GorMehta

Last Stop: My first meal in Portland was more like a light snack, and a litmus test to the region’s culinary habitus. This hole in the wall taproom had a 40+ beers available, yet the menu was limited to bar food. Congruent with this, I stuck to mango habanero chicken wings, wanting to understand local spice tolerance. The wings came out steaming hot, heavily glazed with a sweet sauce. The mango flavor was muted, more akin to a generic sugary punch, while the heat was so mild I requested a hot sauce to accommodate my palate. Furthermore, the wings were not crisp despite being extremely tender, and the seasoning was lacking as well. Overall, fresh hot food can only take you so far when you lack seasoning. Also most bars and restaurants close at 10 PM, which is criminal. - - 6.5/10

Hyderabad House: On Chicago’s Devon Avenue, closer to the heart of city lies a working man’s staple. Cash only, open until 4 am, the seating is more like a cafeteria than a restaurant, closer to a dhaba than anything upscale. Surrounded by uncles arguing over chai, I was very full from my meal at Ali’s. Yet I persisted, due to the famous homestyle food and reasonable prices. All I needed was a bowl of goat haleem. Served laden with fragrant ghee and green cardamom, garnished with homemade crunchy onions, this porridge of boneless goat and lentils was seasoned perfectly, with a delicate savory meat flavor in a paste like porridge texture. They also provided two boiled eggs to add even more protein and soak up the meaty flavor. The small bowl of haleem was so heavy that it took a marathon of eating by two people to even finish. The meal ended with a nice jaggery infused chai to help digest this heavy but delicious meal. They did charge pretty heavily for water bottles but “instead of complaining, say al ham dulliah.” - - 9.25/10

Ali’s Nihari: Inspired by my namesake friend, I dined in the famous desi Utopia of Devon avenue in Northwest Chicago, this establishment mirrored the classy Mughali establishments of the Subcontinent: glass tables, an abundance of workers, and quick turnaround on the dishes. We opted for the namesake Nihari. Originally a breakfast food, deriving from the Arabi “Nahâr” meaning morning. The stew is slow-cooked meat until tender, ending up with a fatty and gelatinous savory tari. The simply flavored and warm curry came floating with fat, and while its meat was fall apart it still had a lot of chew in the mouthfeel, somehow being a tad difficult to chew. The garnishes of raw ginger and pepper added some fresh depth, along side the crunchy raw vegetable salad starter. I also tried Bihari kebab, which I had never heard of before. It was described to me my friend Ali(no relation to the restaurant), as a tender melt in your mouth kebab. I assumed it would be similar to the meaty yet inoffensive patê like galouti kebab. Despite an abundance of smoked flavor, the tenderness left much to be desired. It was very lean, this lack of fat gave it a grainy texture, despite an appropriate portion size. It was not the heavenly soft flavor bomb I had imagined, but overall the food was not too expensive, and despite a mediocre naan, the Nihari’s curry alone would be worth coming back for but nothing else. - - 7.5/10

Tim’s Chome Bar: After trying some of their deliciously herbal meatloaf the night before, I ended up at Tim’s for brunch. Starting off with delicious homemade donut holes, rolled in cinnamon sugar, almost creamy on the inside. After trying some a lightly banana flavored latte with just a hint of fruity sweetness, I got a new iteration of potato hash. The chip crisp potato crumbles had a crunch like no other, oozing a slight oily sheen. Atop of this was a runny over easy egg, avocado, and some sausage. A few bites of the thinly sliced polish sausage tasted a bit old but it was few and far between. Spice was provided by some fresh jalapeños, which were a little hard to fine. The deliciously crispy potatoes became heavily monotonous as the meal progressed, but I was able to try a bite of deliciously fluffy chicken in waffles to manage. Overall, a very good brunch but Skala ruined my appetite as well as my stomach. - - 8/10