white rice. We went on a Sunday and our meal (the special) came with some kind of soup that had a vaguely anise-y flavor that I have not encountered before (in indian food) and that I have been eager to try again.

Their to-go containers were awesome - heavy duty plastic with compartments that have subsequently been very useful.

In addition to the restaurant there is a shop attached that was closed when we went. It was a dismal strip mall area, but it was a nice option to find in addition to Khyber Pass for our lazy Forest Park household.

thanks for the report - I've been wondering about this place for a while, Now that I know it functions like a normal restaurant in addition to catering, I'll be much more likely to check it out.

zim wrote:I'm glad you finally tried the saag, you know though I often eat with vegetarians something like that would not normally be first on my list of must orders (actually chicken wouldn't either), but there it IS very good, even by the standards of my punjabi in delhi grandmother. Normally they do use garlic, and quite a bit of it actually, so you'll have to try the normal version.

btw, - have you ever read "Eating butter chicken in ludhiana" by Mishra - thoroughly interesting book, though not nearly as foodcentric as the title would suggest.

I *have* actually read it - might still own it, but would have to look Nice book, but, as you say, not as food-centric as one would expect.

The "ask for no garlic" tip came from a friend who I took to Chopal a few months ago - he loved it so much (it didnt have any garlic at all that day), he came back the next day and took another "sarson ka saag" to go (all the way to El Paso Texas for his veggie wife to try They apparently put big ol chunks of garlic in it this time and packed it, we vacuum-sealed it, and off it went to El Paso.. and by the time it was opened the next day, the garlic had completely infused it, far too much for it to actually be eaten Bitterly disappointed, they were - and friend advised me if I ever went there with anyone else, to make sure to say "No garlic! None!" while ordering sarson-ka-saag So thats what we did when I went with another friend this time - and it came garlic-free, and very very good (maybe it would have been just as good with the garlic, who knows.. but I aint messing with a good thing the next time I go either

c8w

I dropped in at Pakwaan last week as well - was in the area around 1ish, dropped in and had their buffet. Not the best way to judge a place, probably, at a buffet and not all that early either (their buffet starts at 11:30 IIRC).. but even so, the food was warm enough. However, it feels like I went to a completely different restaurant to the one you did, as you'll probably see from some of my comments below

The wait staff (a male/female tag team) brought us complimentary tastings of fresh squeezed juice (vegetable and "sugar cane"). The veggie was acceptable, but the sugar cane was way too sweet for human consumption. Then came complimentary bowls of chicken-corn soup which was very good.

They brought me a complimentary tasting of the sugarcane juice too... and mine was definitely not too sweet, in fact not quite as sweet as Id expect sugarcane juice to be It wasnt bad by any means - but a little colder and a touch sweeter would have been great.

The Missus ordered Bihari Kabab, the Daughter ordered "Chicken Tikka Boti" and I had the Frontier Chicken. We also ordered Garlic Naan. Wifey quickly opined that she enjoyed tonights version of the kabab much more than Khan's (which she adores, BTW). I had asked for my chicken to be spicy, and they came through in pretty good style. The dish was both flavorful and plentiful although the bright red color was somewhat off-putting at first. The Daughter enjoyed her chicken as well, although she's used to it being a bit less spicy (they have her order down pat at Khans...). I tasted their dishes (in the interest of science) and was fairly impressed with both.

This is the part that throws me a fair bit, and makes it feel like a different restaurant I didnt have the dishes you did... the buffet had a chicken curry, a lamb korma, a chicken biryani, a haleem, and tandoori chicken as their non-vegetarian options (they also had about 4 veggie options not counting snacks - including chana-dal, dhokla, and a few others.. I didnt try any of these and so can offer no comment).

First, the good - tandoori chicken was added fresh-ish to the buffet (it doesnt come fresh to your table like at some Devon restaurants) and was decent, flavourful.

All the rest.. well, they werent bad, flavour-wise, but they were all, IMHO, very seriously lacking in heat. Not that these are supposed to be fiery dishes or anything - but they definitely needed much more heat than they had, all of them (it was the one common theme in all the dishes I tried). The chicken biryani, for example, looked very good - I was looking forward to it as I headed to my table - but it was a bit too bland for me (again, not totally lacking in flavour - it had the masalas, the flavours - just no heat whatsoever IMHO). The "gravy" dishes were also somewhat flavourful, but more creamy - no heat there either. The haleem was the real disappointment to me - I really like a good haleem, but this one was completely bland, and didnt even really look like a good haleem (it was sort of white-ish, almost, rather than yellow-ish as good haleem usually is - and good haleem should have a little heat to it too IMHO).

I know the dishes are different from the ones you tried - but my experience was diametrically opposed to yours on the scoville-scale Khan's chicken-boti can be very hot sometimes (and I never ask them for extra-spicy or anything either)... none of the items I tried at Pakwaan were even remotely hot, not even in the same ballpark in terms of heat. Maybe this is the "buffet" thing - maybe at lunchtime theyre putting out items toned down in heat-level? Otherwise its hard to fathom an explanation for the radical difference (especially since we're comparing heat-levels to the same baseline, that of Khan's).

I'll definitely give Pakwaan a few more tries - it seems like a nice enough place (they are, though, trying to be a lot of things to a lot of different people IMHO - they have the same non-vegetarian list of items as a place like Sabri Nehari or Usmaniya. ie the haleems, neharis, botis, biryanis etc; but they also simultaneously have a very extensive vegetarian menu that those places dont.. and the clientele for the two is very different). They also have a fresh-juice bar which will probably do very well. The next time I plan on trying some of the kababs you mention above - maybe those will be the ones with a little more heat-punch.

c8w

i think it has to be the "buffet thing." just about every indian buffet i've eaten at was very low on the heat. in order to get a good amount of heat i'd need to order off the menu and specify my heat level. i don't know why indian restaurants do that, but they do.

MBK wrote:i think it has to be the "buffet thing." just about every indian buffet i've eaten at was very low on the heat. in order to get a good amount of heat i'd need to order off the menu and specify my heat level. i don't know why indian restaurants do that, but they do.

You might well be right. I havent had this problem at Indian buffets Ive tried recently.. but then I havent tried that many lately, and those I have tried have been... well, theyre not places that attract *any* non-Indians, so they dont usually change their spice levels at all for any reason (ie Daata Durbar, Devon Kabab, those kinds of places - that have buffets only on weekends, and are almost exclusively meat-oriented buffets with *maybe* 1 veggie option available). Pakwaan sounded like it had a similarly extensive meat-menu to Devon Kabab etc, but theyre not quite the same kind of place I suppose. I'll stick to trying a couple things off the menu from Pakwaan the next time.

c8w

Going to Devon this Saturday for lunch...I have only been to Sher a Punjab for the lunch buffet. I would love suggestions of the best lunch buffet and the best option as a whole. I would love to know where you guys think I should eat and what...

Haven't been to Khans, Hema's, Udupi, nor Sabri Nehari...I know, I know. Please, what can't be missed?

Also my heat tolerance is high, and waging to bet as high as anyone else's on here. I am also brave, so bring it, although ultimately, I am looking to eat what tastes best and not try and be like Andrew Zimmern.

Looking forward to the suggestions!

Nihari and brain curry at Sabri. Can't miss and will
make you smarter.

Thanks Habibi, anyone else?

Habibi wrote:Nihari and brain curry at Sabri. Can't miss and will
make you smarter.

I'll second Habibi's suggestion.

Jyoti

I find the nehari at Sabri to be like a food service-level italian beef; the brain curry is good, however.

Since you referenced it, I was at Udupi last week: the fried appetizer we had was soggy and oversalted and the eggplant curry was bland; that said, the "special spring" dosai we ate was really excellent. That pretty much sums your likely mileage at Udupi, methinks.

Go to Khan's.

Habibi wrote:Nihari and brain curry at Sabri. Can't miss and will
make you smarter.

In addition I suggest Sabri Nihari's Chicken Charga, a regular in my crisp fried Indian rotation. At least until I was turned on to Khan BBQ's Broasted Chicken.

chezbrad wrote:I find the nehari at Sabri to be like a food service-level italian beef; the brain curry is good, however.

Sabri's Nihari is one of the finest things you can eat in Chicagoland. That's not my opinion, it is fact. A beautiful piece of beef shank braised in a expertly spiced smooth gravy that is thickened with a bit of flour. Served with fesh chili and ginger. Like waking up in Peshawar!