North Side Cheap Eats: Baba Palace Restaurant

By Laura Oppenheimer in Food on Mar 1, 2007 7:30PM

Consider these three scenarios. You want to eat some Indian or Pakistani food, but you don't want to make the trek to Devon. You are tanked after a night of drinking in River North or the Gold Coast and you want to go out for some post-drinking nosh, but aren't in the mood for a burger. You've been doing some shopping downtown, and want to grab a quick dinner, but don't want to either shell out big time, or end up at Corner Bakery.

At different points in our life, we've been confronted with situations like these. We wish we knew then, what we know now; Baba Palace Restaurant serves up quick, delicious South Asian food in a no frills 24-hour-a-day setting.

Baba Palace asn't much to look at from the outside. Though its website has some fancy flash in the intro, the restaurant isn't serving up any of it. Ambiance is negligible; service basically non-existent. But what this cab stand might lack in panache, it more than makes up for with the fantastic food.

All of the options come in two sizes, small for $4.50 and large for $8, both coming with either nan or rice. We chose a small size of the Chicken Mahkni with butter naan. The chicken was tender and simmered in a herbed yogurt sauce, spiced, but not too heavily. Without the rice, we chose to alternate between using the naan and our fingers, and going the gringo route by using a fork.

We also tried the Daal Masoor, a dish of lentils cooked with spices. We are a little surprised at how mild this daal was compared to other we have tried, but its rounded flavor was perfect with the fragrant garlic naan ($2). Both the garlic and butter naan came to the table steaming hot and fresh out of the oven. Be forewarned: regular naan comes free with an entree, but if you order any other kind, you will be charged with it.

Since we were hungry, we also ordered a samosa ($1) and a mango shake ($2). The samosas at Baba Palace were milder than we were expecting, much like the Daal. Still, the flaking outside and spiced potato filling were perfect accompaniments for each other. The mango shake was light and refreshing, an unexpected combination.

The best part of the evening? That was when we realized we had just inhaled a couple of naan, a plate of Chicken Mahkni, a mango milkshake and a samosa for only $7.75. Baba Palace might not be the fanciest place, but if you dine there, you can eat like a king.

Baba Palace Restaurant is located at 334 West Chicago Ave, and is open 24 hours a day; 312-867-7777.