Chicago's Monday Night Foodball pop-up aims to expand your palate

If you're looking to spice up your Monday night dinners with funky takes on hard-to-find cuisines, look no further than Monday Night Foodball.

What: A Monday night pop-up restaurant at Albany Park's Kedzie Inn, curated by Chicago Reader senior writer Mike Sula.

How it works:

• A few days in advance, Sula posts the menu on the Reader site— often featuring the work of local Instagram food entrepreneurs whose offerings have really blossomed during the pandemic.
• Folks can preorder or just take their chances with walk-ins starting at 4pm — stuff sells out fast.
• Diners can eat in a spacious dining room or on the breezy outdoor patio.

Past weeks have included twists on Cambodian, Malaysian and regional Indian cuisine.

• This week the vibe goes Midwestern. Local chefs Eve Studnicka and Alexis Thomas serve up beer-cheese-and-kraut-topped fries, goat cheese walnut creme brulee, a smoky midwest ham and cheese melt and a twist on "funeral potatoes" featuring panko-crusted stuffed jalapenos with pimento cheese hash browns, served with kimchi ranch.

The aim: "I'm hoping more Chicagoans get to try Cambodian or Malaysian food for the first time, or even something like the utterly singular vision of Midwestern comfort food that Funeral Potatoes is known for," Sula told Axios.

What's next: "Pizza and donut night, and then Khmer street food from Ethan Lim of Hermosa," Sula says.