Sabri Nehari Pakistani Cuisine

December 21, 2009 · Posted in Chicago, Good for Groups, Halal Food, Pakistani · 1 Comment 

Sabri Nehari
2502 West Devon Avenue
(between Campbell & Maplewood Avenue)
Chicago, IL 60659
(773) 743-6200

*Reservations not necessary

Sabri Nehari Pakistani Restaurant

Sabri Nehari Pakistani Restaurant

Front and side view of Sabri Nehari Pakistani Restaurant

Front and side view of Sabri Nehari Pakistani Restaurant

Chicago is home to some of the largest communities of Pakistani and Indian people.   Yes there are other South Asians here and there, but nothing like the two groups that I mentioned above.   A trip to Chicago is not without its charm if you do not visit Devon Avenue.  Devon Avenue stretches blocks after blocks of predominately Pakistani and Indian businesses.  Never have I ever seen so many restaurants, clothing shops, mosques, cash & carry stores (aka supermarkets), and bakeries/dessert shops.  Definitely will put New York’s Jackson Heights to utter shame.  Oh there are so many delicious bakeries which is paradise for me because I love dessert and there is one in particular that is very famous called Tahoora which I will feature in my next post.

Sabri Nehari is a must try and it is highly recommended.  There are so many positive reviews on this restaurant and also my friend recommends this spot too.  I am open to almost every and any cuisine, as long as it doesn’t make me vomit, because that is what Finechinagirl enjoys the most.  Scouring the city for delicious, unique, and scrumptious food is my mission and I am always very eager to try new cuisines.

To be very mindful, Pakistani cuisine and Indian cuisine may look very similar, but they are very different by taste!  So don’t get the two confused.  From what I noticed, and I can be very wrong, Pakistani food infuse a lot of meat in their dishes while their Indian counterpart predominately use vegetables in their dishes due to their religion.   Also, Indian dishes use a lot of their own homegrown spices like chili pepper, black mustard seeds, cumin, turmeric, ginger, coriander, cardamom, cinnamon, cloves, and maybe paprika.   Pakistani dishes incorporates brown and green cardamon, cinnamon, cloves, nutmeg, mace, black peppers, jalepenos, cumin, bay leaves, coriander, caraway seeds, and fennel.   Curry of course is curry and will look the same anywhere, but the tastes is vastly different because of the usage or non-usage of meat and their seasonings.

So that’s the background!  I’m always mindful about the differences in cuisines because there are times where my friends or co-worker says Chinese and Taiwanese food are the same thing.  While there are many similar elements in their dishes, it is not politically correct to say that they are the same when they’re not.  Think about that!

Let’s move on to the food!

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The Famous CoalFire Pizzaria and Restaurant in Chicago, IL

November 4, 2009 · Posted in Chicago, Gourmet, Pizzaria · 1 Comment 

Coalfire Pizza
1321 West Grand Avenue
Chicago, IL 60642
(312) 226-2625

Reservations not necessary as it is first come first serve!

Coal Fire Pizzaria and Restaurant

Coal Fire Pizzaria and Restaurant

Front shot of Coalfire Pizza

Front shot of Coalfire Pizza

Is Coal Fire really the best pizzaria in Chicago of 2008?  According to the Chicago Reader it is!  I personally try not to let reviews give me a bias opinion of the restaurant because then it might disappoint me if my expectations aren’t met.  That has happened one too many times before so I figure that it’s best not to take reviews seriously, except for this one of course!  But in all honesty, a lot of good reviews to me means a good recommendation and it makes me want to find out myself.

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