On the table: Cumin

In 2006, TOC could find only one Nepalese restaurant in the city—and even when we found one, the restaurant, Mt Everest, was technically in Evanston.

Since then another restaurant serving Nepalese food, Chicago Curry House, has opened in the city. And soon there'll be a third: Cumin, which hopes to open later this month at 1414 N Milwaukee Ave.

Like Mt Everest and Chicago Curry House, Cumin will serve cook both Indian and Nepalese food in their tandoori ovens. Both should bring a bit of relief to the neighborhood, which has always starved for food from that part of the world. But I suspect that it's chef Min Thapa's Nepalese fare—which is less spicy than the Indian stuff, and mostly dairy-free—that will become the restaurant's signature. How could it not? It's not like fans of Nepalese food have very many other options.