“I wanted to do my own food,” says chef Rangsan Sutcharit when asked why he left the top-rated Thai restaurant Arun’s after working there for nine years. Last fall on far west North Avenue, Sutcharit opened Amarind, where doing his own food means less elaborate presentations, more affordable prices, and a hands-on approach that begins most mornings with a visit to Caputo’s, the vibrant, always crowded market in Elmwood Park. Caputo’s originally catered to an almost exclusively Italian clientele, but as the neighborhood has become more diverse its inventory has expanded. Fresh ginger, garlic, mint, cilantro–most of the items on Sutcharit’s list are readily available. And for the things he can’t get in the neighborhood, specialty items like galangal and kaffir lime leaves, he goes to Thai Grocery in Uptown, which is owned by his cousin.
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Many of the dishes on Amarind’s menu are rooted in tradition; Sutcharit’s chicken panang curry, for instance, is made with ground roasted peanuts rather than the nontraditional peanut butter used by some chefs. Served in a wide bowl, it’s spicy enough to be interesting yet mild enough to suit most palates.
