Khyber Pass

With a Moulin Rouge–like cast of weekend entertainers—from castanet-wielding belly dancers to stoic turban-topped sitar players—this Oak Park Indian restaurant seems like it would skew exotic. Yet it’s the standards like silken spinach dotted with paneer, ginger-and-garlic–infused chicken mukhni and lamb tikka masala that shine. The jalabi dessert, which often suffers a waxy, tasteless fate, is pliant and sports a hint of orange, while gulab jaman, bathed in honey and perfumed with rose water, is an airy antidote to the dry dough bombs you find at other spots.