Indian Food Trail in America Part1- Chicago

When I travel abroad, feasting on Indian cuisine is last on my mind. I prefer to try the local cuisine of the place I am visiting. I love to try new flavors, learn about the culture and tradition of the places. The favorite food that american enjoy is Pizzas, Fries and Burgers. Home to immigrants, this is one country, where there is variety of food from every nation, be it Chinese, Malaysian, Mexican, Italian, etc. But then, if you are travelling with family and friends then you don’t get much option to choose, it is mostly the choice of the majority.

During my visit to Chicago at my sister’s home, I was in the company of my  family from Lagos and Spain, who enjoy Indian food, (I have tried Indian restaurants in Lagos and Spain but have not been too happy) so naturally they wanted to visit indian restaurants specially for biryanis and street food of India.

The Indian restaurants in Chicago cannot meet the standard of the restaurants in India. Devon street in Chicago is micro India,  where you see lots of Indian shops, Indian grocery stores and restaurants.

We visited Tiffin at Devon street several times.

Although there are many indian restaurants on this single stretch of street, Tiffin is the most popular restaurant at Devon street and has a great variety of dishes on their menu. Their butter chicken is too sweet but the kids seemed to enjoy it. Family enjoyed the Malai Chicken and Mutton Rice too, although I found mutton a bit hard to bite, wish they would cook it to a bit more tender consisitency. On another day, we went again for indian buffet at Tiffin, they had quite a good selection. I didn’t enjoy much, because I tend to compare it with what I get back home, but my cousins did enjoy it.

Getiing street food like samosas and bhajiyas is a treat, which is okay but they cannot replicate the taste of chutneys that go with these snacks.

Another favorite stop was at Mysore Woodland, a south Indian vegetarian place that also had  butter paneer and chole bature on their menu apart from the regular south Indian cuisine. The chutney that they serve with dosas is stale and sambar too watery. I , as usual, ordered my onion uttappam, which is never a disappointment.  The kids ordered sada dosa and were quite amused with cone shaped dosas. The milky sherbet was a welcome change.

On the day, my friend from Indiana came to meet me at Devon street, we walked into a Pakistani restaurant Ravi Kabab House, once more we had biryani and kababs. It was disppointing but then…I was beginning to lose faith in finding a good indian restaurant.

During my six weeks stay in Chicago, I didn’t much enjoy the Indian cuisine there, although trying the betel-nut paan at the street corner at Devon street was quite a treat.

To be continued

Indian Food Trail in America Part2-Atlanta

Indian Food Trail in America Part3-Dallas

Indian Food Trail in America Part4-New York

I begin my stay in Chicago with Lou Malnati

My cousins came to pick me up from airport, we dropped the luggage at home and then headed straight for lunch to the Lou Malnati’s that has the best creative pizzas in Chicago.

Pictures, pictures everywhere, most of the walls of the restaurant were adorned with memories and one wall was dedicated to basket ball players displaying autographed basket balls

But we were there for special Malnati salad that the place is most famous for, a delicious green, crunchy, sweet and sour salad of romane lettuce, tomatoes, black olives, mushrooms, crumbled salami, gorgonzola cheese and sweet flovors of vinegar and romano cheese.

My family ordered deep dish pizza and I wondered what was so special about it till it arrived at the table. It was extraordinary…Chicago style pizza that had thick layer of mozzarella cheese on a thin crust with ingredients like mushroom, onions and sausages sunk into the layers of cheese. The pizza was then topped with fresh tomato sauce, and sprinkled with cheese and spices, every bite so juicy and delicious.

First day in Chicago and I had already tried the best pizza in town…before I could even unpack my bags.

Farmhouse

Junk food is out as more people start on healthy eating. Youngsters nowadays prefer fresh food to canned food and they have become more inclined towards organic food. Be it India or around the world, people are getting more aware of healthy eating. I have come to spend few days on the other side of the world. Here I am visiting my sister in Chicago.

When my nephew told me that he owns a restaurant, I was excited and wanted to visit immediately. He drove us to his restaurant at 228W Chicago Ave and proudly introduced us to most impressive farm themed hangout called Farmhouse.

It was late afternoon and the weather was quite pleasant. Many people sat in the patio to enjoy the meal.

But we walked indoors to enjoy the meal. The ambience is beautiful. A small room called pickle room had different pickle bottles in the room.

Another smaller room had a cozy setup with seating for fifteen people to enjoy a private dinner

A long bar with high chairs occupied the large part of the room where people could enjoy food with hard drinks.

The rest of the restaurants in the large room had seating arrangement in such a way that each table had their own privacy.

We ordered crispy cheese balls, salads and pizza. The USP of this restaurant is the freshness of the food. The restaurant has the finest ingredients from the surrounding Chicago area and nearby states. It encourages the fresh farm products, thus supporting the local farms for cheese, wines, greens, breads and meat.

No canned food is used at all; even the tomato sauce and the dips are freshly cooked. The food had the most unique taste.

Dessert is to die for. The strawberry and cream burger was melt in mouth, delicious dish. I just loved it and couldn’t resists eating even though I am always watching my diet

One floor up, and there was a large room, big enough for a private party or some social meetings. If I were to stay in Chicago, I would love to host open mike poetry performance in this room like we do back home in India.

So very proud of my nephew for owning such a beautiful restaurant where health come first and dining is a great experience….