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Indian Gourmet - bizarre claim (now Paprika)

Indian Gourmet - bizarre claim (now Paprika)
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  • Indian Gourmet - bizarre claim (now Paprika)

    Post #1 - June 19th, 2006, 12:18 pm
    Post #1 - June 19th, 2006, 12:18 pm Post #1 - June 19th, 2006, 12:18 pm
    Thrown inside the gate of my building was a menu from a place called Indian Gourmet. On the menu is a bold, all caps bizarre claim that the place is "Chicago's only Indian restaurant that delivers." This is either irresponsible ignorance (a simple metromix search yields 15 Indian delivery places) or an intentional lie to drum up business. Either way, it's just about reason enough to rule the place out.

    Anyone know anything about the food?

    Indian Gourmet
    2916 and a half W. Devon
    773-761-5751

    edited to note that the folks behind Indian Gourmet have moved, and now own Paprika, which is discussed downthread.

    Paprika - Indian Gourmet Restaurant
    2547A W. Lawrence Ave
    773.338.4906
    Last edited by Kennyz on November 23rd, 2009, 10:27 am, edited 1 time in total.
  • Post #2 - June 19th, 2006, 1:31 pm
    Post #2 - June 19th, 2006, 1:31 pm Post #2 - June 19th, 2006, 1:31 pm
    maybe the place delivers... in the taste department.
  • Post #3 - June 19th, 2006, 2:16 pm
    Post #3 - June 19th, 2006, 2:16 pm Post #3 - June 19th, 2006, 2:16 pm
    When I've searched for delivery from Indian restaurants on Devon, the only places I saw were vegetarian. Would you recommend several of your favorite non-veg Indian delivery options? I only live a mile or two from the area. I've heard Tiffin and Hema are very good but they don't deliver. Obviously, I need to explore the area more.
  • Post #4 - June 19th, 2006, 2:51 pm
    Post #4 - June 19th, 2006, 2:51 pm Post #4 - June 19th, 2006, 2:51 pm
    I *think* they are a delivery-only operation, more than the only delivery option. If that makes sense.

    Come to think of it, they may well be the only delivery-only option (meaning they have no dine-in restaurant).


    I'll stop now.
  • Post #5 - June 19th, 2006, 3:27 pm
    Post #5 - June 19th, 2006, 3:27 pm Post #5 - June 19th, 2006, 3:27 pm
    Yes, I have ordered deliveries from there, and plan to do so again this week (my car is in the body shop for three days).

    I've had the vegetable somosas, alu gobhi, shag alu pannir, okra bhaji, vegetable biryani, naan, and alu paratha. I have been highly satisified with the quality, speed, quantity, price, and the temperature of the delivered dishes.

    They must have a hell of a delivery area: I'm in Albany Park, near Pulaski and Lawrence, and I can't imagine another Devon Ave. Indian place delivering that far south and west.

    I must try to get my some day to check out their kitchen. They are totally delivery-only.

    Cheers,
    Wade
    "Remember the Alamo? I do, with the very last swallow."
  • Post #6 - June 19th, 2006, 3:35 pm
    Post #6 - June 19th, 2006, 3:35 pm Post #6 - June 19th, 2006, 3:35 pm
    The menu states "Delivery, Carry Out, Dine In, Catering". Not delivery only.
  • Post #7 - June 20th, 2006, 10:48 am
    Post #7 - June 20th, 2006, 10:48 am Post #7 - June 20th, 2006, 10:48 am
    . . . well, my menu IS about 18 months old, I admit. It just mentions delivery and catering.

    Cheers,
    Wade
    "Remember the Alamo? I do, with the very last swallow."
  • Post #8 - June 20th, 2006, 1:33 pm
    Post #8 - June 20th, 2006, 1:33 pm Post #8 - June 20th, 2006, 1:33 pm
    Have ordered from there several times. Foods okay, but overpriced. One time hit a serious language barrier, got all sorts of different things from what I thought I ordered, but it was still okay and a little of an adventure. If I really want to eat Indian at home, I'll get carryout from any of the Devon standards.
  • Post #9 - August 18th, 2009, 4:40 pm
    Post #9 - August 18th, 2009, 4:40 pm Post #9 - August 18th, 2009, 4:40 pm
    Apparently, Indian Gourmet - the place whose credibility I questioned some time ago - used to be a restaurant on Devon. I know this because the owners have now opened a place close to my neighborhood called Paprika - Indian Gourmet Restaurant. I stopped in today and had a pleasant chat with Shah, who says that he and his family are very excited about the move. The dingy strip mall location belies what turns out to be a surprisingly swanky interior. I look forward to dining in sometime soon, and taking advantage of the byob policy. Shah says his food is "all very fresh and good," but he is most proud of the chicken tikka masala and shag alu paneer. The menu is wide-ranging, and includes about a half dozen types of naan, which Shah also says are great. He's a most welcoming host, and if his food is half as enticing as his personality, I'm likely to become a regular.



    Paprika - Indian Gourmet Restaurant
    2547A W. Lawrence Ave
    773.338.4906
    ...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
  • Post #10 - August 19th, 2009, 10:34 am
    Post #10 - August 19th, 2009, 10:34 am Post #10 - August 19th, 2009, 10:34 am
    ooh- thanks for the heads- up Kenny.. this is my new neighborhood and I just saw that sign the other day. I will check it out- we have to keep restaurants from failing in the dingy strip mall!
  • Post #11 - August 29th, 2009, 3:03 pm
    Post #11 - August 29th, 2009, 3:03 pm Post #11 - August 29th, 2009, 3:03 pm
    My wife and I noticed the new signs and took a look at the menu posted in the window this afternoon. The menu seems very ambitious for such a small space with a fair range of beef and lamb dishes in addition to the more common chicken (including tandoori) and vegetable dishes. I wonder whether they will have adequate turnover of food in such a small space even with carryout and delivery. They open at 4:00 pm Monday through Friday but are also open for lunch on Saturday and Sunday.

    There have been three Bosnian restaurants in this space. The most recent, Caffe Topic, moved into the much larger Cafe Blu space, converted it from Serbian to Bosnian and appears to have retained the liquor license. While Lincoln Square has a fair Bosnian population, I suspect that there have been too many restaurants to be supported by this population unless the restaurants can attract a wider audience. Marketing has been weak in most of the Bosnian places. This little strip mall has the additional problem that the owner and restaurants have a horrible record in replacing signage for defunct places in the sign close to Lawrence. Restaurant Gurman is still on that sign.
  • Post #12 - November 13th, 2009, 11:20 am
    Post #12 - November 13th, 2009, 11:20 am Post #12 - November 13th, 2009, 11:20 am
    I visited Paprika Indian restaurant this week for a carry-out order of vegetables vindaloo. The room is very romantic and warm, especially considering its strip-mall setting. While I waited, I was served complimentary papadum and chutney. There was good oomph in the sauces, and sparked my appetite. The vindaloo lived up to its promise of spice - it sent the nerves in my palate jangling. Not exactly cayanne hot, but more of an overall glow. This was an excellent value, given the big portion of white rice that accompanied. Last I was in, they looked like they would welcome some LTH love, so I recommend heading on over.
    "To get long" meant to make do, to make well of whatever we had; it was about having a long view, which was endurance, and a long heart, which was hope.
    - Fae Myenne Ng, Bone
  • Post #13 - November 13th, 2009, 11:35 am
    Post #13 - November 13th, 2009, 11:35 am Post #13 - November 13th, 2009, 11:35 am
    I reviewed this place for the Reader and was worried by the dearth of customers. It's a pleasant neighborhood place with a supersweet, anxious-to-please owner. Lincoln Square folks, please do your best to support it!

    http://www.chicagoreader.com/chicago/paprika_indian_gourmet_restaurant/Location?oid=1199381
  • Post #14 - November 13th, 2009, 3:02 pm
    Post #14 - November 13th, 2009, 3:02 pm Post #14 - November 13th, 2009, 3:02 pm
    We used to like the "Indian pizza" they had (it had tandoori chicken, onions, and cilantro - not quite desi food, but tasty nonetheless) but our one experience with the Indian meals was disappointing. I do believe they used mozzarella in the palak paneer.

    I am curious to see if the pizza side of things survived the move.
    As a mattra-fact, Pie Face, you are beginning to look almost human. - Barbara Bennett
  • Post #15 - November 23rd, 2009, 10:18 am
    Post #15 - November 23rd, 2009, 10:18 am Post #15 - November 23rd, 2009, 10:18 am
    kates wrote:It's a pleasant neighborhood place with a supersweet, anxious-to-please owner.

    Made it to Paprika this weekend, and came away agreeing that the place is pleasant. Papadum left a bit of a chalky mouthfeel, and I would have liked much more heat in the cilantro chutney that Shah called "very hot". Samosas were made from strange but delicious homemade dough, which had the subtle sweetness of a funnel cake without the powdered sugar. It was a delicious fresh-fried donut of sorts, despite the fact that the filling had little flavor. Naan was fresh but missing the characteristic chew that I love. Our main courses (Gobhi Ki Rogen Josh and Shag Alu Pannir) were similarly tasty but relatively bland. It wasn't just the heat that was missing from this food, but also the complex flavor and intense aroma from spices that have been well-toasted. When I commented that the food was a bit mild for my taste, even though I had mentioned that "I like it hot", Shah told me to ask for "Indian hot" next time.

    Shah is a gracious owner with a welcoming space, and the food is tasty enough, even if not as soul-satisfying as at other Indian restaurant. Free BYOB, and the portions are huge. I'll be back.
    ...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
  • Post #16 - January 4th, 2010, 11:24 pm
    Post #16 - January 4th, 2010, 11:24 pm Post #16 - January 4th, 2010, 11:24 pm
    I popped in here tonight for a pleasant, if not entirely successful meal. The place smelled wonderful of spices as I came in, and I enjoyed the pappadums as I waited. I got gobhi chicken tikka masala, which had good flavor but was overcooked— the sauce was cooked to a thick paste, and the chicken was pretty dry. The naan is odd-- it's not at all the fluffy dough you're used to from Devon, but thick like homemade pizza crust or something. I got onion and it was studded with thick chunks of purple onion. I wouldn't say any of this was exactly bad (the overcooked chicken maybe was), but it was definitely eccentric. But I can't say I entirely mind an Indian place that isn't substantially indistinguishable from every other Indian place.

    The good news is that although on this bitter cold night it was empty when I walked in, within a few minutes a party of 7 arrived, and another solo patron came in as I was about to leave. If they're getting that on a terrible Monday to go out, maybe they're doing better on nicer nights later in the week.
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  • Post #17 - March 22nd, 2023, 9:25 pm
    Post #17 - March 22nd, 2023, 9:25 pm Post #17 - March 22nd, 2023, 9:25 pm
    Paprika is closed, per a google search marked as "Permanently Closed" and a website which now has no content except a message stating, "Thank you for your patronage, it was our pleasure to serve you for 25 years. Shah"

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