Veerasway

Wandered into Veerasway, the new Indian small plates restaurant on Randolph, this past Thursday only randomly as another option didn't work out and it was starting to rain. I was unaware that this was their first night open when I sat down, as well as any connection to DeCero and Sushi Wabi next door.

First impression - the space is nice, muted green walls bookended by brick and interesting woodwork, a bit small though with a little bar that was not yet open. The waitress later informed us they had received their liquor license 3 hours prior and the only alcohol option was a sweet lime (which reminded me of the recurring scenes in Darjeeling Limited of the brothers spiking their sweet lime).

The chips were first to arrive, with three Indian-style dipping sauces. One green chile, one yogurt, and one red sauce I cannot remember (I am not well versed in Indian food). They were decently tasty, a light way to start the meal.

The menu is split into several sections: starters for $7, traditional style small plates for $10, and updated versions for $11, as well as a handful of naan breads for $2 or $3.

First we ordered fried stuffed banana peppers. Two giant peppers arrived, though I'm disappointed to say they were a tasteless mush. There was a surprisingly spicy kick on the backend, but up front there was nothing. Could've used at least a little salt.

Second we ordered a chicken tikka massala from the traditional side of the menu. Another disappointment. The chicken was fine, but again there was very little flavor. The rice was overcooked though. We also had a sea salt and vinegar naan, and I would have thought we were served a plain naan, if not for every other dish being almost completely devoid of taste.

As this was the first night, I was pleased with the level of service, but the food was just completely uninspired. We had even originally planned on ordering a third dish from the menu, but the tikka massala convinced us otherwise. Perhaps they will tweak the menu and improve, but as for now I would not recommend Veerasway.

Veerasway
844 W Randolph St

but as for now I would not recommend Veerasway

Thus, he veers away from Veerasway.

I assume you went for dinner? I thought I read somewhere that they have a buffet for lunch, anyone know if that is true?

I stumbled on Veerasway today for lunch. I was armed with no prior intel and walk away unable to recommend this place very highly. Apparantly they have been open 5 weeks.

First, to answer an earlier question, no lunch buffet--it is definitely not that kind of a place. I was not unhappy. The ambiance is spa-Indian....It looked promising.

Shared Jaipur Market Vegetable Samosa and Okra Chat Fry as starters. The Samosas were pretty tasty, the Okra lacked the promised heat. We also shared a chicken tikka masala and lamb rogan josh from the "in tradition" portion of the menu. These dishes would be completely unremarkable on Devon Ave and compare unfavorably with most every other place i can think of, better traditional food to be had at klay oven, gaylord and india house also close to downtown. This was a dissapointment as our waiter assured us these were house specialties. The chicken had no tikka masala buttery goodness and the rogan josh was just lacking in any flavor whatsoever.

The Indio-American side of the menu might be the way to go at this place and if we go again i might try one of the following, hot bollywood chicken lollipops, vindalo pork ribs, malabar crab cakes, coconut scallops or the tamarind-date chicken kebabs. If anyone gives it a go let us know please. All entrees vary in price from $12-16/per.

Veerasway Fresh Indian
844 W Randolph
Chicago, IL 60607
312-491-0844
http://www.veerasway.com

For whatever it may be worth. I had dinner there recently with some young Indian people and they seemed to enjoy it as a change of pace. The service was very attentive and friendly and I thought the food was a little better than the other posters. I liked the okra - it was flavorful but not spicy - and the stuffed peppers, though the filling was indeed mushy. I had the vindaloo ribs, which were tasty and spicy and well cooked (though Honey 1 is still safe) and tried the chicken skewers, which were juicy and had good grilled flavor, and were served with cipollini onions. So like iblock said, the "Americanized" dishes might be the way to go. Personally, I would head to Devon instead for the "real thing" but it is a fairly pleasant place relative to the Randolph "scene".

I tried Veerasway for the first time last night, and rather enjoyed myself. The chutneys served with papadum were not as complex as one might find on Devon, but on the other hand Veerasway's tasted much fresher than most. In fact, freshness and quality ingredients were present throughout the meal. Spring Mutter Paneer was really outstanding. The sauce was rich and complex, and the dish featured bursting-with-flavor, first-of-the-season peas purchased by the chef at the Green City market just that morning. I also quite enjoyed Green papaya and ripe mango salad - super-sweet soft-fleshed mango balanced very nicely by crunchy julienned papaya and a blast of acid from the lime-tamarind dressing. The spice-kick was toned down a little too much for my taste, in deference for what I imagine is the preference of many of Veerasway's customers.

Breads were the highlight of the meal - very fresh and simply fabulous. Olive oil and sea salt naan had a wonderful char, and used a really high-quality, pungeant olive oil and salt with mineral nuances (fleur de sel, pehaps?). The naan stuffed with lentil and serrano was the one dish of the night that packed a real spicy punch, and it was addictive.

Veerasway won't win any awards for Indian authenticity. I say "who cares?" The food is really good.

Went to Veerasway last night and came away less than impressed.

Started the meal off with crab cakes from the "fusion" side of the menu and a couple cocktails. While we were waiting they first treid to bring us someone else's meal, then tried to bring our appetizer to the table next to us, so some lack of organization in the wait staff. when the meal arrived, we got three small cakes topped with avocado/tomato salsa. A little bland. Not particularly high on crab content or taste. Had a strong dried herbal taste - maybe Oregano? No accompaning sauce to spice things up.

Entrees were from the "traditional" side - Lamb Rogan Josh and Chicken Tikka Masala along with a Salt/Oil Nan and Goat cheese/red onion Nan. It took around 30 minutes of waiting before we finally got the entrees. Funny thing is that the kitchen is open to the dining room, so as we waited and waited we could see the chefs in the kitchen nice and relaxed, just hanging out, joking around, not seeming too concerned that we weren't getting our food. The manager was nice enough to comp us dessert for the wait, but I would have preferred to get my food on time.

When it did arrive, it was all OK. Nothing special. I've had better Inidan food at Klay Oven and India House in river north. I ordered my Rogan Josh extra spicy which they did not deliver on. There was also a very strong Cardamon taste that drowned out much of the lamb flavor. Goatcheese/Onion Nan was not bad, but cheese flavor was very muted witih a slightly grainy texture, and for the life of me, as I sit here eating my leftovers, I can't find a speck of onion in it.

All that with an extra round of drinks came to around $110.

It seems to fall into that same realm of many other Randolph street restaurants - high on atmosphere but mediocre food (Red Light, Marche, Vivo, Dragon Fly, de Cero, Alhambra, now Veerasway.)

Kennyz wrote:I tried Veerasway for the first time last night, and rather enjoyed myself. The chutneys served with papadum were not as complex as one might find on Devon, but on the other hand Veerasway's tasted much fresher than most. In fact, freshness and quality ingredients were present throughout the meal.

Recently had lunch at Veerasway and, like Kenny rather enjoyed myself. Fresh, light, interesting, if not the complexity of more traditional Indian.

We started with Bindi Chaat Fry, okra slivered lengthwise, fried and mixed with mellow red onion and tomato. Great texture, the okra took on a toasty chewy/crisp aspect, we were on the same page as iBlock9 as to under spicing, which we mentioned to our waitress. She whisked the dish back to the kitchen to amp up the heat factor and in moments it was much improved.

Goat cheese and red onion naan made for a surprisingly tasty combination, charred edges of the naan adding textural highlights, though the Vindaloo pork ribs were mildly hot, but lacked depth of flavor. The ribs were slightly overcooked as well, I did like the "charred" pineapple chunks as sweet counterpoint to the spicy heat.

Papadum with three chutneys were fresh and tasty, room nicely appointed with the light thump of techno-beat on the sound system, a very hip joint.

Service was terrific, our exceptionally attractive waitress exhibiting deep knowledge of the menu, cooking methods and overall love of food. Prices a bit high for what you get in comparison to Devon Ave, but reasonable for the heart of Randolph street restaurant row.

One word of warning, Fullers London Pride pale ale was the 'burpiest' beer I have ever encountered, drink at your own risk (peril).

Enjoy,
Gary

Veerasway Fresh Indian
844 W Randolph
Chicago, IL 60607
312-491-0844

$15 for $35 Groupon deal today - http://www.groupon.com/deals/veerasway- ... newsletter

Can't say I'd ever had tandoori tofu before, but I liked the dish at Veerasway a lot.

Tandoori Tofu:

The firm tofu was rubbed with ajwain and cumin, then skewered and roasted until it had a pleasantly chewy, meaty texture. The mint-sesame seed chutney on top was delicious too.

Olive oil naan was tasty as I remembered, and saag aloo had beautiful fingerling potatoes and a fresh, tasty sauce. One downer was a very bland version of mutter paneer that was edible, but not something I'd order again. Overall though, I continue to be a Veerasway fan.

I used the aforementioned Groupon on a lazy Friday night.

I am a Vegetarian so I cannot say anything about the meat dishes. But the vegetarian stuff I had was comparable to the dishes I had at Marigold. Indian dishes prepared with some flair and presented beautifully. The papadum came with a Mango Chutney that was some of the best I have tasted. A combination of sweet, sour and hot that reminded me of the "manga pachchadi" that is specially made for Tamil New Years day. I was sitting at the Bar and commented on it to the bartender and he went back and got me more!

The appetizer I had was the deep fried Okra that I have seen Suvir Saran make for the Mark Bittman show on PBS. This is something I would never make at home because the few times I have deep frying stuff at home, the whole house smelled for a week!! But this may change my mind. Simple, slivered and fried Okra dusted with chaat masala. It was not oily at all and went beautifully with the Flying Horse I was imbibing at the time. (Aside: I hate it that Kingfisher is advertised as Indian Beer when it is manufactured in Saratoga Springs, NY. They say it is manufactured under license; but all this reminds me of the Duff and Duff Lite piece from the Simpsons.)

They have a real Tandoor and whenever I eat out at an Indian Restaurant that has one, I always get a Nan. A real Tandoori Nan cannot be made at home and it is like getting a Neapolitan Pizza. The crisp yet chewy texture is something I have never been able to duplicate in a 500 F oven at home. The nan was authentic. As was the Mutter Paneer. Nothing earth shattering or revelatory. But the ingredients were fresh, the spicing was restrained and the flavors were clean. It was not overly laden with Garam Masala as is sometimes the case in cheaper places.

Next time I would try some of their Indian inspired cocktails.

Overall, it was a pleasant dining experience. The service was unobtrusive and efficient. People there seemed to be enjoying their job. I would definitely go back. Especially for the Fried Okra.

Veerasway Fresh Indian
844 W Randolph
Chicago, IL 60607
312-491-0844

Twice this past summer I was at festivals that Veerasway had a booth at. While I don't quite remember what I ate, I do remember liking it enough to think I should try the restaurant.

I had a really nice dinner at Veerasway tonight. I arrived around 7:30 and was told there would be a 45 minute wait, that actually took an hour. Luckily this didn't bother me at all because it was gorgeous out tonight and I enjoyed walking around looking at restaurant menus.

I really liked the ambiance inside, as I tend to like modern 'hip' ambiance for weeknight dinners.

I had the tamarind-date chicken kabobs which had a really nice bitter char grilled flavor along with spicy and sweet tamarind date sauce. It was really nice, and more food than I could eat along with my garlic naan.

My date had Saag Aloo (spinach with potatoes) which was really a great surprise to me. I, as a pretty solid rule, dislike vegetarian food. It's fine, but I always think it's missing something without meat. I think Indian food is my only exception to this, probably due to the long history of vegetarian dining in India. This was a really tasty dinner and one I'd be proud to have myself.

I think I was impressed by the prices as much as the food. With a glass of wine, my date and I left for a bit over 50 with tip, and this felt more like a 70 dollar dinner to us.


Recommended.

Veerasway has closed and will be replaced by Grange Hall Burger Bar: http://www.grangehallburgerbar.com/

Grange Hall Burger Bar
844 West Randolph Street
Chicago, IL 60607
1 312 491 0844