Parked cabs line the curbs outside Baba Palace, a 24-hour Pakistani-Indian restaurant on the corner of Chicago and Orleans. A large sign in the window promises a Meal Deal for $4.50.
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Malik estimates that 80 percent of his clientele is cabbies, but Baba Palace, which has a spiffy Web site (www.babapalace.com), is hardly a well-kept secret. There are other customers, mostly men–students looking for food that reminds them of home, a businessman who got hooked 11 years ago when he was a student, a software developer from out of town who’s used the Internet to find local restaurants serving halal meat. The restaurant also attracts its share of foodies–there are favorable posts about it on the culinary chat site LTHForum.com. Some people come in simply looking for a place that’s cheap and open late.
Around 11 o’clock on a recent Tuesday night Malik stands behind the counter in a tunic and baggy trousers. An American flag is tacked to the hutch behind him, near a display case that offers discount phone card brands like Crazy, Mafia, Go Crazy, Rocket, and Extreme. Several cabdrivers, identifiable by the earpieces that have been in vogue since the city banned the use of handheld cell phones while driving, approach Malik and place their orders.
When the bread arrives from the kitchen, Malik calls people up to the counter to get their orders. Asked about the food, one regular damns it with faint praise, saying, after a substantial pause, that it’s “not bad.” Another adds that it’s “not as spicy” as the food at Zaiqa, one of two 24-hour places down the street on Orleans (Kababish is the other). Even I found the chana dal rather bland (my friend, who’s traveled in India, called it “earthy tasting”). The mixed vegetables–cauliflower, carrots, potatoes, and green beans in a tomato sauce–were also bereft of heat, though there’s a spicy raita you can help yourself to at the counter. The large, doughy naan were delicious and noticeably fresh–the Meal Deal beats Subway, no question. And though the menu is meat heavy, the specials always include two vegetarian dishes.
Art accompanying story in printed newspaper (not available in this archive): photos/Joeff Davis.
