Few people enjoy staying busy as much as Sujan Sarkar. Last year he opened Indienne, a ridiculously ambitious Indian tasting menu restaurant so impressive I gave it three stars. A few weeks ago, it became the first Michelin-starred Indian restaurant in Chicago.
But that was obviously not enough, as Sarkar teamed up with chef Sahil Sethi to open Sifr in River North this summer. Named for the Arabic word for zero, Sifr advertises itself as “modern Middle Eastern,” though plenty of North African influences pop up, too. Much more approachable than the stately and subdued Indienne, Sifr trades the tasting menu format for lots of shareable plates and a boisterous atmosphere.
Sarkar and Sethi were both born in India and both worked in the United Arab Emirates. Sethi spent two years in Abu Dhabi, where he worked with chefs from all over the region. “I spent two years working in the city and got to learn from all these great chefs from places like Jordan and Morocco,” Sethi said. “Plus, I got to travel to Istanbul and all around the area.”
Few of Sifr’s dishes will surprise anyone who has been to a Middle Eastern restaurant in the past 10 years. But the flawless execution might.
Start with the astonishingly smooth hummus. To reach the desired consistency, chickpeas are soaked overnight, pressure cooked until “almost overcooked” and then processed in a Robot Coupe, a machine specifically designed to create luxuriously smooth hummus. “That’s what I used in Abu Dhabi, and it really helps,” Sethi said. The dish also gets a drizzle of zhoug (also spelled zhug), an herb and chile sauce, and a sprinkling of za’atar, a complex dried herb and spice blend.
Equally as good is the muhammara, a bright red dip made by charring red peppers over a grill, and then mixing them with walnuts, pomegranate and Aleppo pepper.
Sifr nails the falafel, too. Instead of perfectly spherical, the chickpea mixture is formed into ovals with the help of two spoons. If you’re used to dense and greasy versions, these will come as a revelation, thanks to their dark brown exterior and bright green, herb-loaded interior.
You’ll inevitably want some pita on the side, and Sifr’s version comes from the oven still steaming and inflated like a balloon. Each one is remarkably light, so don’t feel bad if you manage to devour one in seconds, which explains why the restaurant makes so many of them.
“On average, we make 180 to 200 pita each night during the week and 300 to 350 a night on the weekends,” Sethi said. “All are made to order in a pizza oven we inherited with the space.”
While that pizza oven certainly gets a workout, the real heart of the kitchen is the wood-fired grill. “Eighty percent of the menu is made over the grill,” Sethi said. “The grill imparts such beautiful flavors. Live charcoal has a very different flavor than gas.”
He’s right, which is why you should spend as much time in the “From the Grill” menu section as possible. You can see the Turkish influence with the lamb Adana kebab, a long, slender and slightly spicy ground meat mixture that’s formed onto a skewer and grilled. It’s remarkably juicy, which Sethi credits to the sourcing.
“We mince lamb leg at the restaurant, which we get from a farm in Colorado,” Sethi said. “To get the texture right, you need the right fat content or it will fall apart on the grill.” The meat is topped with red onions tossed with sumac, the brick red-colored spice that adds a bright and citrusy note to everything it touches.
[ After opening Rooh to acclaim, chef Sujan Sarkar delves into Indian fine dining at Indienne ]
As at Indienne, the vegetarian options are so tempting that you shouldn’t feel guilty about skipping the meat altogether. The maitake mushrooms are a must-order. While mushrooms can often dry out on a grill, Sethi steams them first before giving them a quick blast of high heat. “We test a lot of different kinds of mushrooms, and these worked the best,” Sethi said. “Finding high-quality ingredients and cooking them right makes a lot of difference.”
With such dynamically flavored grilled options, I admit that I didn’t spend much time in the “shareable large” menu section. The only exception was the vegetarian-friendly manti, a lovely plate of Turkish-style dumplings.
While Sifr’s main dining room has a pleasant if slightly nondescript feel, you may notice the majority of guests heading for the stairs. Turns out they are making their way to the restaurant’s massive rooftop patio. Thanks to stunning views of downtown, it’s quietly one of the best perches to admire the city.
The spread-out space can also lead to some hiccups. Service is enthusiastic and helpful, but on both visits, there were occasional long breaks between courses.
While I enjoyed the cocktails, especially the Tis’a, a rose and elderflower gin and tonic, they all also cost $18, which is on the higher end, even for downtown.
It’ll be interesting to see if Sifr can transition from a summertime hangout to a cozy winter destination. Sethi said the restaurant is covering the rooftop, so hopefully you can get the views without the cold. The menu will also change with the weather, with Sethi adding some more comforting dishes. “I’ll be serving more dishes in tagines,” Sethi said, referring to the earthenware dish popular in North Africa. “I’m also working on a dry-aged duck dish.”
One of the most unintentionally interesting things about Sifr is its location. Though technically in River North, Sifr rests on the northwestern edge of the neighborhood. This rather closed-off pocket of the city is probably best known for pricey condos, but thanks to Obelix and now Sifr, it has two stellar neighborhood restaurants that feel completely different from the often soulless joints further south.
It’s something Sethi is proud to see. “The neighborhood came out immediately,” Sethi said. “Along with people from all across the city, we get to see a lot of the same faces every day.”
660 N. Orleans St.
219-533-9922
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sifrchicago.com
Tribune rating: Three Stars, excellent
Open: Monday to Thursday, 5 p.m. to 10 p.m.; Friday and Saturday, 5 p.m. to 11 p.m.; Sunday, 11 a.m. to 2 p.m.
Prices: Starters, $12 to $21; mains, $20 to $52
Noise: Conversation-friendly
Accessibility: Bathrooms on first floor, and elevator to rooftop patio
Ratings key: Four stars, outstanding; three stars, excellent; two stars, very good; one star, good; no stars, unsatisfactory. Meals are paid for by the Tribune.