-Grubbing in Chicago (land)
Five of a Kind: Central Asian Restaurants
A few years ago I started to notice quite a few Central Asian restaurants were opening up around Chicagoland. This is usually the first sign of a growing Ethnic community. According to Wikipedia Central Asia is made up of Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan. “The Stans” were once a part of the Soviet Union until they gained independence in 1991. Fast forward to today and there’s a few thriving Central Asian communities across the country. One of the largest is in NYC where there’s said to be more than 30,000 people of Uzbek descent. But the largest Central Asian community in the U.S. resides right here in the Chicagoland area where there’s said to be more than 40,000 people from Kyrgyzstan - that number differs depending on where you look but there’s enough that they felt the need to open a Kyrgyzstan General Consulate in downtown Chicago back in 2022. There’s also a Kyrgyz community center out in Arlington Heights. As is the case with most immigrant groups they came to the U.S. to seek a better life and in many cases to avoid the war between Russia and Ukraine. Many of them got jobs driving for cabs or rideshare services and others found jobs with trucking companies which is one of the big reasons they settled in Chicago - it’s geographic location in the middle of the country means there’s lots of truck routes in the area. Today we’re going to check out five spots that have opened up shop during this current boom in Chicago. Overall the total number of people in this community is pretty small but their economic footprint is expanding thanks to a network of people that really seem to stick together as far as supporting their own goes - these places are constantly packed with groups there to support their fellow people.
Tary Coffee House (River North)
Our first stop is in a bit of an unlikely place. Tary Coffee House in River North is the first U.S. outpost of a famous Central Asian chain based out of Kazakhstan - important to note the four countries that make up Central Asia are all similar in terms of food and culture. Tary is named after a variety of millet grown only in Western Kazakhstan. This Ancient Grain with a toasty taste to it finds its way into a few menu items at Tary. I visited early one Sunday morning which meant breakfast was being served. The early morning menu consists of a few egg based dishes plus a couple of porridge options. Even though I’m not much of a porridge eater I wanted to try the namesake porridge which is clearly one of their most popular dishes. It starts out with a bowl of those distinct grains of millet sitting in the bottom of a warm bowl of whole organic milk dotted with pomegranate seeds and served with sides of raspberry jam and organic ghee. The first sip without the sides was pretty standard as in it didn’t taste like much of anything but that changed when the jam and ghee were added in and it became a bit more flavorful. The texture of the tary was pleasant too but since I didn’t grow up eating oatmeal or porridge it wasn’t quite my style. I liked it then and there but don’t think I’ll seek it out again though don’t let that deter you from trying it or any of the other interesting Central Asian dishes on offer. I’ll likely be back to check out some of the interesting pastries made with tary. Read more about this unique spot over at The Reader where the great Mike Sula got the complete story - Click HERE.
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Arzan Cafe (Albany Park)
There’s lots of intriguing options on the menu at this Central Asian cafe on Kedzie. So many in fact that on my first visit I had to hold off on the kebabs and dumplings (two of my favorite foods) in favor of the Boso Lagman which is a stir fried noodle dish - noodles being another one of my favorite things to eat. At Arzan Cafe they stir fry hand pulled noodles with beef and vegetables to make a dry version of the Uzbeki beef noodle soup known as Lagman which is commonly found in Central Asia and much of Russia. The noodles were nice and wholesome with a delicious tomato based sauce clinging to them while the beef was tender and the vegetables crisp. I also tried a Samsa which is similar to a Russian Pirozhki in that it’s a savory pastry. The Samsa is typically filled with beef and onions and not much different than the Pasty by way of Michigan's Upper Peninsula or Empanadas estilo Argentina. Though Samsa are traditionally baked in a tandoor oven which goes all the way back to its Silk Road roots. I talked to the owner of Arzan and he told me he comes from Kyrgyzstan as does much of the customer base with Chicago having the largest Kyrgyz community in the country. I’ll be back for for some of that manti as well as the shawarma. I was also intrigued with a weekend only special of Uzgen Plov, a rice pilaf cooked with devzira, a special type of rice grown in southern Kyrgyzstan.
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Anor 1985 Restaurant (Lincoln Park)
One of the more interesting things about Chicago's Kyrgyz community is there doesn’t seem to be a single area where they settled. There is a big group of them out in the city’s Northwest suburbs but their restaurants are scattered throughout the Chicagoland area. Our next stop takes us to Anor 1985 which opened across the street from the Webster Place movie theatre in Lincoln Park a few years ago. I came here not too long after they first opened with John Kessler, my colleague and lead food writer at Chicago Magazine. We tried a handful of items incl. two different soups, Samsa, Manty, and a plate of the Plov. Both the Samsa and the Plov were clearly reheated but I liked the Mastava soup made with chopped beef, potatoes, onions, carrots, peppers, tomato paste, broth, and spices. It was basically a Central Asian style beef and veggie soup. The Manty were pretty good. Manti / Manty being a dumpling that originated in Central Asia. Kyrgyz style Manti is typically larger in size and commonly filled with lamb or beef and lots of chopped onions. The address here has been home many restaurants over the years but it seems like they finally found a match that can last.
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Donerka Alma-Ata (Mount Prospect)
Next stop up takes us out to Mount Prospect where Donerka Alma Ata opened their doors back in the summer of 2023. According to their website they’re “the only 100% Halal Central Asian fast food restaurant in Chicagoland.” I added this place to my hit list when I saw they specialize in Central Asian style Doner kebab which was first brought to Anatolia (modern day Türkiye) by the Turks of Central Asia. Doner Kebab is truly the world’s most well traveled and influential dish in that you can variations of it all across the globe. Central Asian Doner is primarily lamb or chicken and toppings can differ depending on which country you’re in. Donerka makes a few different varieties and each of them are named after cities in Central Asia. The Almaty is named after the Capital of Kazakhstan, the Bishkek is named after the Capital of Kyrgyzstan and the Kyiv after the Capital of Ukraine (technically not Central Asia but they share similarities). We tried both the Almaty, as that’s the one the young owners wanted to showcase when they came up with the idea to open, and the Bishkek which seemed to be the most unique of the three. You can choose to do beef or chicken or both based on whichever style you choose. The Almaty comes stuffed with fries while the Bishkek is coated with sesame seeds on the outside. Diners can choose between hot sauce, garlic sauce or both. They just opened a second location in Lincoln Square so I plan on going there and trying the Kyiv variety.
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Sorry Mommy (Rolling Meadows)
I met up with a group of people including the aforementioned Mike Sula out in da burbs last May to further investigate this current wave of Central Asian restaurant openings in the Chicagoland area. I had a good feeling about the oddly named Sorry Mommy in Rolling Meadows - this was based on their menu which has much more than the typical Central Asian dishes of Manti, Lagman, Plov etc. In fact they had just introduced a new “Wok Menu” featuring many intriguing dishes you won’t find at other Central Asian spots. I was given the reigns on what to order and we started with the ‘Da Pan Ji’ aka "Big Plate Chicken" which we all agreed was a winner. This Uyghur dish had a very nice spice profile that seeped into the potatoes, tender bone-in chicken, and the toothsome made in house noodles with just the right texture. The ‘La Zi Ji’ aka Dry Chili Chicken was also a winner with crisp chunks of fried chicken mixed with peanuts, chilis, and fresh dill which worked surprisingly well. I forget the name of the crispy eggplant dish but it too was a hit. They seem to do noodles well judging by an order of the stir fried Lagman noodles which were texturally some of the best I’ve had in Chicagoland. I’ll have to further explore their kebab offerings as a 'Beef Roulette' was texturally unique with that smoky taste and smell that usually comes from the use of charcoal but I forgot to ask about that. Manty passed the dangling test (they were soft and sturdy) but I always feel like they could be a bit more spiced up as far as flavor but even still I thought these were pretty good with some of the spicy sauce rubbed on. This place has definitely changed my look on Central Asian cuisine and that’s likely due to the food we had from here being influenced by China as much as it is Russia.
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