Thattu - Chicago
There are many restaurants in Chicago ser
ving regional Indian cuisine; Thattu is perhaps the first to focus on the food of Kerala in southern India. Margaret Pak and Vinod Kalathil, a Kerala native, are bringing to Chicago some flavors of the subcontinent that go way beyond the traditional Indian buffet.
When Thattu opened, Eater Chicago noted, "Thattu is attempting to shatter barriers regarding Indian food in Chicago. Not all of it is cheap or loaded with cilantro and onions. The Indian diaspora is grand and complicated with a country that speaks 22 languages. Malayalan is only one of those and it’s proudly displayed with the restaurant’s name written on a circular restaurant outside. The pair [Margaret Pak and Vinod Kalathil] have greater ambitions for the space including setting up a retail area for spices."
Though clearly influenced by the traditional foods of Kerala, Thattu is not afraid to bend and break boundaries. Chef Pak, who is Korean, aims to create a cuisine that is unique. Case in point: tater tots topped with chaat masala and spicy beet ketchup, what Pak calls ChaaterTots.
Other novel creations include kappa bonda (fried yucca balls, onion tamarind chutney ); kallumakaya (pan seared mussels, carrot and radish salad); and Pork Chop Peralan
Bone-In Pork Chop (tangy Peralan gravy, coconut braised collard greens, yucca cake) -- it's unlikely you would find such innovative dishes on any other Indian restaurants in Chicago. Pork, for instance, is virtually unheard of in Indian restaurants, which frequently serve a clientele for whom pork is not a common food and which may very well be forbidden by several different dietary laws.
Thattu has another feature that sets the place apart from other Indian restaurants: an extensive cocktail listing, with some unusual concoctions. Consider, for instance, the Pazhanjan banana old fashioned (Bulleit bourbon, crème be banana, mango, Angostura bitters, torched plantain, and banana leaf) and Sarbath
(Rangpur Lime Tanqueray Gin, Fino Sherry, lime, and nannari, an Indian sarsaparilla).
Thattu will expand your culinary horizons, deliciously.