South Indian tacos from a (not quite) Masterchef

Plus: Hollywood Grill at 3 AM [View this email in your browser]( [READER Logo]( [Food & Drink]( | September 27, 2024 In 2015, James Kannookadan showed up at a downtown hotel ballroom with a bunch of Tupperware containers and mason jars and threw together a Kerala fried chicken sandwich with mango pickle mayo in four minutes. It got him past the first round of auditions for MasterChef.  In 2024, he showed up on the patio of a north-side dive bar with a bunch of seared smashburger tacos with lacy queso frico, tadka onion jam, and that same mango pickle mayo.  That got him a spot at the next [Monday Night Foodball]( the Reader’s weekly chef pop-up at Frank and Mary’s Tavern.  Nine years ago, Kannookadan didn’t make it past MasterChef’s top 80 contestants, but it eventually led him through a string of serious restaurant kitchens (Jaleo, Ever, Thattu) to the most serious kitchen of all: [Mary Stark’s](.  On her sacred stove, Kannookadan will debut his nascent southern Indian pop-up, [Chacko’s Tacos]( with those spicy cheeseburger tacos, along with tempura sweet potato tacos with saag paneer and raita ranch; and Keralan-spiced pork belly carnitas with pico de gallo.  Is there more? Hell yes. After crashing the patio with cheeseburger tacos, Kannookadan rattled off an astonishing array of possible apps, sides, desserts, and drinks that would even challenge the formidable digestive powers of even the [most gluttonous]( Foodball regulars.  While he narrows that down to a manageable menu, prepare yourself for a 5 PM start at 2905 N. Elston in Avondale.  Meantime, gape at the full fall Foodball schedule: [What would Fat Jesus do?]( Von Harris’s Fat Plate Fridays can pop up in any situation. by [Mike Sula]( | [Read more]( → [Worlds collide with Chacko’s Tacos at the next Monday Night Foodball]( Check out James Kannookadan’s South Indian–Mexican menu for the Reader’s weekly chef pop-up at Frank and Mary’s Tavern. by [Mike Sula]( | [Read more]( → [Reader Bites]( celebrates dishes, drinks, and atmospheres from the Chicagoland food scene. Have you had a recent food or drink experience that you can’t stop thinking about? Share it with us at [fooddrink@chicagoreader.com](mailto:fooddrink@chicagoreader.com?subject=Reader%20Bites&body=). [Smoked brisket taco at Antique Taco in Bridgeport]( Brisket isn’t usually something I seek out. Elsewhere, this cut can be greasy, sometimes unpleasantly chewy—but at Antique Taco, it melts in my mouth. The locally sourced brisket is seasoned with an in-house dry rub and smoked for 12 hours, creating just the right amount of fatty gloss on the tiny, trimmed pieces. Beyond the spicy, savory meat in this overstuffed pocket from heaven, I find eternal romance as onions, cilantro, and both yellow and orange cheeses mingle in the hearty shell for perfect, uniform bites. — Andrea Javor [What really goes on at the Hollywood Grill at 3 AM?]( August 2019 | The longtime night manager tells all. Well, some. by [Georgia Hampton]( | [Read more]( → [Whiner Beer’s taproom inside the Plant serves beer that’s wild, sour—and not at all scary]( February 2017 | The Back of the Yards brewery is making very approachable beer. by [Julia Thiel]( | [Read more]( → Get the latest issue of the Chicago Reader Thursday, September 26, 2024 [READ ONLINE: VOL. 53, NO. 34]( [VIEW/DOWNLOAD ISSUE (PDF)]( [Facebook icon]( [Instagram icon]( [Twitter icon]( [LinkedIn icon]( [YouTube icon]( [Website icon]( [Logo] You received this email because you signed up for newsletters from the Chicago Reader. Want fewer emails from us? [Click here to choose what you want us to send you](. Or, [unsubscribe from all Reader emails](. We’ll miss you! [Sign up for emails from the Chicago Reader]( | [Forward this e-mail to a friend]( © 2024 Chicago Reader. All rights reserved. Chicago Reader, 2930 S. Michigan Ave., Suite 102, Chicago, IL 60616