Another "WHERE SHOULD I GO ON DEVON?" Thread here...

Hopefully this has more specific restraints than the regular ping. I could have dusted off this old thread , but I still have it in the back of my mind for ideas (wow - it's been two plus years already???) Wondering if there are any updated recommendations for this situation.

Ok, so, as luck would have it, I'll be doin some bidness around Peterson and Western over the next few weeks, generally around dinnertime. What that means to me is...DEVON!!!!!! I'll only be stopping to get something to go - dinner for two ppl. Leftovers definitely welcome. I will be pressed for time, so unlike that older thread, I only want to make ONE stop per outing. One joint, dinner for two, takeout only. SPECIFICS if possible. Example of one dinner that WILL happen:

Khan BBQ:
Chicken Boti
Broasted Chicken
Aloo Gobi
2x naan
2x paratha
= dinner for two plus lunch for two the next day.

I'm thinking of prolly doing four meals like this. I'd really like to hit gareeb nawaz for one of these meals (never been yet.) Restaurant ambience means nothing here - we're talking take out only. One dish must be chicken or stellar vegetarian with every order - s/o is not too fond of red meat. Recent recs, or old favorites for takeout dinners? Looking for several specific dishes to order for a meal for two ppl.

I haven't tried (or even seen an order of) the broasted chicken, so I can't say how big it is...but I'd definitely recommend getting two orders of the chicken boti if you want to have a satisfying amount leftover for lunch the next day. My wife & I split an order for lunch a few weeks back (along with an order of aloo gobi, an order of bhindi, and two naans), and while we had a good amount of both sabjis left for later, we were only left with enough chicken boti to give us each a sad, teasing bite with our leftovers meal. If either of us had been prodigiously hungry for lunch that day, the chicken boti would easily have been polished off.

Has anyone tried getting takeout from Uru-Swati? I love their chaats & dosas, but I'm not sure how well they'd travel.

Ditto on the double boti!

I'll play, I like Udupi Palace when I'm feeling virtuous for vegetarian, but do not want, in any way, to feel that I am being deprived of the full flavor and robustness of a meal that I am entitled to as an American:

Mutter paneer or palak paneer
Bhaigan bharta
Chana masala
Paper masala dosai (I know it won't travel the best, but it's so good)
Whatever else you want-- samosas, dahi vada, naan, whatever

My first Uru-Swati meal was a takeout for 4. Our friends live just up Talman from them. We ordered a lot of stuff and liked all of it. The caveat is that this was rather a while ago and I have seen some so-so reports since then. If they're holding up, then it should be very good. Very good is where they started from.
It was too long ago for me to provide specifics. Sorry for the limited utility of this response. But, FWIW, there it is: Very good across the board, at least once.

I was in the area of the job last night so I was able to do a quick recon mission (grabbed menu from g nawaz - MASSIVE.) Two questions:

Any intel on the place called "Naan Indian Grill?" If not, I might just be the frontiersman to tackle it.

Also, the menu at g nawaz is mildly scary because it somewhat reminds me of the huge menu at Baba Palace which, I basically thought was the laughing stock of Indian food. I thought Baba's samosa were fantastic, but the chili chicken and butter chicken I ordered on two different occasions were an absolute joke. The butter chicken was shredded chicken topped with half and half, and their chili chicken was that same shredded chicken topped with pizza parlor red chili flakes. I'd just like some reassurance that G nawaz does take at least some modicum of pride in their food.

Ghareeb Nawaz is nothing to be afraid of, here's an old thread:

viewtopic.php?t=5501

That said, I've always thought its main virtue was dirt cheapness, and I've usually spent a couple of bucks more for an atmosphere that wasn't like eating in an abandoned garage (like Hyderabad House, which is like eating in a rehabbed abandoned garage!)

This place, which I love, makes G Nawaz look like Shangri La. I'll go anywhere for great food, I'd just hate to get some garbage like Baba Palace slung at me the times I went.

If you go to Ghareeb Nawaz get the gyros paratha. Its awesome.

I also recommend Sabri Nehari and Zam Zam, both make a mean Nehari. Sabri is noteworthy for excellent brain curry and biryani.

seebee wrote:I was in the area of the job last night so I was able to do a quick recon mission (grabbed menu from g nawaz - MASSIVE.) Two questions:

Any intel on the place called "Naan Indian Grill?" If not, I might just be the frontiersman to tackle it.

Also, the menu at g nawaz is mildly scary because it somewhat reminds me of the huge menu at Baba Palace which, I basically thought was the laughing stock of Indian food. I thought Baba's samosa were fantastic, but the chili chicken and butter chicken I ordered on two different occasions were an absolute joke. The butter chicken was shredded chicken topped with half and half, and their chili chicken was that same shredded chicken topped with pizza parlor red chili flakes. I'd just like some reassurance that G nawaz does take at least some modicum of pride in their food.

I eat at Baba Palace at least once a week since it's right near my office and a good alternative for a cheap lunch. I like their naan and their samosas, and the dishes they do with whole bone-in pieces of meat are usually pretty good, like a masala, aaloo gosht, karahi chicken, etc. The other day I had a kabab masala which I enjoyed but I don't think is a regular menu item. They're probably not giving any of the places on Devon Ave any competition but it is possible to eat there and be satisfied.

Just one comment, without regard to any specific restaurant. Judging a restaurant's suitability for carry-out is entirely different from its suitability for dining in. Other criteria come into play - their ability to fill orders accurately, their ability to predict what time the food will be ready, etc. Furthermore, some foods lend themselves to carry-out and others don't, even within a given type of cuisine; for example, fried foods (some of which are a large part of Indian cuisine) generally don't travel well and are best served right out of the fryer. Which means that opinions about which restaurants are best for carryout can be entirely different from which ones are best for dining in (and such opinions can also vary depending upon the dishes chosen).

seebee wrote:This place, which I love, makes G Nawaz look like Shangri La. I'll go anywhere for great food, I'd just hate to get some garbage like Baba Palace slung at me the times I went.

I don't think it's a question of ambience. On my one visit to Ghareeb Nawaz, almost every table was covered with dirty plates of remnants of meals gone by -- and there they sat through my entire meal. The food was fine, but nothing to make me give up my Hyderabad House habit.

Other than HH (and Khan), Usmania and Sabri Nehari are both reliable. For South Indian, Udupi and Mysore Woodlands are pretty equivalent (both good, neither spectacular). But I'd suggest reading individual threads for tips on what to order, as unfortunately there isn't really one place that does everything well.

Just wanted to add that the seekh kabab at Khan BBQ is fantastic. If you know a better version on Devon, please let me know.

Meal #2 will be from G Nawaz:
Boneless Chicken Bryani
Aloo Palak
Bonelss chicken makhani
Gyros Boti Paratha
Chicken Boti Paratha
2 samosa
2 naan / 2 plain paratha.
Yeah, that's a lot, I know, but their prices are cheap enough to get a ton for tasting.
Their menu lists "Winter Specials: Chicken nihari / beef nihari @ 2.99 each" might have to call and find out what's up with that.
====================
Meal #3 TBD, but possibly nihari, biryani, and a chicken dish (charga, perhaps) at Sabri.

Meal #4 TBD as well, but the pioneer in me wants to see wut up with that Naan Indian Grill joint. Hopefully grabbing a menu today. Suggestions on specific take out orders for two people from one place still greatly appreciated if anyone can chime in on what they'd specifically order for two from what place. Take out orders only.

Uru Swati / Udupi are definitely on the radar, but I think I'd rather "dine in" there for their breads and dosai.

This is a great thread, as I am planning to get take-out tomorrow. Could someone comment specifically on where to get the best (or at least very good) lamb vindaloo takeout? My husband's birthday is tomorrow and he loves vindaloo. We don't get up to Devon very often, but it would be great if they had something kid-friendly, such as mild tandoori chicken. I like Hema's Kitchen (haven't been there since the day before my daughter was born; she is now five), but as I remember they are expensive and the tandoori chicken is too spicy for her.

Jen

Pie-love, here's a start for you:

viewtopic.php?f=14&t=24806

I can't help out with mild stuff, because I'm a chile freak. BUT, I will say this: if Hema, or her sister are around, ask them what they would recommend for your daughter, or if they would make something special. I haven't been back to Hema's in a while, so I don't know if they are all fancy and high and mighty now, but when I used to frequent, they were the nicest ppl on the planet, and routinely bent over backwards to make sure we had excellent meals.

Thanks for the thread-- sounds like Hema's would be a good bet! I love the lth.

Jen

Nice thread - and a lot of options on Devon (but the quality of which would be severely curtailed if youre going to stick with chicken and avoid beef and goat, the staples of Pakistani and Indian-Muslim cuisine, IMHO

One spot Id recommend, given your preferences, might be Chopal Kabab House - I personally still like their Chilli Chicken a fair bit (though opinion on LTH has varied), and their Sarson ka Saag (with no garlic) might well be the single best vegetarian Indian dish on Devon - the Sarson ka Saag is highly recommended, dont miss it. They also do the best lassi in the city, probably (Iam not a regular lassi consumer, but have it at Chopal whenever I do have it). (Actually, come to think of it, Id rec you do what I do - that is, order a combo on their menu, one of the combos with Chilli Chicken; there are a couple of varieties, with lamb kabab or sheekh kabab I think; a little extra red-meat added, but worth it for the variety at little additional cost IMHO).

Id also recommend Usmaniya - the menu is almost the same as Sabri Nehari, but IMHO Usmaniya often has the edge on a lot of items bar the Nehari. (If youre going specifically for the Nehari, yes, Id go with Sabri - however Nehari is authentically and exclusively beef in both these places, in case you werent aware - none of the "chicken nehari" blasphemy that you'll find at spots like GN Still a quite terrific dish. Both Usmaniya and Sabri, BTW, will offer a fair variety of chicken dishes... but IMHO are strongest with their goat preparations (ie Goat Biryani, Kadai Gosh, Haleem, Paya - all some of my favourite dishes on Devon; there are also chicken varieties of Biryani, Kadai etc, but I havent tried them, and have heard variable reports from those who have).

c8w

seebee wrote:Any intel on the place called "Naan Indian Grill?" If not, I might just be the frontiersman to tackle it.

Also, the menu at g nawaz is mildly scary because it somewhat reminds me of the huge menu at Baba Palace which, I basically thought was the laughing stock of Indian food.

Have been to Naan (isnt it "Naan on Devon"?) on a couple of occasions - its in the old location for Daata Durbar, where I was a fairly frequent visitor a few years ago. Not very different from Hyderabad House IMHO - does some dishes better, some worse, a similar sort of spot (heavily patronized by cab-drivers, and often doing their main business after midnight). They both do the usual staples - Chicken Biryani, Mutton Biryani, Daal, and a few rotation specials every day. (BTW, in its old location, Naan used to have a highly recommended Chicken Boti - different spicing from Khan's, but at least one LTH-er in the past actually rated it higher than Khan's! If youre experimenting and taking one for the team - that might be a worthwhile experiment

Since youd like a Chicken/veggie dish in general... one of my suggestions would be, call both these places (Naan and HH) and find out which day they do "Chicken 65" - one of the very best chicken dishes on Devon. You could then pair it with whatever else strikes your fancy on that day - most of which will be reasonable enough - and go from there. (Both these places will have no vegetarian options of any kind, however. Both will also do a fair biryani; and on Friday's both used to do a pretty good Haleem, but Iam not certain they still make it - they sometimes only make it during Ramadan nowadays).

Also, Ghareeb Nawaz isnt bad - yes, its main virtue is dirt-cheap prices and late timings, but it also is considered by some to have the best biryani in town (I personally dont quite agree.. but its a very good biryani, they just skimp on the lamb due to their 4-or-5-buck-price; which is why I prefer Usmaniya's). A lamb biryani, a gyro paratha.. any of those kinds of combinations, you could get out of GN with a very solid meal (and for under 10 bucks at that!)

c8w

seebee wrote:Ok, so, as luck would have it, I'll be doin some bidness around Peterson and Western over the next few weeks, generally around dinnertime. What that means to me is...DEVON!!!!!! I'll only be stopping to get something to go - dinner for two ppl. Leftovers definitely welcome. I will be pressed for time, so unlike that older thread, I only want to make ONE stop per outing. One joint, dinner for two, takeout only. SPECIFICS if possible.

BTW, you do realize Iam sure, that when youre at Devon and Peterson, youre also within spitting distance of Spoon Thai - one of the best of its kind in the city; and only a couple of miles from Nhu Lan, the best banh-mi in the city, right? (I would be severly tempted to grab a lemongrass chicken, pork-belly, ginger/lemongrass tofu bahn mi on at least one day, sounds like an ideal meal given your requirements! Plus sweet sticky rice to finish)

Other than that, mentioned a few options in my responses above... if you want specific *orders*... hmm..

Chopal: sarson ka saag, lassi, chilli chicken combo (though their goat-chops are good too, damn), frontier chicken if youre in the mood.

Hyderabad House/Naan on Devon : Chicken-65(on the right day), Chicken Biryani, Chicken Boti

Usmaniya/Sabri: the wet Kadai Chicken (or the dry Usmaniya Chicken if you prefer), Haleem (its mostly lentils rather than red-meat anyway), .. I dont know, I couldnt physically go to Sabri or Usmaniya and not have their nehari and their goat biryani, myself Usmaniya does have almost a dozen vegetarian options, BTW, far more than most, and some might be pretty good...(from their carryout menu, I see that they have palak paneer, paneer makhani, aloo palak, bhindi masala, daal palak, channa daal, daal fry, chole etc - all ranging in price from 8 to 10 bucks apiece).

c8w

Thanks for the continued responses. Maybe I didn't word the op correctly. Red meat is fine for me, but if I do get any red meat, then I'd just have to be respectful of the mrs who doesn't care too much for it, and order at least one chicken or veggie dish. Only one dish has to be chicken or veggie. I can order 18 red meat dishes, but at least one other dish must be chicken or veggie.

I'm also quite familiar with Spoon Thai, but thanks for the suggestion. I don't get to try as much new Indian Food as I'd like, so when in Rome...Plus, seriously, I think I could eat Indian Food five or six times a week - no problem.

I should probably give chopal another try. The one and only time I went, their chili chicken was dry, red diced chicken. It had NO sauce, just dry chicken bits flopping around a styrofoam container. That can't be their normal prep..sigh..why is it always me??

All or most of the chilli chicken I've tried on Devon is the dry version (which is my preferred style anyway). Chopal's is good -- I disagree that it's the best, but I'll admit that it's the hottest. I still prefer HH's. Though if they have Chicken 65 (usually on weekends), definitely get that instead.

cilantro wrote:All or most of the chilli chicken I've tried on Devon is the dry version (which is my preferred style anyway). Chopal's is good -- I disagree that it's the best, but I'll admit that it's the hottest. I still prefer HH's. Though if they have Chicken 65 (usually on weekends), definitely get that instead.

Yes, almost all Chilli Chicken *is* dry - its a dry dish, not one of the gravy ones (as is Chicken 65). If you definitely want a "wet" dish, then Chilli Chicken isnt for you (Id still suggest going to Chopal for the Sarson ka saag, however - a quite excellent dish, one of the best anywhere). Could still be combined with the chops.

Is HH's chilli chicken actually better than Chopal's recently? Havent tried theirs for a while - the last time I didnt care *that* much for it (and Chopal's is definitely hotter, which is what I like, usually)... I do agree about HH's Chicken 65, thats a fine dish. They also do it on at least 2 days of the week IIRC - one of them might be Saturday, but there is a weekday it shows up on as well.

c8w

seebee wrote:Thanks for the continued responses. Maybe I didn't word the op correctly. Red meat is fine for me, but if I do get any red meat, then I'd just have to be respectful of the mrs who doesn't care too much for it, and order at least one chicken or veggie dish. Only one dish has to be chicken or veggie. I can order 18 red meat dishes, but at least one other dish must be chicken or veggie.

Well then. That changes things for the better

Usmaniya: Goat biryani, kadai gosh, your choice for chicken/veggie (theyve expanded their menu even further lately, in an attempt to get more veggie-variety I think; they have a charga chicken too now, though Ive never tried it, as well as a butter-chicken ie chicken makhani).

Sabri: nehari, goat biryani, your choice chicken/veggie

c8w

seebee wrote:Pie-love, here's a start for you:

viewtopic.php?f=14&t=24806

I can't help out with mild stuff, because I'm a chile freak. BUT, I will say this: if Hema, or her sister are around, ask them what they would recommend for your daughter, or if they would make something special. I haven't been back to Hema's in a while, so I don't know if they are all fancy and high and mighty now, but when I used to frequent, they were the nicest ppl on the planet, and routinely bent over backwards to make sure we had excellent meals.

Well, birthday boy very much enjoyed his lamb vindaloo from Hema's, thank you very much! The tandoori chicken, which the lady taking my order said was mild enough for a kid, was too spicy. Even my chili-accustomed palate found it spicy, but I enjoyed it very much. Probably it is mild enough for a very chili-acclimated kid who has been getting this level of spice from before birth.

Jen

Ghareeb Nawaz meal was a few days ago.

c8w wrote:Is HH's chilli chicken actually better than Chopal's recently?

To be honest, I haven't had it in forever since lately they always seem to have Chicken 65 when I'm there and -- when freshly made -- that's my favorite chicken dish on Devon. (Boti, schmoti.)

By the way, I can also vouch for the frontier chicken at Sabri (but Khan's is better).

Bump?!

Been a while on this thread but it is a trove of good intel. Would love to hear some of the board's recent favorites or any updates.

Planning a trip up to Khan and thought about maybe checking some others out along the way.