Indian Food in Chicago

I dunno if any of you are interested, but I recently attended a dinner at Bukhara, an Indian restaurant in Chicag (corner of State & Ontario). I was amazed at the elegance.  I've been to many, many Indian restaurants around the country.  In several places I have been impressed with the food as well as the price/quantity.  However, this is the first time I was ever impressed with the restaurant itself.  Probably the first truly first class Indian Restaurant in the Midwest!  I went back with some friends because I wanted them to enjoy it.

Highly recommended.

Prasant.

Bukhara is good (and watching the cook through the picture window there is fun), but we think the food at the Klay Oven (414 N. Orleans) is a notch better. They have the best chutneys we've ever had, the chicken tandoori just melts in your mouth, the scallops are excellent, and the mango lassi is addictive. Like Bukhara, it's also pricey; but the servi service is professional and well-informed.

For more down-home and less expensive Indian cooking, you really should try the restaurants on Devon Avenue (6400 North). Our favorites are Kanval Palace (2501 W. Devon), Gandhi (2601 W. Devon), Udupi Palace (2543 W. Devon--the locals love this one--there's often a line), and Sher Punjab (2510 W. Devon). Moti Mahal (2525 W. Devon) isn't quite as good, but it's very cheap and popular and serves very good food. In general, if there's nobody in the restaurant at all (and this applies to quite a few others on Devon), beware.

While you're in the area, check out the Persian restaurant on the north side of Devon just east of Western Avenue. It's changed it's names a couple time, and we can't remember what it goes by now, but it's got a red and orange awning proclaiming "Persian restaurant." The quail they serve there is a goumet delicacy, and everything else we've had can be recommended. If you're lucky, you might get one particular server/manager with a wild sense of humor.

Also while you're on Devon, buy some fresh mangoes at one of the many Indian grocers. They're as inexpensive here as you'll find anywhere in the city $7-9 per box of 12. Fresh mangoes are definitely my drug of choice. What an experience! The Patel Brothers grocery (2610 W. Devon, I think) often has the best. Look for places with huge crowds of Indian people going through the mango boxes. Like avocados, make sure the ones you buy are soft and squeezable.

--George Eberhart/Jennifer Henderson
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