South Asian Foods Most Americans Have Never Tried | Spice Road

Rupak Ginn dives into the flavors and stories behind some of Chicago’s most compelling South Asian food destinations. With writer Jyoti Chand as his guide, he visits Thattu, where Kerala’s bold culinary heritage takes center stage, Cafe Nova, a beloved Sri Lankan restaurant built on resilience and community, and Sukhadia’s, a sixth-generation family business carrying forward a centuries-old legacy of Indian sweets.

#srilankanfood
_____________________________________________________

Featuring
Café Nova
Sukhadia's Sweets and Snacks
Thattu
Jyoti Chand
Vinod Kalathil
Margaret Pak
Kiso Sivarasa
Jayant Sukhadia
Sneh Sukhadia

Host / Producer
Rupak Ginn

Director / Producer
Vicky Lee

Producer
Sami Khan

Executive Producers
Carrie Lozano
Lois Vossen
Royd Chung
Stephen Gong
Donald Young

Senior Manager, Short-Form Content
Pamela Torno

Supervising Producer
Susan Cohen

Editor
Jaron Henrie-McCrea

Director of Photography
Jana McLain

Second Camera Operator
Lucinda Harstrick

Additional Cinematography
Sami Khan

Assistant Camera
Ian McAvoy

Original Music
Alam Khan

Sound Recordist
Alan Chow

Post Sound
Michael Gassert

Colorist
Jeff Sousa

Conform Artist
Jason Saulog

Post Supervisor / Online Editor
Kyle Crichton

Assistant Editor
Vicky Lee

Archival Producer
Adrián Gutiérrez

Archival Researcher
Miranda Jaramillo Morales
Ornela Valdez

Music Supervisor
Jaron Henrie-McCrea

Production Assistant
Alex Von Bruchhaeuser

Pre-Production Assistant
Ishaan Bhattacharya

Post Production Supervisor
Raul Mendez

Archival Footage and Images
K T Arun
Jyoti Chand
Rupak Ginn
Vinod Kalathil
Won Kim
Margaret Pak
Kisothan Sivarasa
Sneh Sukhadia
Alamy/DVArchive-Retrofootage
Chicago History Museum, ICHi-025847; Mukul Roy, photographer
Chicago History Museum, ICHi-061457
Chicago History Museum, ICHi-092925; Mukul Roy, photographer
CriticalPast
NDTV
Pond5/Ajka_Stindl
Pond5/floristils
Pond5/GovernmentFootage
Pond5/StockFilm
Pond5/StockFilm
Pond5/Subas12345
Takeaway
TheBabyStories-stock.adobe.com

SPECIAL THANKS
Nancy Redd

Independent Lens Short-Form Funding Provided by:
Corporation for Public Broadcasting
John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation
Acton Family Giving
Ford Foundation
Jonathan Logan Family Foundation
The Artemis Rising Foundation
Park Foundation
Wyncote Foundation
Brandt Jackson Foundation
The deNovo Initiative
Action Circle for Independent Lens

Spice Road is a co-production of MIRAFILMS, LLC and Independent Television Service (ITVS), and The Center for Asian American Media (CAAM), with funding provided by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB). This program was produced by MIRAFILMS, LLC, which is solely responsible for its content.


© 2026 MIRAFILMS LLC. All Rights Reserved.