Daisies, a beloved Logan Square restaurant, has upgraded its space. The establishment has been a favorite among professional eaters, including NBC 5's Food Guy Steve Dolinsky. since it opened. He says with a larger space, they restaurant is able to do a lot more on the plate.
Don’t let all that pasta confuse you. Daisies is not an Italian restaurant. But the kitchen does take pride in making everything from scratch, which now includes an ambitious bakery during the day.
Leigh Omilinsky, the pastry chef at Daisies – which moved a few blocks south into a much larger space – has free reign in the mornings, offering coffee cakes, scones, laminated pastries and Danish braids. Just about anything goes well with a coffee.
And during the day, you can bet the crew is busy making pasta – at least a half dozen varieties – including pillowy soft gnocchi or pappardelle, which requires several passes through a dough sheeter, then trimming, measuring and cutting.
But remember, it’s not an Italian restaurant.
“It’s more of the Italian philosophy for me, which is, you eat what’s in season, what’s around you, as simply as you possibly can with the best ingredients you can find,” said Chef-owner Joe Frillman.
In Spring, it’s ramps.
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Their tops are embedded in ricotta, and along with an egg yolk, sealed in a ramp-infused pasta dough, which is turned into a giant raviolo.
Frillman browns butter, adding pickled ramps to it, then, after he showers the cooked raviolo in Sarvecchio – a Wisconsin parmesan – he tops it with the brown butter-cooked ramps.
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“With the amount of fat, the egg yolk, the pickles cut really nicely through the dish,” he said.
That pappardelle is cooked with a Portobello mushroom ragú – one of the few dishes containing tomato sauce. Finished with fresh herbs and Pecorino Romano, it’s hearty and satisfying.
Beef tongue is grilled with charred cabbage, dressed with a razor clam juice vinaigrette, plus fried shallots and dill.
“We wanted to make vegetables and produce kind of the focal point of the menu.”
Check out the dip made of carrots you spread on gnoccho frito – tiny fried dough pockets. The carrots are confited – or preserved – in fat, served with briny pickled carrots on the side.
“We confit ‘em in duck fat, but the animal fat is there to kind of give you that savory umami that satiates you,” he said.
Frillman also makes great use of byproduct, like Salmon collars, which are simply grilled, then served with a zesty horseradish gremolata.
“It’s a really tasty piece of the fish; there is some bones in it, but for us it’s more bang for your buck,” said Frillman.
Desserts are Omilinsky’s department. Just like during the day, but a bit more refined.
“We get to play with nostalgia but also play with the local flavors,” said Omilinsky. “So the rhubarb crostata – rhubarb is in season now, we get it from Klug Farms in Michigan. And then there’s a pistachio frangipane and rhubarb compote and it’s served warm with a little chamomile anglaise,” she said.
Here's where you can go:
2375 N. Milwaukee Ave.
773-661-1832
