If it's spicy, chances are I'll like it. Thai, Szechuan, Mexican, Japanese, or Indian: if it leaves my lips a little tingly and my sinuses a little clearer, it's generally okay by me, which is why I was excited to try out the newly-opened King of Tandoor in Logan Square.

Now, I'm no expert in the field of Indian cooking, but I've eaten my share of good Indian food, and my share of bad Indian food. Fortunately, King of Tandoor fits nicely into the former group. We were off to a good start with the papadums, served with spicy green chutney, mango chutney, and tamarind chutney. Each sauce had its own distinct flavor, yet all three could be blended in different combinations depending on the diner's preference. Not usually a fan of the green stuff, this time I couldn't get enough. Had we not run out of papadums, I probably would have eaten it all. Ross felt the same way about the tamarind and mango chutneys.

Then came a bit of a challenge: King of Tandoor isn't an Indian buffet, so how could we choose just one dish apiece? After much contemplating of the menu and the decision that we should get one meat dish and one vegetable and split them both, I chose to go with the vegetarian dish I compare across every Indian restaurant I visit: chana masala. Ross was in charge of selecting the meat component of our meal and went with the lamb shaag. We also decided to split an order of keema naan.

We could not have ordered any better. The chickpeas in the chana masala were perfectly cooked—not too hard, but not mushy, either, with just the right amount of spice. The lamb was so tender that it broke apart and blended with the delicious spinach, rendering one indistinguishable from the other in the candlelight, but only in appearance, not in taste. Milder than the chana masala, the lamb dish worked as both foil and compliment to the vegetable dish, nullifying some of the heat but none of the flavor. And to scoop up all the extra sauce, we had the perfectly flaky, neither too gooey nor too crunchy, meat-filled naan. Having never had meat inside my naan before, I was surprised that the pastry wasn't overpowered by its stuffing, making the meat within seem more like a condiment than the main ingredient. The lovely pinot noir we brought from home (King of Tandoor is a BYO) was an excellent complement for our meal, and when we finished eating and still had a goodly amount of wine to finish, we didn't feel at all hustled out.

In fact, the owner approached our table and enthusiastically asked how we'd come upon his establishment. We explained that we live nearby, exchanged a few more words, and he left. A few moments later, two gulab jamons appeared before us. The deep-fried rounds of homemade cheese rather resembled minute cocktail weenies, but tasted more like donuts. Delicious, cheesy (but not melty) donuts. And although the honey syrup in which they lay was a bit too sweet and and a bit too plentiful, they still managed to be the best I'd ever had. A perfect, and surprising, end to an excellent meal.

Photo of some delicious-looking naan by Flickr user stu_spivak.