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newlenoxpatriot.com Dining Out
the New Lenox Patriot | September 7, 2017 | 23
The Dish
Chak De Fuzyon introduces Indian cuisine to Tinley Park
Brittany Kapa, Assistant Editor
Sandeep Joshi strongly
believes that cooking is an
art form that can touch all of
the senses.
“The chef is the biggest artist
for me,” he said. “The art
of the chef, people can smell;
people can see and eat. I’m
really influenced by that.”
That influence shows in
his work. Joshi prepares everything
from scratch and
in-house. Naan dough and
all of the base gravies – onion,
tomato and vegetable
– are made in the morning.
Aside from that, every dish
featured on the menu is prepared
fresh once a customer
places an order.
“Indian cooking has to
simmer; Indian cooking has
to be seasoned properly,” said
Lupita Hermosillo, Joshi’s
business partner. “There are
dishes that have over 20 or 30
different spices in it. There
are some dishes that he has to
marinade overnight.”
Hermosillo stressed that she
hopes patrons can appreciate
the dish despite the wait. Joshi
does not make bulk batches
and then re-warm dishes; he
makes everything to order.
In January, the pair came
across an advertisement on
Craigslist for the space that
they would later call Chak
De Fuzyon. This is the first
restaurant for Hermosillo, 35,
and Joshi, 28.
“When we met I had already
been serving and bartending
and hosting,” Hermosillo
said. “I pretty much
did everything in the front of
the house for over 15 years.
I was tired of working for
someone else, seeing the
things they were doing that I
would do differently but I had
no power to actually change
[those] things because I was
not in charge.”
After some minor renovations,
the duo opened their
Chicken tikka masala ($10.99) can be ordered mild or spicy,
and has a creamy butter, tomato and fenugreek sauce that
simmers with masala spices for a complex flavor.
Tinley Park restaurant, located
at 7982 167th Street,
on April 1. Hermosillo said
for the first three weeks the
restaurant opened were very
busy. Now, they have leveled
out to a good ebb and flow.
The restaurant’s name
stems from a movie released
in 2007 by a similar name,
“Chak De! India.” The phrase
“chak de” translates to “let’s
go.” Since Joshi also has experience
in Chinese cuisine,
the “fuzyon” part of the name
refers to the fusion between
the two cuisines.
“We wanted something
different but at the same time
we feel like in Tinley Park,
there is no Indian restaurant,”
Joshi said. “We wanted to put
a name that brings the people
[to the restaurant].”
Joshi said when choosing
the name he had hoped people
would Google the phrase
and then say, “Let’s go for
Indian bistro.” Hermosillo
said she hopes the restaurant
becomes people’s “hole in
the wall” restaurant that may
not be the fanciest but has the
best food.
“The most rewarding
places that I usually go to,
and I keep going back, are
the small places where there
is that dish that nobody else
makes better,” she said.
“That’s what we strive for because
that’s all we can offer.”
‘His work is his worship’
Joshi’s level of dedication
to his food shows in every
dish he makes. Whether it is
a traditional and well-known
dish like chicken tikka masala
($10.99) or dal tadka
($9.99) that brings him back
to his roots, he prepares each
dish with care.
The latter, dal yadka, is
what Hermosillo describes
as Indian comfort food. Joshi
strays from the typical restaurant
dal tadka and makes a
recipe inspired by his mom’s
recipe.
“When I was a small kid,
my mom made it in an easy,
simple way like a homestyle,”
Joshi said, adding that
his mom would hand grind
special spices for the soup.
Joshi includes the traditional
cooked lentils and
Sandeep Joshi, 28, cooks a meal for an order at Chak De Fuzyon, his new restaurant in
Tinley Park. Photos by Brittany Kapa/22nd Century Media
Chak De Fuzyon
7982 167th St., Tinley
Park
Hours
11 a.m.-2:30 p.m.; 5-10
p.m. Tuesday-Thursday
11:30 a.m.-3 p.m.; 5
p.m.-12 a.m. Friday-
Saturday
11:30 a.m.-3 p.m.; 5-9
p.m. Sunday
For more information ...
Phone: (708) 894-7160
Web: chakdefuzyon.com
mixes the dish with ginger,
garlic, and his own blend of
herbs and spices.
He still remembers coming
home from school as a child
and smelling dal tadka wafting
from the kitchen. It’s a
dish that takes him right back
to his roots.
For those who have not
tried Indian food before, both
Joshi and Hermosillo assure
that the flavors are not as
strong as one might expect.
Dishes like the chicken tikka
masala can be made to suit
the customer’s spice preference.
Hermosillo asks every
Twisted Babycorn ($7.99) is a vegan dish that contains
coconut milk, tomato, ketchup and chili sauce which is
topped with sesame oil and cilantro.
customer if they would like
the dish “American spicy”
or “Indian spicy.” It’s more
about flavor than anything
else, they said.
“A lot of times the chef
only comes out when there
is an issue,” Hermosillo said.
“[Joshi] comes out to talk to
people. There are people that
walk up to the window and
talk with him. They tell him
how good the meal was.”
Other not-to-miss items
include the cheese naan ($3).
Joshi works cream cheese
into the dough before cooking
it in a traditional tandoor
clay oven. Those looking for
vegan options have plenty to
choose from. Twisted Babycorn
($7.99) is one of the bistro’s
fusion dishes that combines
tomato, ketchup, chili
sauce and coconut milk onto
the corn. After being sauteed,
the dish is topped with
sesame oil and cilantro. Vegetable
Korma ($8.99) is another
dish that can be vegan,
and has a creamy almond and
cashew nut base sauce.
“His work is his worship,”
Hermosillo said about Joshi’s
cooking. “He puts his heart
and soul into what he does.”