In Omnivorous, two new cookbooks from local authors, Roger Ebert’s The Pot and How to Use It and Anupy Singla’s The Indian Slow Cooker, inspired the intrepid Mike Sula to put Ebert’s beloved rice cooker to the test of Singla’s Indian and Pakistani recipes. The pot rose to the challenge of dal, spicy butternut squash, rice pudding, and even beef nihari, but alas, not even four days of cooking could make the chickpeas edible.

In the listings are a dozen restaurants on Devon, among them Arya Bhavan, which now offers a raw-food buffet every Monday evening; cash-only Ghareeb Nawaz, which is now open 24 hours a day; Khan B.B.Q., Sula’s 2008 Best of Chicago pick for Best Restaurant and home of knock-your-socks-off chicken boti; and Chopal Kabab and Steak, where lunch specials include chicken biryani or dal, rice, and a pappadum for $3.99 and beef nihari, chile chicken, or shish kebab with rice for $4.99.