Restaurants on Devon Avenue, Chicago
New Android App on Devon Avenue, Chicago
I recently had the chance to try out the 'Authentic DESI cuisines' at Devon Avenue during my brief stay at Chicago. Here is a quick round-up of my experiences:
- Sukhadia Sweets and Snacks:
The trip began with a visit to this place on the Devon Avenue. Its a small sweet and snack shop with a counter case full of Indian sweets and a menu of Indian food in snack sized portions. It has a decent-sized selection of Gujarati-Bombay dishes as well as some North and South Indian dishes.
The beginning was not the greatest. It took a long time to place an order as the old gentlemen took his time chatting on the phone oblivious of the growing line in front of him! It also took approx 15 minutes for our 'fast food' to arrive!
But when the food arrived, we seemed to ignore the above. The food was good with nice helpings of spice and herbs. I would recommend trying out the Pav Bhaji and the Jalebi at this place. The other chats were not the greatest Indian snacks that I have tasted in my life.
Rating: 3.8/5.0- ZamZam Sweets and Grill:
There are not many places on Devon Avenue that serve the delicious Pakistani brunch known as halwa/puri/choley, but this place does! The decor is pretty decent for a place on Devon, and it was very clean, which is a plus.
Nothing else they make here stands out from the other shops around Devon but one thing that never changes about this place is the friendliness of its staff. They are always helpful and take that extra step to please you.
We had the Kheema paratha, the Alu paratha and the Gyro Sandwich. The parathas are served with pickled vegetables and tangy yogurt. Including the 'halwa/puri/choley' item, this was one lunch i enjoyed. All was absolutely delicious, and each item was about five dollars for massive amounts of food!
- Hyderabad House:
To all the folks who are not sure how to reach this place, just follow the cabs! This seems to be their favorite place with the mini-parking lot filled with cabs on any given night.
The staff is slightly annoying and can be a little difficult to get their thick accents but that does not hide the fact that this place is famous for its 'Lamb Biryani' and 'Chai'. The lamb biryani was magnificent. Excellently spiced, nice chunks of lamb with no scary bones or chunks of fat. The accompanying 'raitha' and 'mirchi ka salan' was up to the mark too! The 'Chai' here is basically tea with some special herbs in it. Must say it was delicious. If not for the staff, I would have given this place the full marks!
- Usmania Fine Dining:
This Pakistani menu's heavy on meat, with various types cooked in a number of thrilling ways. The charming staff is like that of a four star restaurant, yet you'd hardly expect that from the appearances of the place, which leaves the spectacular qualities to the food.
Don't miss the nehari, a Karachi favorite, or the equally excellent (and bright red) chicken boti, perfect for someone who wants a tasty but mild dish, rather than one of Usmania's more exotic items (such as brains or hoofs, both of which are on the menu).
These folks also have a Indo-Pak Chinese spot across the street. The unique Indian-style Chinese menu (Chinese dishes amped with Indian spices) features choices like Manchurian shrimp, chili beef and Mongolian chicken, plus signature dishes like shrimp chow mein with lobster sauce. Indian-flavored Chinese classics also make the menu (like chop suey and egg foo young). The low-key dining room features pistachio-hued walls and Asian-inspired artwork.
Overall it is a decent dining experience suitable for people who like their DESI food mild but tangy.
- Khan BBQ Resturant:
This is a kebab shop first and foremost. The meats are cooked over coals so they are all juicy and charred. It says something when a kebab is prepared so well that it's still moist after being reheated in the microwave, and that was definitely the case at Khan's. The chicken boti lives up to the hype. My favorite was the 'Frontier Chicken' which so well-cooked and yet so juicy inside.
Since it's a Pakistani restaurant, it's a tad spicier than the food served in the other restaurants on Devon. However don't even attempt to negotiate the level of spiciness. That would destroy the whole taste!
Service was attentive and helpful. Portions were generous. The dining room decor was, to say the least, a bit spartan, and the lighting too bright, but if it were just about the food I'd give this place five stars.
- Bismillah Restaurant:
This place is a hidden Diamond located right off Devon on Ridge Blvd. There is no real ambiance but the place looked fairly clean. The chef is friendly and was answering our questions about the items on the menu. It seems that all things on the menu may not be available and the daily specials are written on paper!
The food took about 15 or 20 minutes to be prepared so we had some samosas in the meantime. The samosas were huge, delicious and cheap (75 cents each).
Biryani is solid, but on the oily side. Their "Frontier Chicken Roll" was pretty awesome! The roll should be ordered with chapatis as the paratha are not a speciality of this place. I was also excited about getting the shami kebabs since they're kind of hard to find on Devon.
But the real deal was the 'Khatti-Mitti' chatni at this place. It is the best sauce that I have ever tasted in the United States and truly a strong reason to revisit this joint. The place a decent menu with both grill and regular items put in. Some may complain about the lack of Vegetarian options but then again you don't go to a Pakistani restaurant to eat vegetables.
The only gripe I had was you have to get your own water and there was no ice in it so it was not really cold. Except for that and the lack of parking, I give this place full points.
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| Rating: 4.5/5.0 |
Everyone keeps talking about Tiffin, but fortunately for me, they weren't open that day! So I ended up at Udupi Palace.
Udupi Palace does south Indian cuisine, unlike Tiffin, which does north Indian. So instead of chicken tandoori and naan, this is the place to get idlis, dosas and thalis.
The menu was entirely vegetarian for a change and the Manager (Pasha) was more than willing to help us make the right choice.
I ordered samosas and a dosa (which comes with sambhar). The samosas were an awesome crispy crunchiness on the outside and full of piping hot flavor on the inside. The Mysore Masala dosa was the mindblower. Dosai is kind of like a crepe, but many places make dosai so that it comes out too soft, sticky, and mushy. You begin to wonder if they were really trying to make Uthappam. Udupi does it perfectly. They achieved the perfect balance of softness and crispness.
Overall I think this is the best place for any vegetarian trying to get a taste of DESI food.
This is a good bang for the buck place. They just remodeled the place and added a flat screen tv. You an get a real good lamb biryani for only 5 bucks! The chili chicken biryani is great too, only 5 bucks also. They also have a great deals on mango lassi and a 99 cent breakfast deal!
They are open 24 hours during the summer months. But you need to get there not after midnight, because they run out of most of the biryanis!
Overall great place! Im going to give this place 4 stars, they need to work on their cleanliness. For most first-timers the dishes are really on the heavier side. So beware when placing an order as the portions are not only greasy but huge!
- New Naan on Devon:
The establishment can be a little rough around the edges but the combination of consistently great food and extremely reasonable prices demands attention. I saw people usually ordering the chicken biryani, the full volume of which this glutton cannot consume in one sitting. The chapatis are great. I am told that the buffet at this place on Fridays is the talk of the town!
Overall this is not a first date location by any means. Go for takeout your first time. I give it 3.5 stars as I found the service to be slow and the food can be sometimes from the previous day!
-Sabri Nehari Resturant:
For anyone exploring food-genre's outside of their native culture, the rule of thumb for finding really great food is simple: Avoid the crowds of white people! To be more specific, look for the crowds with white people peppered in.
Sabri is a perfect example of this second point: the clientèle confirms the fact that while the food is of a standard acceptable to demanding Pakistanis, the menu and servers are accessible to anyone whose first pronunciation of "karahi gosht" left something to be desired. This is a place where a white male can walk in and a woman in a full burqa is doing afternoon prayers in the corner and neither of them gets a second glance.
The food is all very well prepared espeically the Frontier Chicken. I was a little disappointed with their signature dish - The Nahari - which I felt was not up to the mark! The veggie pakoras were bland (perhaps vegetarian cooking should be left to the Indians).
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One thing not to be missed while on Devon Avenue is the Paan. It is an South Asian tradition of chewing betel leaf (Piper betle) with areca nut and slaked lime paste. There are many regional and local variations. The Paan is chewed as a palate cleanser, a breath freshener, and for digestive purposes as well. It is offered to guests and visitors as a sign of hospitality!
The Devon Avenue is really an awesome place to shop. You can haggle like you are in an Asian shop and steal the best deal if you are good enough. I have seen some establishments even waive off the TAX for you if you are adamant enough!
But after a tiring day of shopping the chance to savour the best food in town is what makes this place divine!
