One of my favorite Indian spots in Philly and always a must have when I'm in town. The samosas are always flavorful and tasty. My favorite item though is the chicken chaat- one of the best chaats I've had! The mix of chicken, pomegranates, yogurt & spices is literally one of the best combinations! The service of the staff is always so nice and they're always quick and very sweet. The space is smaller but great for a quick snack or pick up! read more

Desi Chaat House - Indian Near Me - Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

Ordered delivery via DoorDash. The food was packaged really nicely and delivered really quickly. There is a spicy element missing from the dishes. if the standard doesn't include heat, there should be an option for customers to ask for heat. I also felt the pani puri portions could have been more. Otherwise, the Crazy Chaat was fun to eat! It had a lot of chana chur on top! read more

Desi Chaat House - Indian Near Me - Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

Amazing food! The papdi chat and samosa chat were really good. The portion sizes are HUGE! Really friendly staff. The place is nice and welcoming, and I can't wait to go back over the weekend to try their specials. I've also heard great things about their biryani but haven't had the chance to try it yet. Highly recommend. read more

Wowowow! My bf and I came here on our own because we were craving Pani puri to realize it was Dollar Stroll. As a result, we ordered the Pani puri and chicken chaat we'd wanted, but also got a few extras like samosas and another dish whose name I'll never remember that was excellent. We also got mango lassi. Overall the meal and service was excellent. I can't wait to go back and try more and I'm so glad we ended up getting more stuff than we'd planned in the first place because of Dollar Stroll! read more

Delicious fresh watermelon juice, no sugar, just pure fruit flavour. And I had the pani puri, so yummy, reminded me of home. Highly recommend! read more

Samosas by themselves are okay, but I ordered a samosa chaat and it was severely lacking in terms of flavor. $10 (plus tax) for 1, maybe 2 samosas, cold chickpeas, cubed potatoes, crisps, sauce, and yogurt seemed rather underwhelming. As someone with a decent appetite, I had it all in one sitting and felt satisfied, sure. But the tamarind/chili chutney did not have enough flavor of its own to carry the dish; the only other source of flavor in the dish was the samosa(s) which was rather bland. This food might fly in Ohio, but not Philly. If you're looking for a hearty, bold-flavored chaat, I recommend Mood Cafe instead. PS Online ordering does not work, and the pricing is no longer accurate on the website. Call ahead, Grubhub, or order in person. read more

Desi Chaat House - Menu as of 6/17/2024 - Indian Near Me - Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

Quick take out window with some seating. Lots of drink options and food items. Food is pretty tasty as well.

Great food with an authentic taste. Mango lassis are especially delicious. Open late, too.

I miss spicy, authentic Indian food and this spot did not disappoint. I grabbed some samosas and a samosa chaat- and YUM YUM! My sons loved the samosas, and I grabbed enough to take home for later. At 1.75 a piece, I don't think you could beat the price and portion size. It was a sunny day after school so we sat outside, and our order was ready for pick up as soon as I walked in. I ordered online via grub hub. This spot has a lot of my favorites- gulab jamun, chaats, pani puri! I will definitely be back soon so I can get my Indian food fix. You can also get dishes made to suit a vegetarian diet. the decor inside is very sunny- yellow walls, digital pictures for the menu- and the owner came outside to check on us! Five star service! read more

Desi Chaat House - Samosas! - Indian Near Me - Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

It is now time to give Desi Chaat House the props it deserves. For well over a decade, I have been frequenting this unassuming restaurant with not many expectations because when I first heard of it, I didn't know what to expect and I found the restaurant to be unique and nothing quite like it. Let me tell you, this place is a pioneer in chaat. Time and time again, I come to this place and the food is consistently good. It is Indian street food, pure and simple, and you should not expect some lavish place with pretense. Oh, no, this is a place with down to earth people and food that is very comforting on a cold, rainy day or even an uneventful weekend. It just hits you in the right way. I've tried the standards, like Papri and Dahi Bhalla, as well as the "everything" chaat (the Crazy Chaat), which has six different chaats all on the same plate. The biryani is good and the mango lassis are really good. Yes, this is fast food, but it's fast food done right. You know it's good when you drive by this place and crave its wonderful flavors. I give five stars to this place without hesitation. You are in my heart forever. read more

SCRUMPTIOUS. Will definitely be returning. I called ahead for their lunch special (non veg which was chicken Tika and another chicken dish I'm blanking on with rice and....I want to say a flour tortilla but I guess it was labeled as Naan bread....) and The samosa chaat. From the first bite, my tastebuds fell in love. The flavors were electrical. Value out of this world. Would recommend 10/10. My wallet remained in tact and that's always a big plus in my book; I consider this spot a STEAL. Between you and me, I do wish I got more meats in the lunch special but that being said, I'll come back and pay proper full price for a big portion. Or just come back for the chaats. read more

Desi Chaat House - Non vegetarian lunch special; not pictured dessert and "naan" bread - Indian Near Me - Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

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We ordered the samosa chaat and Aloo Tiki chaat. I personally like the samosa chaat more since I am a big fan of samosa. Aloo Tiki chaat is slightly spicy. The chaat is cold overall, with a hot samosa or Aloo Toki on top, which is a bit different than I expected. But doesn't affect the taste much. I like the crunchiness of the crackers on the bottom soaked in the sauce/yogurt. This is my first time trying Chaat and absolutely love it! What makes this place even better is their Customer Service! The owner is super duper friendly and very patient when explaining the menu items to us!!! I will def come back again! read more

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I visited Desi Chaat House two years ago and then once again this past week and both times, I met the same lady who appeared to be running the restaurant herself. She was the highlight of both of my visits as she was extremely sweet and dedicated to the chaat-making craft. I ordered the Delhi Chaat, which was a spin-off of the Papri Chaat. All the chaats can either be mild, medium, or spicy and I chose medium, but it will still a little easy for my taste. The flavors were sweet and tangy as promised, but my friends who chose hot thought their dishes need more space. The quantity of the food made it enough for a meal, despite chaat traditionally being considered as a snack item. My friends ordered the mango lassi and falooda drink. The mango lassi was delicious, but not authentic and the falooda was a nice change of pace from the basic Indian desserts typically sold at restaurants. Overall, Desi Chaat House was a nice break from the trite Indian food scene in University City. read more

Desi Chaat House - Delhi Chaat - Indian Near Me - Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

I was very excited to try this place but the food was underwhelming. I got a chicken wrap. Since this place is called desi chaat house I expected Indian/desi flavours in the wrap but instead I got some dry chicken meat with lettuce, banana peppers, drenched in Buffalo sauce. I was planning on eating in the restaurant but the person who made my order only gave me the wrap, no plates or even a to-go container to eat it in. I had to ask for a box later so I wouldn't make a mess on the table (since the wrap was 40% just liquid dressing that kept falling out after every bite). The taste of the food itself was alright. But definitely not desi flavours since it was straight up Buffalo sauce. Also, this may be nit picky but the aluminium foil and parchment paper used to hold my food were folded INTO the wrap. So before every bite I had to essentially open up my wrap to peel out the foil and paper. Just was inconvenient and made eating the wrap even messier than it was. I will definitely come back to try their more "chaat" like menu items but was not impressed with the chicken wrap. read more

Guys... I used to love your Vada Pav, but I went in today... All I can say is, it was all Pav, no Vada. What the heck are you doing? Chick peas are cheap, potatoes are cheap, make the patty big like from a truckstop on the Mumbai-Pune expressway... Also, Martin's potato rolls, seriously? This is super sad... Only making this 3 stars because my wife's chaat was decent. read more

Desi Chaat House - All Pav, no Vada... Martin potato roll? Wrong! - Indian Near Me - Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

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A decent chaat house. With average plus chaats. Not that we're bad, but I've tasted many better chaats in the US. Must go and visit if you are in the neighborhood. read more

Two stars because the food didnt taste utterly disgusting. I think if you know what you're getting yourself into you might like the food but I didn't like it at all. Just know this is cold food and I mean ice cold which is off putting. I didn't expect that. I ordered a vegan dish but it smells like boiled eggs. Note I don't see eggs in it but the smell is just strong. It's not completely inedible but it's just different. If this is your thing you might like it but if you're trying something new brace yourself and do your research first. I was going to save this and try to eat it over rice for lunch as a hot dish but tbh it is going in the trash instead because I dont trust it. The employees are very nice. I'm so serious I had to go around the corner and get a veggie burger instead. I wasn't prepared. Of course I wont be eating at this place again. read more

Desi Chaat House - Indian Near Me - Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

It was testy,but only the think I don't like is that the masala was little overpowering the chat other then that it was ok. read more

Desi Chaat House - Indian Near Me - Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

Delicious and refreshing chaat! I wasn't familiar with the menu and got very helpful recommendations based on what I mentioned I was looking for. I communicated my excitement about about having mango in my chaat and the woman preparing the chaat was kind enough to give me a little extra mango. Definitely would go back on my next visit to Philly! read more

Desi Chaat House - Chicken chaat and mango lassi - tangy, spicy, savory and refreshing! - Indian Near Me - Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

I'm a student who attends the university nearby and this is extremely close by and as an Indian/Bengali I love Desi food. Today I finally got the chance to try it and sadly I was disappointed. And I got 3 reasons. The first reason: My girlfriend and I got the Chicken Tikka Masala special and veggie samosas. But, when we ate the samosas it was definitely from a frozen package, because they were kind of cold and watery. The second reason: The chicken tikka was not even chicken tikka it was butter chicken and the price compared to the portion was horrible. I paid 13.99 for a measly 7 small chicken breasts in a buttered sauce. Granted the buttered sauce was good only because it was sweet and I kept wanting to eat it. Also the rice portion was small like it's rice it is not expensive to make or even cook. The third reason: I asked for a mango lassi and it was $5.50! That is ridiculous! They weren't even freshly made! Because of these reasons I would not be a returning customer however I should try their chaat but the prices were intimidating. read more

Tasty and quick! Perfect for a lunch in Clark park. Happy to be able to find chaat in the city! Everything was delicious. read more

Desi Chaat House - Samosa Chaat, Pani Puri, Chicken Chaat, - Indian Near Me - Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

Always a tasty bite, served quickly. The food is often ready prior to the time quoted.

Desi Chaat House caught my attention because it serves some Indian food items I hadn't tried before, specifically chaat. When I stepped inside, I was greeted by friendly people that seemed happy to see me. I asked for a recommendation and stated that I like spicy food. The Delhi Chaat was recommended and I went with it. I also added a Vada Pav to my order since I know I like them and would love to have a spot where I can get them as a snack whenever I want. I didn't pay a lot of attention to the preparation of the food but I did see them microwave the vada pav. The Delhi Chaat was good but not as flavorful as I'm accustomed to with good Indian food. I liked the crunchy toppings a lot, it makes the dish seem like a snack. It wasn't very spicy and the girl at the counter did check to see if it was spicy enough which I appreciated. When I said that it wasn't she offered to make it spicier. I handed it back to her and she added more sauce which to me actually tasted kind of like a standard American vinegar based hot sauce such as Frank's Red Hot. It still wasn't spicy in my opinion, but I do have a high tolerance to chilis. The Vada Pav was actually spicier than the chaat. I liked it even though I have had better ones. I like the whole concept of a fried potato patty eaten as a slider, basically a comfort food snack. The food was served fast, no long wait. Probably because it's already pre-made but I still liked it. I will certainly come back to grab more chaat and vada pav. It's a good quick filling snack that doesn't amaze but still satisfies. read more

Desi Chaat House - Delhi Chaat - Indian Near Me - Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

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The lady that prepared my food used the same vinyl gloves to handle my cash and coins. The credit card service was down. I reluctantly proceeded to eat my food. As I recall the the chicken chaat comes with small chunks of mango, apples, potatoes, and chickpeas. Today only with potatoes and chickpeas. I also got 2 samosas which was a mistake. It was really dry and appears to have been under the heat lamp for over 24 hours. No sauces or chickpeas were offered with the samosas, which I had to ask for. I used to come here often when I lived around the corner. I remember a friendly gentleman working behind the counter. He was always eager to serve whenever I visited. Fast forward to today, the lady working here today doesn't seem to want to work. I couldn't understand what she said as she mumbled her responses. I am disappointed after coming here today. The quality control is not the same when I visited 10 years ago. I'm kind of pissed that I wasted 12 bucks. read more

This is one of the times I am really disappointed in the rating of the restaurant. Some of the food sold here is really stale. One of the items today, vada pav was so stale that you could smell it having gone bad. It was still served. The chaats are nothing special either. To me, avoid at all costs read more

Desi Chaat House - Punjabi Chaat - Indian Near Me - Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

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i ask for 2 orders of chicken and got 1. and charged for 2. the sauce was runny and chicken wasn't tender. read more

Desi Chaat House - a close up of a pot of food - Indian Near Me - Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

What an interesting experience. We had no idea what chaat was or what to expect from the various items on the menu so we randomly ordered chicken chaat, Delhi chaat, and panpuri Chaat. All were $6-7 and fairly good portions. Each dish had a layer of crispy tortilla-ish bites, the meat or potato (maybe?) layer which was coated in a yogurt sauce and then topped with more sauces or lot of different crunchy items. Honestly we weren't quite sure what we were eating but it was very fun and tasty. We learned later than Chaat is meant to be a snack but sharing 3 items between 2 people was a good meal. The food was prepared quickly and looked very fresh. I would definitely go back for the experience but maybe ask a few more questions and bring someone who knows what to order. read more

Desi Chaat House - Chicken chaat on bottom, Delhi and Punjabi Chaat - Indian Near Me - Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

I use to like it here but some of the food is definitely stale. The flavors are there but I'm scared to eat the rest of my lunch. The shop also needs to be cleaned up a bit. read more

Never stepped foot in this store because I ordered from Uber Eats! I have driven by it and it looks like a hole in the wall but whatever I love those! This is my first experience ordering from a restaurant that exclusively sells chaat. I've tried samosa chaat at an Indian restaurant before but didn't know what chaat meant and never knew it could be made in so many different ways. I made a big Uber eats order (to be eaten over a course of few meals) because I was curious. Turns out the experience was super fun and interesting! Basically the chaat come in all variations of chickpeas, crispy prices (fried dough strips or noodles of some sort), tamarind, fruits, onions, turnips?, this green stuff (I think mint?), and yogurt, seeds, all layered on top of each other and mixed together like some crazy weird dip. Some of them have meat and some of them don't. They all seem to be served room temperature minus the meat topping. I tried the pani puri, samosas, samosa chaat, and chicken biryani. I also got some lamb chaat but they gave me bhel puri instead (I think) which was vegetarian. Uber refunded my money for the wrong order so I was happy. I also got medium heat which wasn't spicy at all. The samosa chaat was savory but the bhel puri was sweet and tart. The pani puri were these little hollow balls you had to crack and fill with the chickpea mix and the tamarind/date water. It felt like I was eating dainty little escargots--but not as gross and also vegetarian. Everything tasted great except the chicken biryani which was really boring. It was like a halal guy's wannabe but no white sauce included!! Get halal chicken and rice instead or chicken biryani from your favorite Indian restaurant, just not this one. For dessert, I got this pink milk drink with the rice noodles, faluda, which reminded me of Vietnamese che, and the carrot halwa, which I had tried once at an Indian wedding. I loved the faluda but the halwa was a bit drier than I remembered. Overall, I'm super impressed with how authentic and unique this little hole in the wall restaurant is. It's Indian food but not your typical stuff like the chicken tikka, naan, curries, whatever that you would find at other places. I loved this glimpse into a subset of Indian street food. Coming from a person that knows the ins and outs of Chinese food, it is amazing to discover the variations of Indian food exist as well! Oh and LPT, I found the chaat tasted better after leaving in the fridge for a day (like all Asian takeout and leftovers) so it's perfectly fine to take some home. read more

Desi Chaat House is quite innocuous as you pass by it. It's located in a residential part of University City and sticks out quite a lot amongst the homes that surround it. This humble store however packs quite a punch in flavor! I ordered the Samosa Chaat, which was recommended to me by the owner. I'd never had chaat before, so I was really excited to try something new. What was presented to me was totally unexpected. Essentially, there were chips(?), potatoes, chickpeas, and a whole samosa drenched in this tamarind-like sweet sauce and a milky white sauce. Usually, I'm not a fan of drenching things in a lot of sauce (like the white sauce when I'm getting chicken over rice at a Halal cart), but MAN, it really worked well in this dish. This is a hot and cold dish, pairing the slightly cold sauces with the warm samosa. What resulted was a delicious and complex flurry of flavors, textures, and temperatures! Every ingredient complemented each other quite nicely. I particularly appreciated the addition of potatoes and chickpeas, as they helped to settle the almost overwhelming sauce. This is also a very filling dish because of all the carbs in it. I was ready to take a fat nap afterwards. This was a great experience, but the reason I didn't give a full 5 stars is because of the samosa. The potato-pea filling was a little too medicinal for my palate, and I do wish it was hotter. I still don't really know what chaat is (haha), but I really look forward to tasting other intriguing menu items the next time I pop by! I highly recommend it! read more

So, here's what I know... 1) I've driven past this place a gazillion times. 2) This is my 1st time having chaat. 3) I will keep driving past this place in the future. 4) I may never eat chaat again on my life. Why? Because of Desi Chaat House. Like, yo! This is the most confusing food item I've eaten since baby food. I'm pretty adventurous, but herein lies the problem...I don't even know what it was supposed to be. It surely didn't look like the picture on the menu. It was layers of crunchy, with cold potato chunks, chick peas, onions, craisins?, 3 dices of mango (literally) with a ladle of yogurt, tamarind?, and something bright green. Serious. I posted a pic. Whatever. It was an unbalanced, cold, unloved "hot" mess. Even from watching the way the guy assembled it...I should've known. Maybe I picked the wrong menu item. But the cashier was also hocking up spit in the back while I ate...I couldn't get over the noise. Pretty nightmarish sound. Bye, Desi. I was hoping you'd be a winning find. read more

Desi Chaat House - Papri Chat - Indian Near Me - Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

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Overall a 4.5, but curving to five because of the incredible service and extensive chaats that I can't wait to eventually sink my teeth into! With plenty of fruit and veggie chaats to choose from, veggie and chicken samosas, way too many wraps to chow down on, and Indian desserts to choose from; Desi Chaat house definitely gives you plenty of good reasons to go from "Mild to Wild!". Upon first entering I was sold on just walking out with one of their lamb wraps, mango lassi, and a container of gulab jaman. But the person helping me behind the counter (I think owner) was amazing enough to walk me through the many varieties of chaat, and its plentiful varieties of ingredients. He was even friendly enough to scoop me up a complimentary small portion of fruit chaat for the road. extensive and helpful service like that just has to win you over. My take out experience wasn't without it's foibles since the lid of my container of lassi managed to become loose and leave me with a fruity surprise. but it could be just as easily on the part of my error in carrying, and what I was able to salvage turned out to be super sweet. the gulab jaman wasn't as good as what I've had at New Delhi, but it managed to hit the spot all the same. While the particular chaat offered enough to pique my curiosity, it didn't fully deliver, and I found it to be way too sweet. But it made for a good preview that was enough to leave me interested in trying more.. The main event was the lamb wrap and it was amazing. it had enough spices and sauces to rival the best of them at places like Saad's, and clocked at close to $1 less. So overall Desi Chaat House left me with plenty to enjoy, and I'm hooked on finding out more! read more

With an exterior this bright Desi Chaat beckons to be yelped about, so here it is: Well I made a new friend tonight. Hassan, the owner told me all about the uniquely Indian street snack called chaat. He was more than willing to satisfy my every curiosity when it came to my newly discovered dish and even let me taste some of the ingredients he was using. Served as meal in this country instead of just a snack, chaat is the salty/sweet/spicy/chrunchy Desi Chaat specializes in. As mainly a takeout place, Desi Chaat is very clean and has only a few seats at a counter. The menu is very large and everything seems very fresh. At $6.75 I'm happy to report that the chicken samosa filled me right up to the top. Pictures above!! read more

Desi Chaat House - Facade - Indian Near Me - Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

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When I lived in philly, I came to this place an absurd amount of times. Not because it's the best tasting chaat or anything, but it's quick, convenient, and cheap. For around 6 bucks, you can get food in less than five minutes and it's reasonably filling. For those of you who are looking for something a little more exotic, try the pani puri chaat - there are these little crisp puffs that you poke a hole into, and fill with a chaat mixture and some tamarind water. One of the best things about chaat is that you get a different set of flavors and textures in every bite, which is a pretty enjoyable experience. read more

Desi Chaat House - Bhel puri chaat and paapri chaat - Indian Near Me - Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

If I had to describe Desi Chaat House in one word, it would be "amazingly satisfying." "That's two words," you say...I know, I know, but its unfair to contain Desi Chaat House to just one word or even two. The selection of chaat should please anyone, the variety of lassis and desserts offered always hit the spot, and the ice cream flavors are mind blowing. When have you ever had paan ice cream? How about rose and basil seed? Let us not forget the almighty Punjabi samosas they serve. Giant, stuffed triangular pyramids of complete satisfaction. Ask for more Tamarind sauce, and they happily oblige. Also, the chicken biryani, though spicy, is also amazingly good. Desi Chaat House- you are wonderful, and you will always be a favorite. read more

Desi Chaat House - Paan ice cream. So very different. - Indian Near Me - Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

Came here tens minutes before closing .... we got pani puri , papri chaat and mango lassi . Mango lassi was the highlight . Everything else was pretty average. Absolute no yogurt in the chaat . Unlikely to visit this place. read more

I did not like this place. First of all, everything is served in those really fancy reheatable plastic to-go containers. This probably makes everything really expensive... i found the bill very overpriced for chaat. The chaat itself was not great.. it had wayyy too much red chutney and was hard to stomach. The pani puri filling was gross and not really a traditional pani puri filling. I ordered it spicy, but didn't find it spicy at all. The only thing I could really drink was the mango lassi. read more

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Samosa chaat was pretty okay. This is my first chaat, and i probably wont order a chaat again. The food was really heavy, and there were cold sauces meshed together with warm chickpeas and samosa. The blend of warm/cold food was just not great. I want a fully warm meal or a fully cold meal but not two different-temperature foods. But also, the food was nothing impressive. I don't think I'm a chaat person. read more

The first time I came here, I had never heard of chaat. My buddy asked the owner what it was and we got a quick rundown. I still wasn't sure what it was, but he said everyone liked it and recommended the samosa chaat for my first time. The taste was certainly different from anything I've ever had, even other Indian food, but it was very, very good. This place has joined Wawa on my list of default places to eat. You can't go wrong here. Also, if you like Indian desserts, they have them all here -- gulab jamun, kheer, lassi, etc. If you're driving here, there's plenty of free street parking everywhere. There's a counter along the window if you want to sit and eat. It's more of a takeout place though. read more

Desi Chaat House - Samosa Chaat - Indian Near Me - Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

Nothing compares to Desi Chaat House. After eating so many not so great chaats along the way, I now know that the chaat served at Desi Chaat House exceeds all standards in portion size, quality, and taste. There are so many great options to choose from in addition to deciding whether or not to go MILD or WILD! It seems that at any other restaurant, chaat is served as a appetizer or after thought. I love how the chaat here is the star! The portion that is given is filling enough to be a meal, which I happen to like when I want to feel full but not necessarily weighed down. Whatever system they use for preparing the chaat is super efficient. No matter how busy they are service is very speedy. The employees are also very kind to match. Now that I no longer live in the Philadelphia area, I'm sad that Desi Chaat house is no longer in my weekly rotation. But whenever I visit, I'll be sure to stop by. Dear Desi Chaat House, please stay in business for the rest of my life. Signed, a loyal customer. read more