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Chicken boti at Khan BBQ
When looking for serious ethnic spots, I find if you're the only white anglo dude in the joint, you're probably in the right place. Khan BBQ, on Chicago’s Devon street—a strip of Pakistani, Indian and orthodox Jewish bakeries, restaurants, and clothing shops—is one of those places.
It shouldn't be, as I and a few others have written about the perfume of coriander from the tandoors, the puffy stacks of Naan bread, and the grilled succulent meat over the last couple of years. Yet, last week when I stopped by for a bite, the dining room was filled with the usual smattering of cabbies and Pakistani families.
I wonder what keeps the mainstream away? It's not like Khan is some dingy backwater filled with live animals and criminals on the lam. It's a peach colored palace sporting a grand chandelier outfitted with more bling than a Tiffany and Co.
It's not like food is unfamiliar either. There’s no shortage of dal, naan, and paneer. The tandoori meats including crispy and succulent chicken boti featuring flakes of char and pale green streaks from crushed peppers, are the best around. The seekh kababs, skewered round cylinders of ground beef, onion and coriander, are crunchy outside and moist inside. Chappli kebabs glisten in rich ghee and sport a nose tickling waft of cumin. The fare is so good that it's amazing to think that owner Amjad Khan, an immigrant from Faisalabad, Pakistan's third largest city, got his culinary start in a sub shack near Chicago's defunct south side project, the Robert Taylor Homes.
Considering the evidence, there's no excuse not to stop in. I implore the huddled masses of my white anglo and non-Pakistani bretheren to check Khan out. If you choose to stay away, I guess that means these just more karai gosht for me.
About the author: Michael Nagrant writes for Serious Eats from Chicago, where he also publishes Hungry magazine. Michael never met an organ meat he didn't like. He hopes to meet many more.
Khan BBQ
Address: 2401 W Devon Ave, Chicago, IL 60659 (map)
Phone: 773-274-8600
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5 Comments:
I'm glad this was posted right before lunch time. That picture actually made me drool a little bit...
modysoul at 11:58AM on 03/07/08
WOW! Nice picture, that charring on the meat is making me drool....wait...CRY with hunger! I really hope I get a chance to make it to Chicago soon
hungrychristel at 12:51PM on 03/07/08
I think it's a truth universally acknowledged in Chicago that this place is brilliant; even their Broasted Chicken (!) is incredible. And if you think the Chicken Boti in the photo is amazing, the goat channp is even better.
I generally bring Indian cuisine neophytes here because of the restaurant's focus on protein; most are blown away by the sheer awesomeness of the food. It'd be nice if they took credit cards and improved the gruff, spotty service some, but this is one of the best food experiences in Chicago.
There is a rumor, though, that the place was shut down for a poor health inspection...
lostfourwords at 8:07PM on 03/07/08
They were dinged but not closed last September. A bunch of minor violations but only one major one (no food service manager on premises at the time of the inspection). They were not closed.
yellowdog442 at 11:59PM on 03/07/08
It's not a rumor. I tried to go yesterday and there was a giant green sign on the door proclaiming LICENSE SUSPENDED, courtesy of Mayor Daley's Dumpster Task Force. The owner was turning people away saying that it was just temporary, and they'd be back in business by Monday. Looking at the violations the Task Force has pulled up in the past for other fine Chicago eateries (mostly involving mice and roaches), I was a little turned off.
chowfoon1 at 6:47PM on 03/09/08