Khan BBQ- 2401 Devon Ave (Devon St.)

Northwestern has its share of Indian students, and my dorm floor was filled with people from India or among the first generation from Indian born American citizens. My freshman year was spent with many of these friends, experiencing the power and fucking glory of Indian food. I was the white kid that could take the heat that is a Bombay kid’s birthright, and I love every minute of that shit. Fast forward to today, where my girlfriend and I (also white) dare Indian, Thai, Japanese, and Korean chefs to do there worst to our palates, bring it the fuck on!!

And then one day, Khan BBQ walked into our lives (or we walked into theirs) and it was like coming home. There’s nothing better than hot slabs of protein, perfectly marinated and spiced, and ramped up by the curries, cumin and other earth shattering spices of the land of Ghandi. Did I mention this is one of the cheapest places to eat that I have been to (Indian food that is). Are you in? You should be.

One thing about most Indian (and for that matter any restaurant with roots in asia/middle east) is their absolute need of an interior decorator. Come on, you could at least try. If you find yourself sitting in the large room (the one that doesn’t have the grill view), you will find yourself staring at not only the couch and big screen tv setup (where the fuck did that come from), but also the faux eighties green and blue lighted looks-like-dade county-“cocain cowboy”- 80’s-shitshow. Dude, its time for fucking changing spaces, or Ramsey’s Kitchen Nightmares, or something; we have an ambiance crisis. That being said the restaurant is large and spacious, with clean tile floors, and big windows. Interesting drapes adorned on doorways give this place subtle charm, but again, nobody will be calling Architectural Digest or anything.

Not to mention the menu makes my blog look as if I carry Elements of Style in my back pocket (which I don’t….duh….but I am flattered that you think so). It is riddled with spelling errors, and is not very specific as to what dishes are specials, and what entrees are dinner or lunch only.

Luckily you don’t have to understand the menu to get a good meal, you will be hard pressed to find something on this menu that you are going to dislike. The tandoor is in heavy use here, with half and whole chickens being served to about every table (oh my god its so fucking god). The kababs, goasht and nan, are all strong, but one of the dishes that caught my fancy (and have yet to order) was the frontier rice (a kitchen sink approach to rice featuring chicken, countless vegetables and hers, and rice) this dish was at every Indian persons table, and I highly regret that it was not on mine.

This place has the best, cheap, Indian food available in the city of Chicago. The great selection, the fire-hot-cuisine, and the charcoal broiled meat make this a must go restaurant. They just need to hire an interior decorator.