Where Oklahoma and Jordan intersect
Onion burgers, falafel, and unbelievably delicious baklava milkshakes, all in one place
Hi, everyone!
Hope you all enjoyed the lovely weather this past weekend. Davida and I made the most of it by taking some long walks, since that’s one of our favorite ways to enjoy Chicago. Also, that last sentence made it sound like we’re 89-year-old retirees, but I promise, we’re only 86.
Before I dive into today’s newsletter, I have unfortunate news from our neighborhood: Our favorite Polish deli in the area, ZaZa’s Deli, is closing. Our friend Max let us know; on his daily walk home from work, he saw a big banner across the storefront displaying the unfortunate news.
Currently store stock is being sold at 30% discount until it’s all gone, so if you need any Polish groceries, now’s the time to get some. We’re extremely bummed, but are trying to take solace in the fact that Kurowski’s Sausage Shop still exists down the street.
Now onto some more cheerful stuff.
Just a gentle reminder that The Party Cut can’t exist without you and the support of your fellow readers, so don’t forget to upgrade to the full version by signing up for a paid subscription if you haven’t already.
And as always, considering all the different mediums you can use to learn about food in Chicago now, like Reddit, Instagram, or TikTok, I’m grateful you’ve chosen to spend your time reading my local food newsletter.
Davida and I have been finding ourselves in Uptown quite a bit lately to go out to eat. We’re big fans of Sun Wah BBQ, Milly’s Pizza In The Pan, In-On Thai, Demera, Ba Le, and not sure if you’ve heard the news yet, but my favorite birria spot, Birrieria Zaragoza, has now opened a permanent location at Broadway and Lawrence (only open on weekends right now). Now it’s time to add another restaurant to the exponentially growing list of our Uptown favorites.
Just down Broadway, by Montrose, is a spot that some of my friends have been talking about since last year, called Ragadan.
I’ve mostly known about Ragadan since my friend Nick Kindelsperger wrote about it for the Chicago Tribune last year. It’s a small diner-ish counter service spot with a beautifully curious menu. Calling it a falafel and burger spot might be reducing it a little bit only because there’s a ton of other stuff to check out, but those are the main things you’ll notice when you’re deciding what to eat.
The mash-up makes sense when you read Nick’s piece. Owner Danny Sweis, who’ll be doing all the cooking for you, is of Jordanian descent, and grew up in Oklahoma. The Oklahoma part is important, because Ragadan serves a type of burger that’s a rare find in Chicago for some reason.
That would be the Oklahoma onion burger ($10), which is an absolute highlight.
This style is ground beef that’s smashed with a ton of paper-thin onions, which are allowed to caramelize on the griddle as the meat cooks. The onion flavor fuses with the beef, and is usually topped with American cheese. Why these aren’t more common in Chicago is a mystery to me, because they are perfect in their simplicity.
Ragadan’s quarter-pound version is on a sesame seed bun, but uses a special zatr mayo (commonly spelled za’atar), which makes it particularly unique. Zatr is a spice blend that can contain a whole bevy of things like sumac, sesame seeds, cumin, coriander, and green herbs like oregano and thyme. You can imagine then that the mayo gives this burger a ton of extra personality.
The Dan burger is a fifth-pound cheeseburger with ketchup, mustard, zatr mayo, chopped raw onion, and shoor pickles (a Middle Eastern pickled cucumber) on a split-top bun (pictured in header).
We got the double ($11), which was also pitch perfect in the way a large gooey cheeseburger can be, and in this case, I think the double’s really where it’s at. I had a hard time choosing between which one I liked better, but if you’re looking for a defining dish of the place, the Oklahoma burger’s a great place to start.
Aside from the burgers, though, Jordanian food dominates the menu, which means you have to get some of it as well.
The hummus platter ($12) has homemade hummus topped with tahini, olive oil, and chopped green chiles, and you get your choice of topping from grilled spiced chicken, beef kefta kebob with caramelized onion, falafel, or eggplant and roasted red pepper. It comes with veggies on the side for dipping, along with a pita. The hummus is among the creamiest I’ve ever tried, and the crumbled kefta kebob is a perfect side in that it’s heavily spiced, which balances everything out.
And it’d be silly for us to visit a falafel shop and not have falafel.
I’m generally used to having falafel stuffed into a pita, but Ragadan also serves a sandwich version called the falafel ka’ak, served on a very crackly airy sesame bread (which reminds me of the kind served at JT’s Genuine).
The falafel has a unique profile in that it has a little bit of caraway in it, which is what Danny told Nick in the Tribune piece. There’s no way I’d have figured that out on my own, considering I’m not well-educated on falafel, but I love little touches like that. And at $8, it seems sort of like a steal. In fact, all the prices at Ragadan are pretty damn good.
Davida was particularly enamored with the lebneh egg salad sandwich ($8), which is served on the same sesame bread as the falafel ka’ak.
She really loved the tartness of the yogurt cheese with the egg, which made the sandwich beautifully refreshing. Calling an egg salad sandwich “refreshing” is a new descriptor for me, but it’s that perfect middle ground for someone who’s hungry for something nourishing but not too heavy, since there’s no mayo in it.
The fried egg sandwich ($8) comes with two fried eggs, hummus, tahini salad, along with the same green chili that tops the hummus plate.
We took this one home as mostly leftovers since we were pretty full by then, as you can imagine (who orders six things when there’s only two of you?), but I happily ate the remainders of this one for dinner that night. Even cold, it was good, so maybe packing it away as an extra item for a later meal isn’t a terrible idea, as long as you don’t mind a slightly soggy pita.
Danny, who was apparently trying to get us to cry out for mercy, did send out a baklava shake and a hand pie on the house.
I generally don’t order milkshakes with a meal only because the idea of drinking ice cream alongside something like a burger seems hilariously over the top (sorry, Americana), but dear God, was this baklava milkshake was a hell of a closer. It floored us, and to my disbelief, we actually finished the thing.
Maybe it’s because whenever I have baklava, I have it as-is, but when it’s mixed into the glory of ice cream, it hits a whole new level, especially when it’s striped with a dose of honey. If you have any room after your meal, you need one. Notice I said “need,” and not “want.”
Something a little less decadent would be the blueberry and halawa (sesame halva) hand pie, because hey, uh, there’s fruit in it, which obviously makes it healthy.
This $4 hand pie (again, Danny sent this one out) is a much better version of those Hostess ones from my childhood. And no matter how impatient you are, don’t burn yourself on the filling.
Davida and I had the pleasure of sitting next to Danny’s brother and his family during lunch, which was a delight, as we all chatted after we finished packing up our leftovers. They all happily gushed about his cooking, and Danny snuck out from behind the grill for a few minutes to say hi. It’s always nice to feel like you’re part of someone else’s family for a bit.
Davida and I left happy and full, and can’t wait to go back. Jordanian food and Oklahoma burgers, who knew? Chicago’s a pretty marvelous place.
Ragadan
4409 N Broadway
Chicago, IL 60640
(773) 654-1788
Hours:
Closed Sunday
Monday: 11 a.m. - 3 p.m.
Tuesday through Saturday: 11 a.m. - 8 p.m.
Ugh, now I want another baklava milkshake. As usual, if you’re enjoying The Party Cut, please don’t forget to share it on social media, Chat Roulette, Reddit, wherever you like, as it keeps the newsletter growing little by little:
And I won’t annoy you in the footer, just don’t forget to upgrade your subscription to a full one.
The benefits are simple: You get double the content. Every other piece is for paid subscribers, plus that unlocks the full archives. Today marks the 30th edition (I counted), and hopefully there’s something in here for all of you.
One last reminder, my pop-up with John Carruthers repping Crust Fund Pizza is at Ludlow Liquors tonight starting at 5 p.m., and I have a sneaking suspicion we’re going to get crushed.
Time to sign off, love you guys, and have a fantastic week.
Fuck
THIS PLACE SOUNDS AMAZING