The Chicago dining scene has welcomed a bold new culinary destination with the summer debut of Muhājir, a restaurant that bridges continents, centuries, and cooking traditions. Located in the vibrant Lincoln Park neighborhood, Muhājir is the brainchild of accomplished chefs Zubair Mohajir and Jacob Dela Cruz, two culinary professionals known for their rigorous backgrounds in high-end gastronomy. Moving away from the rigid structure of multi-course tasting menus that defined much of their previous work, Mohajir and Dela Cruz have conceptualized a warm, communal space centered around a wood-fired hearth. The restaurant’s menu is designed entirely for sharing, inviting guests to explore a rich tapestry of flavors that span across Europe, the Middle East, and Southeast Asia.
In a recent behind-the-scenes feature with Eater’s Now Open series, the chef-duo pulled back the curtain on a typical day of meticulous preparation and high-energy service at Muhājir. The operation requires an immense amount of planning, physical endurance, and historical reverence, traits that become immediately apparent upon stepping into the kitchen during morning prep.
The daily routine often begins with the breakdown of rare halal duck, an ingredient destined for the restaurant’s ambitious Duck Numidian dish. This centerpiece creation is not merely a modern invention, but rather a faithful recreation of a 920-year-old recipe originating from southern Spain—a culinary artifact that the chefs have spent years workshopping and perfecting. Every part of the bird is utilized with surgical precision. The wings and neck are slowly simmered down to create a deeply concentrated duck jus served on the side, while the legs are transformed into a tender confit. This confit is eventually folded into a rich duck rice, paired alongside dry-aged duck breasts. During service, these dry-aged breasts hang over the open fire before receiving their final crisping touch in the oven, marrying ancient Moorish flavor profiles with modern open-fire techniques.
At the heart of Muhājir’s kitchen is a powerful hearth and oven setup that relies on a carefully curated blend of oak wood, olive wood, and coal. This specific mixture is chosen for its ability to impart a clean, complex smoky flavor that elevates proteins without overpowering their natural tastes. The mastery of this hearth is evident in the preparation of the restaurant’s whole branzinos. Before hitting the intense heat of the grill, the fish are entirely dismantled, and every single bone is meticulously removed by hand. To guarantee optimal texture, the whole branzinos spend several days resting in the refrigerator, a crucial step that dries out the exterior so the skin blisters and crisps instantly upon contact with the fire. Once cooked to perfection, the branzino is laid over a luxurious, velvety sauce made from walnuts, yogurt, and fresh coriander, then finished with a sharp, house-made relish designed to cut through the richness with a bright burst of acid.
The global journey of flavors continues with the restaurant’s Beef Cheek Nihari, a deeply comforting Pakistani classic reimagined through a lens of uncompromising quality. The dish utilizes halal Wagyu beef cheeks, which are generously coated in a fragrant spice blend featuring toasted and ground cinnamon, black pepper, coriander, cumin, clove, and cardamom. Before entering a long, slow transformation, the beef is seared on high heat over the open flames. It is then braised for fourteen hours in its own rendered fat, absorbing the heavy aromatic spices that have also been blended into a rich jus. True to traditional presentation, the beef is served directly at the table in an ornate, heavy clay pot that retains the intense heat and earthy aromas of the braise.
Following the beef cheeks, the kitchen turns its attention to delicate handmade touches, such as the saffron rice dumplings known as faraa. Crafted entirely in-house, these dumplings are approached with the reverence of fine pasta-making, served alongside a vibrant array of seasonal vegetables and a silky cream sauce that bridges Middle Eastern aromatics with European comfort food traditions.
The launch of Muhājir represents a significant shift for Mohajir and Dela Cruz, proving that high-level culinary expertise does not need to be confined to hushed dining rooms and solitary tasting plates. Instead, by channeling centuries-old techniques, rare ingredients, and an uncompromising commitment to open-fire cooking, the pair have created a space where diners can gather around shared tables and explore a world of flavor without ever leaving Lincoln Park. Food enthusiasts and curious diners can witness the intense kitchen choreography, the crackling hearth flames, and the meticulous craftsmanship firsthand in the featured episode of Eater’s Now Open.