Dastorkon

Was so excited to go try this Russian place. We walked just Over a mile to discover the restaurant no longer exists. It’s now café 321. So blown away with disappointment. I asked the waitress what type of food they specialize in and she didn’t know. Looked like some Russian/​Turkish dishes. We were the only people in this place at 5:30. Tried a few appetizers but they were warm and reheated so we cut our losses early.

Food is always so delicious and fresh, and the hosts so friendly. It’s the perfect place to go when you’re in the mood for good, hearty (and inexpensive) food. The kurdaak is hands down the best dish there but they don’t always have it. Lulya kebabs are pretty terrific too.

I’ve tried almost everything on the menu, but my favorite is still the Lagman Soup. The hand pulled noodles have a wonderfully chewy and springy texture, and the strong flavors in the dishes blow you away. They also have different desserts at the counter (I’ve seen cookies, crepes, and cake) which are quite tasty and not sugary sweet. This is a place you go for inexpensive, hearty, and delicious food — do not expect fine dining or superb service.

Interesting place and food! You’ll sense a strong feeling of the region where Dastorkon’s food is from. We had the beef noodle soup, dumplings with cream, and some stir-​fried noodle with eggs on top. Everything was fantastic except we had a small stomach!

Tiny little café hidden in the corner.
Clean and cozy. Excellent food. Specially the Shashlyk/​kebab was so delicious, tender and juicy. The owner was our server, attentive, friendly and very intelligent lady, we enjoyed our conversation with her while waiting for the food.
We will definitely come back.

Ordered through Grubhub for delivery. Got a notification that our order would be ready 60 minutes after we placed it. After waiting 20 minutes over the projected time, we called. No one answered. Contacted someone at Grubhub, they said they could contact the restaurant but it would be another 30 – 50 minute wait. As someone who orders takeout pretty regularly, this kind of thing never happens. Would have loved to tried the food.

This is definitely a Unilocal find, as the storefront is tucked away and looks vacant. Not to mention, we saw animal droppings by the door. But inside? It’s clean, and the food is incredible– Uzbek, Russian, and other Eastern European dishes. Be prepared for a language barrier, but they have a photograph-​menu to help out.
BORSCHT: This is one of the best versions I’ve ever had. It’s thick with shredded beets, chunked potatoes, and some stew meat, with a rich broth and a generous portion. Served with traditional Russian bread, great for mopping up the excess.
DUMPLINGS: Traditional meat-​filled pelmeni, served in a soup, which is a preparation I’ve never had. You know how most people want chicken noodle soup when they’re sick? I’d crave this. The broth is light and flavorful, with plenty of dumplings. Unfortunately the dumplings themselves did not seem to me made in-​house, but it’s a minor complaint.
TABAKA: In Russia, this dish is a baby chick, prepared expertly to have a phenomenally crispy skin and an extremely moist interior. This dish was tasty, but did not live up to the reputation. Sides of cabbage and garlicky potatoes were well done. BF chowed down on this, but I preferred the soups.
If you can locate the shop and get past the sketchy exterior (you can park behind the building too, which helps), you’ll find comforting, homey food and service inside. Owner/​chef at counter was sweet, honest, and apologetic about running the kitchen solo, and warned us that there might be a delay. That said, orders came out well made and in a timely manner.

In many ways, Dastorkhon (a word meaning dining table, typically already covered in plates of food, in Turkic languages) reflects the cultures of its home countries. Dastorkhon is located in a fairly nondescript building — upon entering, the restaurant is simply designed with a whiteboard with popular dishes written in Russian behind the counter. After extensive travels throughout Russia, it was immediately clear that the restaurant was put together by individuals from that area. The food was phenomenal, my friends and I shared the manty (large Central Asian steamed dumplings with sour cream), plov (a pilaf-​like dish with lamb, garlic, and carrots), and the fricasse (a creamy chicken and rice dish). On top of that, the service was probably what stood apart from experiences in restaurants abroad — our server was sweet and attentive, although my knowledge of some of the area languages likely helped encourage conversation. Dastorkhon features excellent food, impressive service, and a truly authentic experience. A few words of advice: if you aren’t familiar with Central Asian cuisine, go for the plov and manty.

Adorable shop run by a woman who started the business on her own. She is also the waitress who takes your orders and serves the food. Food itself is wholesome, filling, and great value for the price paid. By far one of my favorite places.
If you go, order the dish that is beef and potatoes. It comes on out a black platter and is still sizzling when it reaches your table.

So, first of all, if you are a Muslim like me, and need only eat Halal, the great news is that all the food is Zabiha halal… hells yea baby!
So we were looking to eat some halal meat, as I am a big meat eater, and stumbled upon this place ok Unilocal.The reviews were great, and the place is close by where I live, so we thought we would give it a try. In all honesty when we rolled up to the place, we did not get a very good impression. The location was not the most fancy one and there were only taxis parked there, which made me think that it might be just a taxi driver joint. However, we were pleasantly surprised to see a nice crowd when we walked in.
Onto ordering food, based on the reviews, and the fact that we wanted to try some thing really Kyrgiz, we ordered Kuurdaak (which is essentially potatoes and beef) and Zharrenni Lagman, i.e. stir fried noodles with beef. While we were waiting for the food, we were served up with bread, and garlic and chilli sauce, complementary. The bread, as the other reviews say, was quite nice.
The real deal was however the food. The noodles were unlike anything I have ever tasted, pretty epic I would say even. I loved the food overall, perfectly cooked and the right balance in taste.
For anyone who has never had Kyrgiz food before, I highly recommend this place, I do hope to go back myself and try their plov.

Great food, reminds me of home. I’m originally from Mongolia and grew up with Russian/​Mongolian food and it hits close to home. Very nice homely «mom» style food.

Really glad I made it out to this place! After reading the reviews and interested in checking out Kyrgyz cuisine, I thought it’d be a great place to suggest my friends and I go to last Friday. We had the manty, kuurdak, the zharennii lagman (stir-​fried noodles), and the chicken and lamb skewers. The skewers were cooked very well and very tender. I thought the noodles were fantastic! Loved the flavor and the texture of the noodles were even better! Absolutely yummy! The kuurdak was really good too… LOVED the potatoes… there were a LOT. Though I did love the potatoes, I wish there was more beef! The amount was lacking a bit. A dumpling lover myself, I have to say that I really enjoyed the manty… very juicy and quite tasty! They served complimentary bread at the start of our meal as well which looked just like plain every day bread, but was surprisingly good! Upon reading the reviews, it appears that they bake it themselves which probably explains why it was so good! They give you a spicy paste-​like condiment that, spread on the bread, adds a good kick to it. It’s also a good complement to the skewers as well! Overall, I really enjoyed this place and am looking forward to returning there to try out some of their soups and order more noodles!

Greaaaaaat Fooood, First time trying this Uzbek food. Had amazing meals. Manty was exceptional :)

Most excellent! Fantastic dumplings, hand made noodles, spicy sauces on the side, fluffy fresh bread and great service. A hidden gem for sure! How often do your find central Asian food? Make this a destination!

Thanks to Unilocal that we discovered this mom and pop shop in this off beaten path… homey and delicious food and the «hosts» are very hospitable.
They don’t speak much english, even the lady who took our orders. Thank god for pictures menu.
My bf had a very silly question about the beef noodle soup, but couldn’t get the question communicated using gestures. The lady almost gave us more yummy noodles (I really wouldn’t mind more noodles… one of the best i had!) because she thought we were asking for. She managed to get someone on the phone to translate :)
Def going back to try their plov and other stuff Unilocalers Unilocaled about!

Great food.
Introduced Central Asian cuisine to my friend. Food was great, yummy and not expensive. Ordered two different types of lagman. Food was tasty. Nice interior, clean and quiet place.
Update: the other night brought my another friend to that place. It was his first time and unfortunately we had a bad experience. A lady who was taking orders were rude and unfriendly. Grumpy and not nice not only to us but a person who ordered before us. Whats happened? Very frustrating. Where was that nice charming girl that served me and my friend during our firs visit.

Yummy homemade food. I had potatoes with beef and the meat was so delicious. For my husband they came up with a vegetarian version of the same dish. Instead of beef he had mushrooms. We both appreciated how flexible they were.

Lovely home-​made Kyrgyz food served by lovely Kyrgyz people!
Incredibly friendly staff, clean, cute space, very low prices, and fast service. Dastorkon is patronized by Central Asian cabbies, who can fill up for $ 6.50. That buys you a generous portion of plov (rice with lamb, served with a side salad and bread). Tea is complimentary, and very tasty. They also serve lamb pastries for $ 3 each: they are huge, filling, flaky, and piping hot; just ask them to warm them up for you.
After just coming back from lunch, we are thinking of coming back for dinner! They are making kebabs. Also, their menu changes frequently (which is a good thing, OTHER Unilocaler).
There is plenty of parking in the back, but the place is just a few blocks away from Chicago brownline stop.
You can also get real kvas, bottled in Lithuania. Taste the liquid bread goodness!
My girlfriend thinks kvas tastes like rice wine vinegar that’s been poured over rye bread with sugar on top that you drink through a straw. Vote this review up and prove her wrong, but more importantly, go eat some Dastorkon food.

I usually get my haircut @ Urbane Blades on Ohio & Orleans.
One of the barbers told me he was going to get some Russian food from around the corner. I thought he was joking as I didn’t think anyone was occupying this location since the last tenant left. He came back with some good smelling food + I was hungry as well. I decided that I should have some to quench my hunger. When I say around the corner, I mean its part of the same building my barber shop is in, but near the back alley.
I walked in and the place was quite occupied around noon. The guy behind the counter was very nice as he told me to describe what my friend had as he knew I could not pronounce the dishes. He told me the name of the dish but I still cannot remember what it was called. The dish consisted of long, thick noodles along with beef chunks and vegetables. It tasted as good as it smelled. The portion was pretty huge for $ 7. I looked at the dishes on the other tables and saw some good stuff. This little stretch of Orleans (between Chicago & Division) lack food choices, but this place along with a couple others definitely help the situation. Good stuff!

You know I snatched up my money and scurried over when my co-​worker told me there was an Uzbek restaurant around the corner. I found out it’s actually Kyrgyz, as in Kyrgyzstan, a Central Asian country formerly part of the Soviet Union. BAM! Knowledge in your face!
I also found out (after Googling, because even the queen of Eastern European useless information doesn’t know everything, and also because these –stan satellite states tend to lean heavily toward Asian and Middle Eastern culture) that a dastorkon, spelled a million other ways in different languages and dialects, is a communal place to eat. Dastorkon is the word used for the tablecloth on which the food is spread out, too. And it appears that many of these meals are eaten on the floor. But don’t worry, they only have tables here.
The restaurant itself is tastefully decorated with ethnic rugs, some replications of famous artwork from the region, and other knickknacks. There are plenty of tables and it wasn’t at all busy when I came in on a Saturday afternoon. In fact, I was the only person in the dining area and had to pop my head into the kitchen to let the girl working know someone else was there.
I asked if they had a menu I could look at and she said, «We don’t have a menu. This is what we have.» and pointed to a chalkboard not much bigger than a sheet of paper with 5 items listed (all in Cyrillic). I actually know Cyrillic, so good luck to the rest of you! (I’m kidding. Well, kinda. I know Cyrillic, but I don’t know Russian that well and I definitely don’t know any Kyrgyz other than, like, «chebureki,» «samsy,» «pirojki,» and a handful of other food names that sound similar to their Central Euro and Balkan counterparts.) The girl working there and the man who runs the place will gladly explain each dish to you. I hear their menu changes up, too.
I went with an entrée of manti, which are like pierogi on steroids. They are large dumplings stuffed with meat. I believe the meat is beef. It’s possible there’s lamb mixed in there. They season it really well and serve it with a side of sour cream. I made mine a combo, so I also got a large container of lamb soup (shorpo) and two thick slices of bread. The soup was phenomenal. It was super simple, but it blew me away. The broth is robust and packed with carrot, potato, red pepper and chickpeas. You get a large chunk of lamb in there as well.
At a little over $ 17, it seems like a lot. It kind of is pricey, but you need to understand just how labor intensive this food is. It takes a lot of time and skill to master the dough and get things just right. However, I probably could have easily split my food in half and been happy. If you eat family style, it’s going to cost less. You’ll probably only really start spending big bucks if you get their bottled pop and fruit juices. I didn’t see any alcohol, so it’s possible they are BYOB. There was no sign to indicate it is (but there’s also barely a sign to indicate their name or their menu).