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The genial Mr. Syed, owner of late Bhabi’s Kitchen*, once told food writer Colleen Taylor Sen that most of his non-Indian customers limited their ordering to just the same three dishes—tandoori chicken, butter chicken, and sag paneer. “He suggested I write a little ‘cheat sheet’ for his customers explaining dishes and suggesting combinations so that they could expand their horizons,” says Taylor Sen, author of Curry, a Global History and Food Culture in India.

On Saturday, September 18, Taylor Sen will give a talk, “How to Order in an Indian Restaurant—and Self Publish!” at the Culinary Historians of Chicago’s Chicago Foodways Roundtable from 10 AM to noon at Kendall College, 900 N. Branch. It’s $3 per person, free to Kendall students and faculty with ID. Call 847-432-8255 or e-mail chicago.foodways.roundtable@gm