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Dissed On Devon
25 October 2006 Send To a FriendMy friend Mike winters in Florida, so before his departure last Saturday he wanted to play the tourist. Since I am the Local Tourist, I was more than happy to accompany him. One day we explored Chinatown, another day we relaxed by a fountain and then headed up Clark Street in Lincoln Park, another day we checked out the fishies at the Shedd Aquarium, and one day we decided to get some Indian cuisine in the Devon Avenue neighborhood.
On the far north side between California and Ridge Road, Devon Avenue is the heart of Chicago’s Indian-Pakistani community. Before moving here I’d heard of it from a friend who’d purchased a great suitcase for $40. Since moving here and lurking on foodie boards like Chowhound and LTHForum, I’d heard that you can get some fantastic and inexpensive traditional South Asian food.
Mike and I drove up there on a Friday afternoon around 1pm. As we were walking towards the more concentrated area, a car with a laptop bag on the roof pulled up in front of a store and a man dressed in a kurta ran inside. We realized he had no idea his bag was on top of his car, so Mike guarded it while I ran in to let him know. He thanked us profusely and headed off on his way. So far, so good, we thought. We’d put some good karma out there and were looking forward to a fantastic lunch of naan, kababs, and biriyani.
To choose a place we basically did the eenie-meenie-miney-moe game. The “restaurant” we entered had papers scattered in the windowsill, an old big screen tv in the corner, a beat-up pool table, and an empty buffet. The tables were bare. Mike asked the gentleman if they were still serving, since we three were the only ones in the place. He went to the back and we heard him speaking to someone in his native language. When he came back out he spoke to us in heavily accented English, so that we could barely understand him. We finally figured out he was saying he had chicken biriyani, and then he said, very clearly, that he only had one item.
I had to shake off the feeling of alienation and unease as we walked back into the sunshine. We crossed the street and entered another restaurant, first checking to make sure it said “Open”. This one had tablecloths, and place settings of glasses stuffed with linen napkins so we were optimistic. It also had an old big screen TV and an empty bufet. And one man inside, who went to the back and spoke to someone in his native language and came back out and said he only had one item.
At this point Mike, who is a large man and an Army reservist, stood to his full height and asked the man, very politely, if there were any restuarants open that were actually serving food and that would welcome us. The small man said “maybe next door”.
We looked inside the restaurant next door. Also empty. We didn’t even bother, but headed further west on Devon.
What the heck was going on, we wondered?
As we walked down the street getting hungrier and hungrier and seeing nothing that might be open besides a Brown’s Chicken (which is 100% certified Zabiha Halal) and a Chinese restaurant, Mike ventured that maybe it was Ramadan.
A man walking with two children and wearing the kurta, the traditional Indian attire of loose fitting pants and a long shirt (also called pyjama), crossed the street. Mike approached him and said “Please forgive my ignorance sir, but is it Ramadan?”
The man ignored him.
Another man crossed the street wearing western attire. Mike approached him the same way and this man said it was. We both thought “that explains that,” but at the same time we were disappointed and angry and well, hungry. As a member of the armed forces, Mike asked if we were still in the same country that he fights for. It was definitely a shocking experience to be within the city limits of Chicago and to be treated like we were unwelcome guests in a foreign land. I understand xenophobia, especially with the backlash that community’s received since September 11, but I never expected to be on the receiving end of those prejudices. By visiting that enclave I hoped to learn more about the community.
We headed back to his car, and I joked that we should eat at McDonald’s since it’s a recognized symbol of America and we were feeling distinctly ostracized. I glanced inside yet another restaurant with an “Open” sign and a “Closed’ aura to see a young girl eating a Happy Meal.
Upon my return home that afternoon I did a search online to see if there were ANY way we could have known, as non-Muslims, not to visit Devon from September 23 through October 23. I typed in Devon Chicago Ramadan. There were no articles, no warnings, nothing to say don’t go there during this month because you will not be welcome and you will not eat. One of the results was a restaurant listing on Metromix that said it opened at 1pm during Ramadan.
I realize that for members of the India/Pakistan community this lack of knowledge of one of their most important times of year is tantamount to someone being offended that the United States basically shuts down on Christmas. It is a measure of my ignorance that I was that unaware. Their behavior is also a measure of the tensions within ethnic groups, between Christian and Muslim religions, and among our countries. Our innocent desire to experience some of their culture was seen as an indication of how myopic and ethnocentric Americans can be. At the same time, their lack of assimilation could be seen as a contradiction: they’re here for the American dream, but do they want to be Americans? That question has sparked debates, rallies, marches, and wars, and I certainly am not the one to answer it.
What I can do is make sure that next year The Local Tourist posts this significant holiday, and its ramifications to potential visitors to the Devon Avenue neighborhood.
Please comment and let me, and everyone else, know your thoughts.
February 18th, 2008 at 4:57 pm
Uhh, places are open throughout Ramadan on Devon. In fact a lot of places are Hindu-owned so they stay open regardless.
Next time try and read a review and pick a place before you go and call beforehand to make sure they’re open. That’s just generally a good idea, but especially if you’re making a special trip to an area you have no experience in.
Try Sabri Nehari or Usmania. They’re the best. And please don’t blame the Indo-Pakistani community for not assimilating when you could easily have called ahead.
February 18th, 2008 at 5:19 pm
Ahsan,
I’m sure there are places open, but the ones we came across were closed. Unfortunately, I wasn’t aware that it was Ramadan, so there was no way I could have known ahead of time that I should call.
My main complaint was not that places were closed in observance of a religious holiday, but that we were treated rudely.
Thank you for the recommendations and I hope to try them soon.
Theresa