John Avila and Rizal Hamdallah are on a mission to educate Chicagoans about Indonesia, starting with its “national dish” — rendang.
Rendang — a slow-cooked curry dish typically made by simmering beef in coconut milk and redolent of lime leaves, ginger, shallots, tamarind, lemongrass, galangal, garlic and more — is considered “the national dish of Indonesia,” Avila said.
Avila’s mom Betty, who is from Manado, the capital city of the Indonesian province of North Sulawesi, would make it for special occasions and big gatherings.
Growing up on Chicago’s Northwest Side, he loved his mom’s home cooking. He also loved Italian beefs. The affinity for both is proudly on display in the rendang sandwich at Rendang Republic, the restaurant he opened this month with Hamdallah. The sandwich is Avila’s take on Italian beef with Indonesian flair, he said.
Avila and Hamdallah met in the summer. At the time, Avila was trying to revive his Indonesian concept Minahasa, which had been at Revival Food Hall, and Hamdallah was looking to open an Indonesian restaurant. The two decided to team up on Rendang Republic, 3355 N. Clark St., which had its grand opening on April 5.
Hamdallah said when the two of them were brainstorming on the concept, they knew rendang would be the focal point.
“That’s why we name it Rendang Republic, because we want to tap into the dish. Let the dish become a hero. Let the dish become the ‘it’ that people will know,” Hamdallah said.
The star of the sandwich is the beef rendang (it’s also offered with jackfruit for vegetarians). Avila starts by making the spice mix, which is simmered in coconut milk until it’s transformed into a rich dark brown color. After about six hours, he adds beef top round, and it cooks for another two hours until it is tender and succulent.
To serve, he toasts a bun (sourced from 3D Baking) and adds a healthy drizzle of sambal aioli and a couple of scoops of rendang and then tops it with another healthy drizzle of sambal aioli, fried shallot, cilantro, onion and giardiniera for that kick of Chicago flavor.
Aside from the sandwich, rendang is also available as a plate with noodles, rice (white or fried) and salad as the base, and served with sayur gulai (collard green gulai), acar acar (Indonesian pickled vegetables), krupuk (shrimp or garlic Chips) and sambal merah or hijau (red or green chili condiment).
The idea behind Rendang Republic is to offer food that’s easy to grab and go, serving a traditional Indonesian dish in familiar ways such as sandwiches, Avila said. “It’s just a good way to educate people here.”
Running an Indonesian restaurant, first with Minahasa and now Rendang Republic, has been a “big learning experience” for Avila.
For example, he learned the food he served at Minahasa was very specific to the food his mom cooked. It was also very spicy and reflective of the Christian community who lived in the region she’s from, while in Padang, the capital and largest city of the Indonesian province of West Sumatra, there are more Muslims so the food is halal.
Indonesia is made up of 17,000 islands, so food will vary from region to region.
“The more I learned about Indonesian food, the more I learned about myself and my own background,” Avila said. “Each island in Indonesia is very different … all the cultures are very different on each island.”
For Avila and Hamdallah, it means a lot to them to have one of the only Indonesian restaurants in the city. There have been a few in the past, including Avila’s Minahasa, but with the closure of Rickshaw Republic a few years ago, Rendang Republic is one of one.
“We have a little hub for the Indonesians around the Chicago area to come by. … they’ve been popping out from the woodwork. I never even knew that there were that many Indonesians,” Avila said.
“I want to be a clubhouse for [the Indonesian community],” he said.
That sense of home at Rendang Republic is especially important to Hamdallah, who immigrated to the U.S. from Padang, the capital and largest city of the Indonesian province of West Sumatra, in 2010.
In Indonesia, Hamdallah’s family ran restaurants, but he was “never really actually brave enough to touch the entrepreneurship side of me.” Hamdallah works in the food industry but on the corporate side, including executive roles at companies like Tyson. After meeting Avila, he saw an opportunity to follow in the footsteps of his family and showcase his culture.
“I’m from Padang. My dad was from Padang. My family is from Padang. The coffee that we chose [at Rendang Republic] is actually from where my dad was born. When we chose coffee with Tim [Coonan] from Big Shoulders Coffee, the founder, I had a little tear, because it’s all connected back to my roots.”
Rendang Republic, 3355 N. Clark St. The Rendang Sandwich is $14. Visit rendangrepublic.com.