I love a play on words.

I also love amazing Indian food.

Put the two together and you have one of my new favorite local Chicago spots called Naansense (get it…naan (the Indian flatbread), nonsense…ha ha).

Naansense Chicago

Let’s be real for a second here. Being Indian, I’m naturally going to be a pretty tough critic when it comes to Indian food.  And while we are talking about tough critics, we won’t even mention Indian parents. They are a whole separate breed of highly judgmental, picky, Indian food eaters. So, when I was invited to come check out Naansense, I did the only sensible thing….I brought my parents along (well, that and they happened to be visiting me)! If Naansense was going to get a stamp of approval, this stamp was going to be LEGIT and well-deserved having passed the “Indian parent test”!

I’m happy to report that my parents and I absolutely loved the food at Naansense and even more so, the welcoming and helpful management and staff. It made for a truly exceptional experience. Both Chef Hiran and Chef Sahil took time out of their busy schedules and sat down and talked to us for quite some time. It was like hanging out with family. How’s that for hospitality?

Naansense Chipotle Style Counter

Ok, now on to the good stuff…the food! The concept of Naansense is Indian fast-food, assembled Chipotle style. No worries if you have no clue what to order or what some ingredients are; not only is the staff unbelievably helpful in explaining the items, there are also several “chef recommendations” that you can easily choose from to put you on the right path. Oh, and every item (including the sauces and even paneer, are made in-house) which help put this food on the level of awesome.

From all the vegetarian items we tried (3 rice bowls all with different ingredients, sweet potato samosas, masala fries and naan) we all had our own favorites but there was one item we loved unanimously; the masala fries. These fries were unbelievably tasty and if you get them, ask for their special curry dipping sauce because that combo was amazing!

Naansense Full Meal

Separately, we had our favorite items (my camera-shy parents refused to be included in any of the pictures, so sorry, I’ll try and get them next time!):

Naansense Paneer Makhani Bowl

Mom: Her favorite was the paneer makhani bowl, which had white rice, homemade paneer, makhani sauce (creamy tomato based sauce with flavorful spices), pickled onions, tomato, cucumber and fresh cilantro all topped with cilantro chutney and curry sauce. There were two things Mom especially loved about this dish; that the paneer was so light and fluffy and you could tell was homemade, as well as the salad. The salad really added an element of freshness to the dish and was a nice balance to the usual heaviness associated with paneer and makhani sauce. Two thumbs up from the person I would call the pickiest of the picky (love you Mom)!

Naansense Lentil Croquette Bowl

Dad: He loved the lentil croquettes (think falafel-ish) with madras sauce (tomatoes, peppers, coconut and curry leaves) bowl. This dish resembled something similar to a kofta type dish, but was definitely unique. Just like my Mom, he really loved the lightness the salad brought to the bowl with the pickled onions, cabbage slaw, tomatoes, cucumbers, cilantro and garlic yogurt sauce. I think he polished off most of this bowl by himself (sorry to out you Dad).

Naansense Sweet Potato Samosa

Me: I was in agreement with my mom that the paneer makhani bowl was the best dish we tried. But, I also loved the sweet potato and paneer samosa served with a side of apple-tamarind chutney. It was a nice change from the standard potato samosa and had some wonderful spices, including cinnamon and clove, that made the flavor profile really stand out. Chef Sahil mentioned that Naansense will be changing up the vegetarian samosa on a frequent basis and that it is definitely worth coming back to check out (the next version was going to be a spinach, potato and paneer samosa. Um, my mouth just watered typing that out).

Ok, if you are in the Loop for lunch, go check this place out. If you aren’t, fear not. Chef Hiran mentioned they will be starting a Naansense Food Truck beginning in April 2014 both in the city AND the suburbs. You now have no excuse to miss checking out this awesome place. I mean, seriously, the fact that it passed the “Indian parent test” is not nonsense if you ask me.