By Trent Modglin

Staying true to authentic traditions and recipes that span generations is the key behind this popular, family-run South Indian restaurant

110 S. Prospect Ave. in Park Ridge
ThalaivasIndianKitchen.com

Background: Thalaiva’s is the creation of the husband-and-wife duo of Vinoth Raju and Revathi Manoharan, who proudly were the first ones to bring authentic South Indian cuisine and a Kongunadu-style menu to the Chicagoland area. It was June 2018, when it was just them, Harp & Fiddle, and a few other businesses on the now thriving Main Street here in Park Ridge.

Vinoth used to work as a chef in another restaurant, and when they got married, they decided to open their own place. “We met the realtor in April, and we opened in June,” Revathi tells me. “It happened that quickly.”

Family ties to South India’s Kongu region

Most of Thalaiva’s recipes, or at least the base of most of the dishes from each category, belong to Revathi’s grandmother. The colors of the walls in the restaurant? The same as her grandmother’s house.

“I’m not overly spiritual, but a lot of the decor is meaningful to us,” Revathi says with a proud smile. The bells are what they ring at temple, the lanterns represent those used by agricultural families (like their own) when there was no electricity. Authentic 60-year-old door knockers are from a craft shop in India. The shade of yellow frequently used in the restaurant is the same color of the turmeric used in their dishes.

It’s a chef-driven restaurant, and that will always be the focus. But the main essence is showing people things they may never have seen before while staying respectful of our traditions, our culture, and our authenticity.” — Revathi Manoharan

“At home, we speak our native language,” she says. “We make our children wear traditional outfits to temple once a week. The respect for where we came from is not just for show for our customers at the restaurant. It’s truly the life that we lead, and the restaurant is a big part of our life.”

What caught our eye: Besides the authentic decor and vibrant colors, the food (and drink) presentation is off the charts. Especially with their traditional banana leaf thali, a leaf platter with 15-18 dishes of small, four-ounce portions that are perfect for groups to sample. Fun too, is the live dosa counter, where the staff will create crispy, golden, customized crepes right in front of your eyes.

The food and drink: Three perfect adjectives to describe the menu here would be authentic, flavorful and, well, to be honest, colossal. There are just so many options that, even if you have your reliable favorites, it makes it easy to go on a little culinary journey for a few hours.

Vinoth and Revathi order many of their ingredients direct from India — including rice, spices, and masala sauces made by their families back home — in an effort to maintain consistency.

Start things off with a comforting (and healthy) Kongunadu lentil soup in a traditional pot, vegetable samosas, or chili shrimp. My family often gravitates toward the rich and tender butter chicken with a side of garlic naan or flaky parotta, but the lamb masala, fish and chicken curry dishes, and loaded biriyani specials are delicious too (and can be spiced to order for those who like to keep things on the mild side). A few new items off the Indo Chinese portion of the menu that we’ve fallen in love with recently are the lighter chicken noodles and flavorful Gobi 65 fried rice.

“It makes us so happy and very proud to hear that we’ve exposed people to South Indian food,” Revathi tells us. “It’s so cute to watch, seeing customers eating some of the dishes with their hands and having the banana leaves for sampling, experiencing our legacy and our traditions. … To see the empty plates, completely clean, is the biggest compliment of all.”

For drinks, one to definitely try is Nanari Sarbath, a type of herbal lemonade with a natural cooling agent. Indian beer options, wine, and creative cocktails — like a curry leaf margarita made with an orange liqueur or a spicy tamarind mojito — are available to pair with your meal too.

For drinks, one to definitely try is Nanari Sarbath, a type of herbal lemonade with a natural cooling agent. Or one of their creative cocktails, like a curry leaf margarita made with an orange liqueur or a spicy tamarind mojito.

Introducing Mandram to Park Ridge: If you were curious what’s happened to the old Thalaiva’s space on Main Street, Vinoth and Revathi are pleased to announce the September opening of Mandram, which means “a place where people gather.” You can expect an assortment of small sandwiches and kati rolls (a type of Indian wrap with butter chicken or chicken tikka masala inside), as well as customized fresh juices blended in front of you and milkshakes made of dried fruit and nuts.

Interesting notes: Thalaiva’s developed a huge customer base in Naperville thanks to regular catering trips to feed cricket teams, and that led to expanding with a second restaurant this summer. … You’ll also find them serving crepes every other week at the Park Ridge Farmers Market. … Kamal Hassan, a famous Indian actor who visits Chicago a lot for his clothing brand, regularly places an order for Thalaiva’s chicken lollipop.

Final thoughts: “Vinoth’s passion is restaurant food. He studied, he worked, and he’s living the passion. My strength is business: analytics, design, and bringing the innovations together. The main reason for our success is that we have a good balance between us.

It’s a chef-driven restaurant, and that will always be the focus. But the main essence is showing people things they may never have seen before while staying respectful of our traditions, our culture, and our authenticity — and introducing that to the world. We brought a piece of our lives to a community that didn’t have any Indian connection at all, and we did it through the taste and the quality of our food.”

— Revathi Manoharan