When starting a thread about my favorite west suburban spots, I ask myself does this restaurant offer destination-worthy chow, something unique from or superior to city options?
It seems like Desi cuisine has begun to geographically migrate from Devon Ave. This works for me, as points north in the city are a real pain for me. More centralized offerings in the city seem to skew upscale or next generation/creative, which is all good. Plus Indian and Pakistani demographics seem to be heading to the burbs bringing lots of restaurants to the west and
northwest.
A2B, the American outpost of a popular vegetarian restaurant from Chennai, in Warrenville, might not be particularly unique to Chicagoland with its sprawling South Indian menu. But they do offer a smattering of dishes I haven't seen on other menus, including Sri Lankan fare. And the quality of food here is spectacular, I crave it on the regular and find myself in there at least once a month. I have never been super familiar with these regional cuisines, but A2B is offering me a real education.

The first dish I tried there was love at first bite: parotta kurma. These rolled, laminated flatbreads shatter like the best croissant. And that kurma curry, rich with coconut and deeply spiced. It has been hard for me to stray from this dish, but with so many options, I've soldiered on.

Kothu parotta, a popular Sri Lankan dish, is something I haven't seen on menus in Chicagoland and have always wanted to try. It's sort of like Desi chilaquiles – shredded day old roti (aka parotta) sauteed with onions and peppers. It was served with a cool tangy raita and a small dish of that kurma curry, again.

The "mini" tiffin seemed like a good way to sample a breadth of their offerings. Also, I will note that most of the South Asian clientele seem to order tiffin or thali sets. Dosa was the most familiar component here and it was good, crisp around the edges, unfilled, but served with mildly spiced potatoes on the side. I loved the idly, which I maybe have tried once before, airy and pillowy with a nice sour finish, excellent for scooping the piquant sambar. Also great was the Medhu Vada, the donut looking thing in the back, right, light on grease but packed with spices. The plentiful coconut chutney (front right) was fine as was the offering in the back right, which I believe was a mildly spiced Rava Kichudi, a sort of lentil-based porridge.

On my last visit, I was ready for parotta again, but I was anxious to dip into the South Indian curry section of the menu. It's mushroom season, so I went for Koon curry, a Keralan style coconut curry. Order of parotta on the side. This was a slam dunk meal, the curry was one of the best I've had, absolutely popping with warm spices including star anise, incredibly rich too, I think fortified with cashew beyond the deep coconut base. That chili oil drizzled on top added a nice lip-tingling heat. I only wish that they'd used a more flavorful mushroom than buttons, some hen of the woods in there would have been oout of this world.
Oh and they make some of the best Masala chai I've ever had. And I have yet to try, but their desserts seem cool, check out this Titus-approved, trippy
Royal faloodeh!
So, yes, A2B is absolutely worth a stop if venturing this far out on 88. It's right off the highway too! It has vastly expanded my appreciation for South Indian food and has been a delightful gift to my rotation out here.
A2B Indian Veg Restaurant
28244 Diehl Rd. Warrenville, IL 60555
https://www.a2billinois.com/