Food and drink

The sparing tagline for this restaurant is “Crusty Bread, Brandy, Fire” and it sums the place up perfectly. “The seasonal menu is built around old-world traditions of bread baking, charcuterie and preservation, applied to products of the Midwest,” says proprietor and sommelier Matt Sussman, who has assembled an excellent wine list drawn from the Alpine regions. On the menu are dishes such as potato latkes with horseradish aioli, duck-liver mousse, and a burger with fontina and cranberry mostarda (an Italian candied-fruit condiment) tucked into a pretzel bun.

Bobby Schaffer honours his Swedish heritage and the history of the Andersonville neighbourhood with this light-filled bakery-cum-café. Lost Larson is devoted to Swedish-inflected dishes such as open-faced sandwiches stacked with smoked salmon, cream cheese and red onion; Danish havarti cheese; lingonberry-almond cake dusted with powdered sugar; and *limpa* (a kind of rye bread) with fennel and star anise. The pastry counter is a wonder, with cardamom-laced buns, lemon tarts with crowns of toasted meringue and crumbly savoury scones. Take home a loaf of bread made with grains milled on-site – the flavours range from traditional wholewheat to pumpkin seed and kelp.

Chef Andrew Zimmerman made his name at the excellent West Loop restaurant Sepia; next door is Proxi, his second restaurant and a visual stunner with flavours to match. “Proxi’s menu was inspired by both my travels abroad and my time right here in Chicago,” he says. “I’ve always been drawn to bold, vibrant flavours and regularly find new dish ideas while exploring Chicago’s rich culinary scene.” The menu includes Asian, Middle Eastern and Mexican influences in dishes such as tempura elotes (grilled corn) and lamb-shank rogan josh. And Lauren Terrill’s tempting desserts are equally inventive. The design is sleek, with floor-to-ceiling windows, stylish mirrors and leather booths. One for a must-impress meeting or to seal that business deal.

The succinct menu at Daisies comprises handmade pastas (think truffle-ricotta ravioli), daily-changing starters and crowd-pleasers such as wagyu beef and cheddar sandwiches with fermented green-chili aioli. Owner and executive chef Joe Frillman sources much of the produce for his vegetable-focused dishes from his family farm and adheres to what he calls the “Italian philosophy” of using what’s in season in a simple way. “Our daily inspiration is derived from the question: if the Midwest were a region in Italy, what would the food look like?” he says.

This single-origin-focused coffee shop and roaster opened on Burgazada Island (off the coast of Istanbul) in 2014 and two years later, with two of the three owners based in Chicago, began roasting beans stateside at The Plant. In 2018, it added this outpost in Logan Square. Served alongside pour-overs, espresso, drip and Turkish coffee are pastries baked at the neighbouring Cellar Door Provisions. The light-filled, airy space has just a handful of tables, a long brick coffee bar and a clear focus on design, with distinctive light fixtures and art books for your perusal.