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One of the great things about LTHForum is that if you read carefully, you can learn from esteemed members what to order at favorite restaurants. Why would these smart folks have ordered the Plov after reading your multiple posts about how improperly prepared it is?

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...defended from strong temptations to social ambition by a still stronger taste for tripe and onions." Screwtape in The Screwtape Letters by CS Lewis

Fuckerberg on Food

For whatever reason, we didn't have any rice dishes.

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Chicago Craft Beer Week!

I think I might have enjoyed my dinner less than some of the other folks who were there. I thought the sour spinach soup, the chuchvara, the manti, some (but not all) of the pickled veggies and the pork kabob were good, but the rest of meal left me tepid at best. Nothing was bad, but I'm not sure I'd be all that motivated to drive that far to have this food again. I'm a lover of full flavored food and I found this cuisine overly bland for my palate (but that's a personal preference). Still, if I was a lover of Uzbeki cuisine, I suppose I'd be glad to have Chaihana around. It certainly is a charming place with a friendly vibe. Count me ambivalent on GNR status.

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Steve Z.
Photographer/Pseudojournalist

"The only time to eat diet food is while you’re waiting for the steak to cook." - Julia Child

I find myself agreeing with Steve. Highlights for me were the spicy eggplant, sour spinach soup, the pork kebob and the cookies (pictured above -- they were filled with dulce de leche.) The cheese blintzes were good too. I was disappointed with the rabbit and the chicken. Both seemed overcooked and I didn't understand why the chicken didn't have the garlic sauce served on it. The pickled stuff was just okay to me. I found the manti to be overly greasy. And frozen vegetables from a bag! I wasn't impressed enough to want to make the drive again, although the company was excellent as always. If I were in the area, I might consider returning because I did like a few of the menu items.

I certainly can get behind supporting the only Uzbek restaurant in the area, but I'm not sure if this is a GNR. To me, it was a Good restaurant, not Great.

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-Mary

Shorpo.


This.

I wanted to know if a signature dish to Uzbeki cusine was made right. It is entirely possible they did order and maybe this time it was great. The restaurant has had time to figure it out.

Monica Eng and her now former husband spent time in Uzbekistan. Every meal, formal and perhaps less formal, they were offered plov. They smiled their way through this because they knew they were being offered a special dish as honored guests.

Regards,

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Cathy2

"You'll be remembered long after you're dead if you make good gravy, mashed potatoes and biscuits." -- Nathalie Dupree
Facebook, Twitter, Greater Midwest Foodways, Road Food 2012: Podcast

While the first time I had the plov, just a few weeks after Chaihanna opened, it was a bit disappointing. While I'm not an expert, I was with a friend who'd lived in Uzbekistan for three years, and she told me what the plov should be like. Within the last year, I think I've had it three more times, and each time it seemed to reflect perfectly what my friend had described -- and was good enough that I might not have cared if it was perfectly authentic. It had gone from dry and bland to rich and flavorful. Still not the reason I go to Chaihanna, but much improved. (And the reason I go is the sour spinach soup, with the dumplings coming in a close second. I'd go if that was all they served.)

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"Nothing important is easy." Patrick White (Australian Nobel laureate)

http://waltzingaustralia.wordpress.com

I support keeping Chaihanna add a GNR.
There isn't any place like it out in the burbs. That isn't enough on its own, but great soups, stellar blintzes, pickles, salads, and the garlicky Chicken Tabak... I'm ready to go back again.

There are a couple non winner entrees, sure. I don't recommend the plov (pilaf), but I've sent people here on business our there and they've been happy.

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What is patriotism, but the love of good things we ate in our childhood?
-- Lin Yutang

Absolutely retain it as a GNR. The food is outstanding -- and seems to keep getting better.

I can hardly say enough about how great this place is. The pickled watermelon, the sour spinach soup (I could live on it), the sausage soup, the chicken Tabaka (a friend I took recently said he thought it was one of the two or three best chicken dishes he'd ever had), the dumplings (especially the pumpkin ones) -- so many great dishes. Oh -- and the lamb and the pilaf. And the bread.

Even the china is worth note -- handsome, traditional, cobalt blue, gold, and white -- and the decor is attractive and evocative. Simply a great place.

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"Nothing important is easy." Patrick White (Australian Nobel laureate)

http://waltzingaustralia.wordpress.com

As much as I enjoy Chaihanna, this may be a moot point. A friend of mine dined there on Friday, and was told that they have lost their lease and will be closing in 2 weeks. They are considering looking for a new location, and may re-open, but are not sure. It is a shame because of how unique this place is (especially the bizarre russian music videos).

After stopping in today, I was told that they are closing and that they are not looking for a new site.

They had a table w/some misc items for sale (plates, glasses)

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I did absolutely nothing and it was everything I thought it could be.