Thattu

"Thattu, run by Vinod Kalathil and Margaret Pak, serves beef fry using short rib and is inspired by Pak’s Korean heritage. The restaurant offers plenty of vegetarian options and reflects the beef-friendly culture of Kerala." - Ashok Selvam

"Gone are the days when pork was marketed as the other white meat. These days happy pigs get the steak treatment on menus—quality cuts, dry-aged and charred to more pragmatic temperatures so when you tear inside, the juices run ever so pink, making the need for a sauce optional instead of necessary. Chef Margaret Pak and her team at this South Indian pop-up turned restaurant have incorporated the flavors of her husband’s Keralan roots to showcase a herculean bone-in pork chop that has been deftly marinated in a tomato and curry leaf paste before receiving a deep smoky char. It arrives vibrant and fragrant, artfully draped over a deep-fried yucca cake and coconut-braised greens. It’s finished with a fiery, vinegary peralan sauce that tames the chop’s richness without overpowering the quality pork. For those gathered around the table, it all elicits an eye-popping pause, followed by jittery politeness that’s a primal reaction when something this good is part of a menu where everything is being shared." - ByThe Bon Appétit Staff & Contributors

"Thattu is a restaurant that bridges relationships. It’s the story of its owners, Margaret Pak (a Korean American) and Vinod Kalathil (who’s from Kerala, India). Pak is charged with translating recipes from Kalathil’s mother, and the result is a humble, yet bold, South Indian restaurant, the likes the city has been waiting a long time to enjoy. The restaurant debuted with lunch and spicy chicken sandwiches and recently unveiled dinner service with a decadent pork chop inside a newly built-out space in Avondale." - Ashok Selvam

"Margaret Pak and Vinod Kalathil’s goal has always been to share the flavors of Kerala with Chicago diners, first at their food hall stand and now at Thattu’s permanent home in Avondale. The colorful, warm dining room is laid-back (you order via QR code and collect your own cutlery and napkins), full of families and locals eating the foods of India’s southwestern coastal state of Kerala. At lunchtime, try the must-order chaat masala-dusted tater tots and Keralan fried chicken bites; at dinner, the move is to order bone-in pork chops with tangy peralan gravy, fish steamed in banana leaf, and grilled appam to sop up the lingering sauces. Between the homestyle dishes and the relaxed atmosphere, it feels as if you are eating in Pak and Kalathil’s own dining room at home." - ByKate Kassin

"Thattu evokes a sense of nostalgia for South India, even if you’ve never visited. This casual restaurant in Avondale serves comfort food from Kerala, and a few bites of chicken ishtu will have you reminiscing about a childhood spent on the Malabar Coast that may or may not have happened. Most of the dishes are gluten-free, like the meen pollichathu and the kedala curry, which also happen to be some of the best things here. Finish with frothy-and-sweet kaapi served in steel cups found in Indian homes, and there's no better low-key meal to linger over." - adrian kane, veda kilaru, john ringor