Chinese-Jamaican hits in the street

Plus: Kahlo Margarita at Nobody's Darling [View this email in your browser]( [READER Logo]( [Food & Drink]( | August 9, 2024 “A hit is born in the street.” —Patricia Chin, [History of LA Ska]( June 22, 2021 “Miss Pat” and her husband Randy opened a record shop in 1958 in Kingston, Jamaica, and a few years later a recording studio upstairs. Before long, Randy’s Records/Studio 17 became a one-stop shop for reggae artists and producers from all over the island and beyond who could record, mix, cut, and then take tape downstairs to the shop and play it for the public right away. In the late 70s, the Chins moved their operation from Jamaica to Jamaica Queens, where their VP Records grew into one of the largest and most influential independent Caribbean-owned reggae, dancehall, and riddim labels ever, having recorded everyone from Alpha Blondy to Sean Paul to Yellowman. Chin, who was born of Indian and Chinese parents, and who’s still involved in the business that her sons eventually took over, didn’t come this far by gatekeeping artists with original ideas.  That is exactly the guiding principle behind a certain weekly food pop-up here in Chicago. And that’s why, when a pair of chefs told me they were breaking free of their safe, steady kitchen gigs to develop a new restaurant concept based on the historic culinary synthesis of Chinese and Jamaican food—and in tribute to Patricia Chin and her musical legacy—I said, “Right this way. After all, a hit is born in the street.” History begins when soon-to-be-former Jook Sing and Press Room chefs [Mike McCants]( and [Christian Sia]( preview their up-and-coming Chinese Jamaican chicken shack Mrs. Chin’s at the next [Monday Night Foodball]( the Reader’s weekly chef pop-up at [Frank and Mary’s Tavern](. McCants and Sia have been quietly plotting their own expression of the historic intersection of Chinese and Jamaican food ever since they first started cooking together at the Delta three years ago. This August 12, that concept sees light for the first time, with two set plates accommodating carnivores: one-quarter jerk chicken with fried rice and peas, napa slaw, and ginger-garlic-fish sauce infused Chinese ketchup—and for plant-eaters, a vegan allspice-spiked coconut milk, root veggie stew with pumpkin rice and a side of callaloo. Be there at the birth of a hit, starting at 5 PM this Monday, August 12, at 2905 N. Elston in oracular Avondale. Meantime, consider the full Foodball schedule:  [Pookie Crack Cakes sells out every day]( The name gets patrons in the door, and Dedra Simmons’s glaze-soaked bundt cakes keep them coming back. by [Tyra Nicole Triche]( | [Read more]( → [Get the first taste of Mrs. Chin’s Jamaican Chinese jerk chicken at the next Monday Night Foodball]( Soon-to-be ex-Jook Sing chefs Mike McCants and Christian Sia offer a sneak preview of their upcoming chicken shack at 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=). [Kahlo Margarita at Nobody’s Darling]( The drink—warm pink in color and made of Jon Basil Tequila Reposado, passion fruit liqueur, triple sec, and agave—made me flush. It tastes like lying by the pool and watching your lover’s hair curl and lift in the humidity; like a pregnant Rihanna in a glittering sarong, dipping mango in the ocean and then eating it. —Katie Prout We're entering the final week of the Kickstarter campaign for Free Chicago: 50 Years of the Reader. [This is something true Reader fans won't want to miss.]( [a board game and a plate of food on a table]( [Wine, cheese, and Decrypto]( May 2020 | The Chicago Board Game Cafe offers food and drink pairings to go with your new favorite games. by [Brianna Wellen]( | [Read more]( → [A small Michigan deli is preserving the food traditions of a Syrian city under siege]( May 2017 | Exotic Bakeries & Syrian Cuisine in Ann Arbor maintains the home-cooking customs of Jisr al-Shughur. by [Mike Sula]( | [Read more]( → Get the latest issue of the Chicago Reader Thursday, August 8, 2024 [READ ONLINE: VOL. 53, NO. 27]( [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