Chef Joe Frillman, known for his work at Michelin-recognized Daises, initially planned to open another restaurant in 2024, but opening a new business rarely goes according to plan. Just a couple years later, the Radicle recently opened its doors in Chicago’s Logan Square neighborhood. Frillman walks Eater through the daily grind of operating a brand new restaurant.
Thursdays are reserved for research and development, when Frillman works on ideas for new dishes to add to the menu. He cuts up a whole tuna, building a tuna conserva dish by poaching chunks of the fish in a “tea” full of aromatics. The cuts are moved into an olive oil mixture when the fish is just cooked. Frillman then tests some beans to add to the dish, opening up half a dozen containers of prepped legumes. The tuna is gently flaked, added to beans and cut up vegetables, and then put on top of grilled bread.
Next, he preps a clam pasta dish with fresh pasta and littleneck clams from Massachusetts, switching out the lobster he originally used in the dish. He discusses what they can do to improve the dish, like adding anchovy breadcrumbs, while tasting it with one of his longtime chefs.
Combining classic Italian cooking with Midwestern produce and sensibilities, the Radicle’s strives to be “a radical version of a bar and restaurant, where, while we might have things like chicken wings or mozzarella sticks on a menu, we think we can elevate those things” says Frillman. The name also references the first root to emerge from a seed, a nod to the fact that the restaurant is in the same space where Daisies first started.
Even opening a new restaurant in the same space, with the same layout and kitchen, Frillman says it cost them about a million dollars to change over the concept and decor of the restaurant. An expensive, but necessary, addition were huge pizza ovens that crank out affordable pies, helping with tight margins overall. He wants customers to be able to approach the Radicle in many different ways, whether they want classic small plates at the marble bar, a chill pizza night, or elevated seafood dishes.
