Chicago is made up of neighborhoods, all of which maintain their own strong identity and culture. Because of this, driving from one neighborhood to another in Chicago can feel like you’re traveling to different parts of the world. Due to Chicago’s high density rate, one neighborhood might have multi-million dollar condominiums with a yuppie population, and another bordering neighborhood could have an impoverished immigrant ethnic contingency with street side fruit and vegetable marketplaces. Neighborhoods overlap and change, and often a person will say they live in one neighborhood, while their neighbor believes they live in another. I’ve mastered downtown and River North, just because I’ve worked there for 4 years. I know my way around Lakeview for the most part, but I really couldn’t tell you whether I live in Lakeview, North Center, or Ravenswood.

I’ve set a goal to visit most of the neighborhoods in Chicago through culinary adventures. Here’s a list of restaurants I’ve never been to. Take heed, this is not all inclusive; I’ve been eating my way around this city for years now, so some of my old standbys aren’t included. As always, drop me a line if there’s a jewel in the rough I may have missed. Better yet, use this as a guide to build your own restaurant wish list!

No Olives Eats Chicago!

Andersonville
Ole Ole-Nuevo Latino
La Tache-French
La Cocina de Frida-Mexican
Il Fiasco-Italian

Lakeview
Kuma’s Corner-Burgers
Mia Francesca-Italian

Lincoln Park
Soiree Bar and Bistro-Amer/French
Rose Angelis-Italian
Tarascas-Caribbean
Alinea-Fine Dining
Que Rico-Mexican
Charlie Trotter’s-Fine Dining
Sweets & Savories-Amer/Contemp.
Fixture-Amer/Contemp
Forno Diablo-Mexican

Devon Avenue
Viceroy of India-Indian
Udopi Palace-Indian
Hyderabad House-Indian

Edgewater/Uptown
Marigold Indian-Indian
Vee Vee’s-Nigerian
Alice and Friends Vegetarian Cafe
Viet Bistro-Vietnamese/Asian
Tweet-American Contemporary

Rogers Park
Woo Chon-Korean

Lincoln Square
Fiddlehead Cafe-American
Erba-Northern Italian
La Bocca Della Verite-Northern Italian
Los Nopales-Mexican
Silver Seafood-Chinese
TAC Quick Thai Kitchen-Thai
Tre Kroner-Scandinavian

Belmont/Cragin
Operetta-Czech

Bucktown/Wicker Park
Arun’s-Fine Dining/Thai
Between Boutique Cafe and Lounge-Amer Contemp
Mirai-Sushi
Irazu-Costa Rican
Schwa-Amer Contemp
Rio D’Sudamerica-South Amer
Le Bouchon-French
Earwax-Vegetarian
Marrakech Cuisine-Morrocan
Bin Wine Cafe-Amer Contemp
Cafe Matou-French
Rodan-S. American/Asian
Spring-Amer Contemp

Ukranian Village
Crust-Organic Pizza

Humboldt Park/Logan Square
Treat-Amer Contemp
Lula Cafe-Amer Contemp
Think-Amer Contemp
Friendship Chinese-Chinese

Gold Coast
Coq D’Or-Amer Traditional, French
Cite-French
Nomi-Fine Dining, French
Coca Pazzo-Italian
Le Petit Paris-French
Tru-Fine Dining, Amer
Spiaggia-Fine Dining, Italian

Streeterville
De la Costa-Nuevo Latino
Copperblue-French

River North
Brasserie Ruhlmann-Steakhouse
Karyn’s Cooked-Vegan/Veg
Quartino-Italian
Naha-Amer Regional
Roy’s-Hawaiian Fusion
Klay Oven-Fine Dining/Indian
Le Lan-French/Asian
Kevin-French (Closing soon)
Blue Water Grill-Seafood
Cyrano’s Bistro and Wine Bar-French

Downtown
Russian Tea Time-Russian
Shikago-Fusion, Pan-Asian
Aria-Fine Dining, Pan Asian
Everest-Fine Dining, French

South Loop
Custom House-Amer/Steak

West Loop
One Sixtyblue-Amer Contemp
Moto-Fine Dining, Japanese
Blackbird-Amer Contemp
Sepia-Amer Contemp

Near South Side
Cuatro-Nueva Latina
Cantonesia-Chinatown
Joy Yee Noodles-Chinatown

Hyde Park/South Side
La Petite Folie-French
Yassa African Restaurant-Senegalese

Oak Park
Cafe Le Coq-French

Skokie
Papillon-French

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Call me biased if you like. But for me, there is nothing that tastes better than subcontinental cuisine. Though I do enjoy Italian and Middle Eastern fare too, I have a definite weakness for the Indian curry. Now Indians (or anyone from the subcontinent for that matter) shouldn’t get me wrong here. When I say ‘curry’ I don’t mean the yogurt and besan dish, ‘kadi‘.  (That’s the only dish we natives come near to calling ‘curry’) I use it as a generic term for any spiced concoction of Indian origin. Indians, or at least North Indians would probably use ‘Tari’, ‘Masala’, ‘Saalan’, ‘Korma’, etc. for these heavily seasoned dishes, but the general term, in the Western world at least, is ‘curry’. So curry it is.

This humble contrivance has steadily been gaining popularity on the other side of the Indian Ocean. So much that in the 1990’s the Chicken Tikka Masala  was heralded as the “British national dish.” So it was little surprise for me to see so many India and Pakistani restaurants here in Chicago. My husband’s favorite spot would obviously be Devon Avenue, a street teeming with shops with delectable names. (Check his post on this.)

Since my arrival less than a month ago, I have sampled the Devon menu quite a few times, my favorite till date being Sabri’s, a Pakistani restaurant that served authentic and absolutely out of the world Nihari and Biryani. One day however,  my husband suggested we go to Grand Avenue instead, to a place called India House. The name struck me as a little unimaginative. After all, don’t restaurants always have fancy names? Like Indian Durbar or Zaika or something like that. “You will love the food,” Javed told me, and I took his word for it. And I was more than rewarded for the same.

When you first enter India House, you like the ambience and the decor. You like the warm service. You also  like the squeaky clean crockery. But once you come to the food, you more than like what you see. And taste of course.

India House offers an unlimited buffet with at least 40 different things to choose from. And if sheer variety is something you dig for, wait till you hear how well cooked it was. The paneer (Indian cottage cheese) in the Kadai Paneer is so creamy and tender that it sort of melts in your mouth. So were the potatoes in the Aloo Bukhara. And the fish curry is an absolute must with the vegetable pulav. And the naans? Just as naans should be. Succulent, soft, scrumptious.

As soon as we took our seats, my husband directed me to the buffet table. I skipped several dishes because my plate was already so piled up with what I had picked. I made a note of a few items I wanted to sample on my second round. As we returned to our table, we saw a platter of sizzling chicken tandoori and a basket of hot naans waiting for us. Unfortunately we had to return the chicken as it was not Halaal and the waiters were honest enough to tell us that.

The samosas were, as they say, ‘just like how they make ‘em back home’. And if you choose the samosa, you must never forget to take the accompanying green coconut chutney. Despite having a thorough non-vegetarian palate, I quite enjoyed the plethora of delicious vegetarian dishes before me. Of course, I did find a few disappointing numbers too, the Kadi-bhajia for instance.  But the good ones outnumbered the not so good ones and so I am not complaining too much.

For dessert my husband chose Gulab Jamuns and rice Kheer, I chose a mango Kulfi, something like an ‘iced’ ice cream. The kulfi was nice, but I can say I have definitely tasted better. From the look of my husband, I think he pretty much enjoyed his selection and I wish I had taken his lead.

We obviously skipped the Kheema-mutter, Chicken Biryani and a host of other non-vegetarian dishes because they weren’t Halaal, an issue I feel very tempted to bring up with the manager. It is absolutely unjust to be deprived from sampling the entire menu!

We left the restaurant, feeling quite satisfied, both with the food as well as the bill. IH doesn’t pinch your wallet too hard and it’s value for money. And by looking at the diverse ethnicity of the clientele, it seems to be a hit not only with the Indians, but with the others too. Hmm. Sabri still scores for its simple seduction of the taste buds but IH is most definitely worth a visit too.

P.S. More posts on the Indian Curry:

Fish! (Konkani Surmai fry fish with creamy Coconut Urad Dal)

and

Something’s Cookin’! (Konkani again- Prawn ‘n Peppper Coconut Curry)