Portage Park's new halal southern-fried taqueria

A look behind this week's food feature. [View this email in your browser]( [READER Logo]( [Food & Drink]( | August 30, 2024 This week I wrote about [Migos Fine Foods]( a Portage Park southern-fried taqueria collaboration between Brian Jupiter and longtime [Frontier]( chef de cuisine Azazi Morsi. It’s a rare example of a restaurant concept successfully coalescing around a seemingly disparate set of inspirations to meet both general and specific needs. Both Jupiter and Morsi have strong ties to the community, so it makes sense they were able to tap into them.  Morsi, in particular, has been doing it for years. “I had so many Algerian friends that were single that didn't know how to cook,” he told me. “So in Ramadan, I started cooking meal kits. People would be fasting all day, and around 6:30, 7, they stopped by my house, and they picked up a meal; like two to three dishes that reminded them of Algeria; dishes that we ate every day in Ramadan.”  As far as I can tell Chicago has just one specifically Algerian restaurant (Zebda, in nearby Irving Park), so I’m sorry I’ve only recently learned about this. In lieu of the future Algerian fine-dining restaurant Morsi eventually plans to open, come late next February I’ll be paying close attention to his [social media]( to see what he and his mom are cooking up.  Obligatory [Monday Night Foodball]( content: The boss needs you. You don’t need the boss. In that spirit, the Reader’s weekly chef pop-up at [Frank and Mary’s Tavern]( taking this Monday—Labor Day—off.  However, the bar’s staying open in case you need a place to lose your chains. And we will be back with the return of the [Sausage King of Milwaukee Avenue]( on September 9, followed by the Foodball debut of [Morgan Street Snacks]( on September 16. After that, a brand-new lineup drops. [Migos Fine Foods is the halal southern-fried taqueria you didn’t know you were hungry for]( Frontier chefs Brian Jupiter and Azazi Morsi meet their neighbors’ needs in Portage Park. 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=). [Turkish Kunefe at Antepli Mediterranean Grill]( Although kunefe is often eaten as dessert, for first-timers I recommend splitting it for a late breakfast (sans pistachio), like I’d do with my pops. The combination of the melted cheese, warm pastry, and saccharine syrup is filling and energizing, but keeping it fresh all day is a tough task—good kunefe is often sold out by a certain time, so the fact that Antepli can whip it out at all hours is impressive. —Andy Vasoyan [an illustration of kunefe on a plate]( [photo of two men standing in front of a sausage delivery truck, late 19th cent.]( [Thirty of Chicago’s most important moments in food]( November 2014 | Nearly two centuries of Chicago’s culinary milestones, from its first lunch counter to its first Olive Garden. by [Aimee Levitt]( | [Read more]( → [a bowl of food with eel]( [Got yak phlegm?]( December 2012 | From disappearing cocoa-nib consomme to escaped eels, it was a lively year for Key Ingredient, our ongoing series of chef-to-chef challenges. by [Julia Thiel]( | [Read more]( → [a woman sitting at a table with a plate of egg rolls]( [Meet Dinkey DaDiva, creator of the Jerk Chicken Egg Roll]( October 2020 | The Egg Roll Lady has 75 varieties in her arsenal. by [Mike Sula]( | [Read more]( → Get the latest issue of the Chicago Reader Thursday, August 29, 2024 [READ ONLINE: VOL. 53, NO. 30]( [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