Critically acclaimed chef Thai Dang, who fled Vietnam as a 7-year-old refugee with his family, has partnered for the first time with Lettuce Entertain You , the biggest restaurant group in Chicago.

Crying Tiger opened in River North on Oct. 14 .

The new Southeast Asian restaurant was named for a ferociously fiery dish. Suea rong hai translates to crying tiger in the Thai language. Grilled sliced beef is served with a defining and spicy sauce.

“With lots of aromatics, toasted rice, tamarind paste, palm sugar and chiles,” said Dang, who was nominated for a James Beard award this year, about his recipe for the mythical sauce. “It’s so good and so spicy that it can make you or a tiger cry.”

His crying tiger signature dish comes interpreted as a 45-day aged ribeye steak intended to se

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