LOGAN SQUARE — The former Analogue bar has been transformed into veteran chef Joe Frillman's first restaurant.
Set to open Wednesday, Daisies, 2523 N. Milwaukee Ave., is a minimalist's dream with exposed brick, subway tile and sculptural lighting.
Owner/chef Joe Frillman at the Daisies preview Monday evening. [All photos DNAinfo/Mina Bloom]
The clean decor allows patrons to focus on the menu, which is full of unique pasta and vegetable-focused dishes like carrot rillettes with duck fat, fennel and Publican Quality bread, fried mushrooms with cheese curds and soft herbs and tortellini with lentils, kale and pork sausage.
Many of the ingredients are sourced from Frillman's brother's small Prairie View farm. But other ingredients like the pasta flour, for example, come from large farms and purveyors that Frillman has found to be reputable during his years-long career cooking everywhere from Balena to Perennial Virant.
In an effort to use the freshest ingredients possible, Frillman is also aiming to roll out a fermentation program pending city approval.
"It's 2017. We have to use purveyors. But the more locally sourced things we can do, we're going to do," he said.
As a Logan Square resident of 10 years, Frillman said he's watched the neighborhood change — "for good or for bad depending on how you look at it."
With Daisies, Frillman hopes to contribute to the growing list of restaurants that embrace the neighborhood.
"I want to be part of the neighborhood. We're going to take reservations, but we're going to purposefully leave a lot of reservations open because [catering to] the neighborhood matters to us," he said.
Daisies replaced Analogue, which closed last summer not long after an ownership shakeup.
The bar was originally opened by owners Henry Prendergast and Robby Haynes, who were veterans from the highly-acclaimed Wicker Park cocktail bar Violet Hour. The duo initially focused on drinks, but moved in the direction of Cajun/Creole food under chef Alfredo Nogueira.
Frillman is planning to launch brunch and lunch service sometime after the opening. He hopes to open the outdoor patio sometime this summer.
To start, Daisies will be open Wednesday through Sunday from 5 p.m. to 10 p.m.
