You miss one hundred percent of the shots you don’t take. Five years ago during the pandemic. chef Zubair Mohajir sent me a DM on Instagram asking if I wanted to check out his THC (Tandoori Honey Fried Chicken) sandwich. I exchanged a few messages with him and then filed it away for a few weeks.

Eventually I ordered the sandwich, fell in love with it and have been a fan of Mohajir’s work ever since, enjoying his food at Wazwan and also his newest spot Mirra, a Indian and South Asian collaboration with former Rick Bayless restaurant chef Rishi Manoj Kumar.

If Mohajir never reached out I probably would have seen his work eventually, especially in 2024 where he happens to be everywhere. Stay tuned. But, that he took that chance to reach out accelerated my appreciation and enjoyment of his work.

I caught up with him recently to talk about his background growing up in Chennai, India, Doha, Qatar, and Frankfort, IL where his mom ran a catering company out of her garage. We also talk about his time working at Bouchon for Thomas Keller and the Michelin-starred chef Gaggan Anand (another dude he just cold emailed) in Bangkok, Thailand. We also talk about the 1990s Bulls, the pressures of the restaurant industry, the history of Muslim and Indian food, and so much more.

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