Dastorkon- Kyrgyz Food

I had a meeting in the area and saw this place on Yelp. It had one review, which was useful in warning me I wouldn't be able to read the menu. It's true. The menu is a chalkboard and even if you read Cyrillic it's all worn off. So I just asked for dumplings, lamb, soup, and tea.

Despite being pretty bare bones, it was clear this meal was meant to be enjoyed at a leisurely pace. Unfortunately I had to rush to the meeting so I had to take my manti to go.




The lamb here is gamey and more for flavor than to eat on its own, which I find many cultures prefer and I now appreciate, especially if it's well-spiced as it is here. The soup had very fresh delicious vegetables and potatoes.


The manti were very strong and I smelled like cooked onions at my meeting. But they were delicious.

Everything was excellent and seemed hand-made from scratch. The meal was about $14. It was interesting seeing the clientele, which mostly seemed to be taxi drivers. My experience with Central Asian taxi drivers is that I always like to get them because we can talk about food and one thing they always seem concerned about is food quality. I've had several complain to me about the beef and lamb in the US.

It's a big contrast since I work with engineers who make a lot of money, but many bristle at the idea of eating a sandwich that costs more than $5....or that they have to be bothered to eat at all. Except for the one Central Asian engineer I work with, who somehow manages to be an engineering superstar and make incredible food for her family every day. They seem to be a diaspora that really cares about food. I'll have to take her here some time.

Dastorkon
351 W Oak St
(between La Salle Dr & Wells St)
Chicago, IL 60610

Really enjoying these places as they propagate around the city. Central Asians are a very interesting, upwardly mobile group that probably won't be driving cabs for too long (not that there's anything wrong with that). My understanding is that a Russian guy has practically cornered the market in medallions here and in NY and likes to hire the -Stan drivers based on language and culture preferences. I get the impression that many Chicagoans are perplexed by these young engineers who look Mongolian, speak Russian and don't drink.

The restaurants, however, all serve the same stuff. Good stuff, home made stuff, but the same stuff. Kyrgyz, Kazak, Uzbek places are popping up all over serving the same menu. It's a vast area so I wonder if everyone really does eat the same mix of dumplings, soups, pilafs and noodles.

It's also nice to have less known ethnic cuisines in an area that's relatively close to the Near North Side or the Loop. Now we just need an Eritrean or Indonesian restaurant

Steve, I always see the call for Eritrean and wonder if it's a gag, particularly in light of my post questioning the differences, if any, across the vast steppes of Scythia. Of course, even small countries separated by mountains, water or religion can have remarkably different cuisines. But I have never been aware of something uniquely Eritrean that is not also Ethiopian (well represented here) or Yemeni or Somali (both represented in cabbie spots). Now, Djibouti, that's a different matter altogether...

JeffB wrote:Steve, I always see the call for Eritrean and wonder if it's a gag, particularly in light of my post questioning the differences, if any, across the vast steppes of Scythia. Of course, even small countries separated by mountains, water or religion can have remarkably different cuisines. But I have never been aware of something uniquely Eritrean that is not also Ethiopian (well represented here) or Yemeni or Somali (both represented in cabbie spots). Now, Djibouti, that's a different matter altogether...

ROFL (it's Stuart, not Steve BTW - I have to put that on my sig now!)...I actually was thinking of that small niche of Eritrean cab drivers or students when I made that comment. They were driving around Chicago honking horns and waving Eritrean flags when that area became independent. But to your point, at least some people consider Eritrean a subtly different cuisine, with a little more Italian influence and slightly different names for wat and tej in that country's more dominant Tigranya...

Now to how different Eritrean is from Somali, I don't know. I guess it's in the eye of the beholder. Ask an Eritrean how different Chicago North Side and South Side food are and they'll probably give you a perplexed look...

http://www.chicagonow.com/chicagos-worl ... rean-food/

There seemed to be another similar restaurant that seemed vaguely African and wasn't on the map nearby at Orleans and Walton. Next time I'm around there, I'll check it out, but I didn't have time yesterday.

mgmcewen wrote:Dastorkon
351 W Oak St
(between La Salle Dr & Wells St)
Chicago, IL 60610

Dastorkon sounds interesting; thanks for the report. A minor correction: Yelp is wrong to place it between LaSalle & Wells. It’s a very short block west of Orleans (what the heck is the name of that little street immediately west of Orleans?).

mgmcewen wrote:There seemed to be another similar restaurant that seemed vaguely African and wasn't on the map nearby at Orleans and Walton. Next time I'm around there, I'll check it out, but I didn't have time yesterday.

That’s Mogadishu, a Somali place. There’s a threadlet here. It’s one of three Somali places within a few blocks of each other. You can find a little information on Habib, a Paki-Somali spot on Division, but Bismilahi (I think that’s the name; it has no sign) on Walton has zero internet presence as far as I can tell. Bismilahi's food is quite good as this picture may hint.



Edited to restore photo link.

Rene G wrote:...but Bismilahi (I think that’s the name; it has no sign) on Walton has zero internet presence as far as I can tell. Bismilahi's food is quite good as this picture may hint.

I concur. And I believe you are correct. The name is Bismilahi Restaurant at 211 W. Walton St.

If you wanna go to East Africa without a flight, hit this place. Loads of fun. The people working there couldn't be nicer.

Wow, definitely going there next time I have a meeting in the area. Looks delicious.

I want to check that out. I think that area may be a little underrated with its food? I live not too far East of there, but I am beginning to notice the food there. The thing is that when I use an index site like a Metromix, Yelp, etc, I never know which places are open and not. I should just go in general. I will try Dastorkon out soon though. Does anybody have a list of Central Asian food in Chicago? I know of maybe four or five, but I found an article stating that there may be some 24 hour or late night spots in town that people don't even know about that serves this food

Pita Kabab (Lincoln and California) now has Central Asian food (shorpo, borsch, samsy, plov, manty, lagman, ganfan and some others) and is open until 6AM every day. I had lagman and smasa, both very good, last night.