Veerasway (now closed) Indian flavor in the West Loop

Hastily immersing yourself in a foreign culture can lead to horrifying consequences -- for instance, dive incautiously into Australia, and you'll be eaten by a dingo, or rudely conscripted to play bass in Russell Crowe's 30 Odd Foot of Grunts. Ease your way into Indian cuisine, at Veerasway.

A yellow-bricked spot walled with hand-woven latticework, Veer's menu ranges from American dishes w/ exotic spices to ultra-traditional Subcontinent fare, a "Fresh Indian" approach conceived after the owner's spontaneous ten-day South Asian excursion -- so what happened in Rajasthan, didn't stay in Rajasthan. Kick things off with "Indo-American" dishes like lamb meatballs (w/ apricot, almond & cardamom sauce), coconut scallops, and hot-chili-and-yogurt chicken drumsticks dubbed "Hot Bollywood Lollipops" -- served with a side of heavily choreographed street dancing, but no kissing. Authentic Indian grub includes lemon tandor chicken and braised lamb shank in onion & cashew gravy, plus street-food staples like banana peppers stuffed w/ lentils & Indian cheese, deep fried in chickpea batter (like doctors and migratory birds, deep fryers respect no borders).

To wash down your cultural experience, Veer's slinging Indian-inspired specialty cocktails (e.g. the vodka, green cardamom & vanilla bean "Bollywood Rehab") along with beers from India (Kingfisher, Taj Mahal) and England (Boddingtons, Samuel Smith, Fuller) -- because sometimes people immerse themselves in a country, and sometimes they immerse it.