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I’ve groused about the lack of a dedicated Indonesian restaurant in town so I was really looking forward to the dinner Agnes Fong organized Saturday–a buffet catered by the Kusumo family of Joliet. Lucy and Handojo Kusumo are from Surabaya, but have been stateside since 1999 when Handojo got a job as a researcher at UIC. They used to just cook for fun at parties, until word got around and people started hiring them out, notably for for events at the Indonesian consulate.
Meanwhile, several guests mentioned a place in Des Plaines called Little Amsterdam, 686 Lee Street, that does a Indonesian buffet every other weekend. Owner Ann De Jongh, who was born in Amsterdam, lays out a rijsttaffel or Indonesian rice table, a lengthy progression of various dishes accompanied by, you guessed it, rice. It seems like De Jongh’s version which is presented as a buffet, is a little more limited than a full blown, endless Amsterdam-style rijsttafel which you can see depicted all over the city’s storefront windows. She says she features a rotating selection of eight Indonesian dishes, along with three or four Dutch ones, a Dutch cheese plate, and “a lot of sweets.” The next one is this Saturday, April 28 from 4 to 9 PM. It’s all you can eat for $9.95. Call 847-298-8321.
