2 Chicago Restaurants Make New York Times 'Restaurants List'

CHICAGO — Longtime Chicago residents and visitors alike have long known that when it comes to finding good food, the city has no shortage of tasty culinary options on which to feast.

With numerous James Beard Award winners and nominees from eclectic backgrounds and other award-winning dining hot spots available to local foodies, eating out in the city could be better than ever.

And now two restaurants in the city were listed on the New York Times' "The Restaurant List."

The list highlights the "50 places in the United States that we’re most excited about right now," according to the Times.

This year's list is the third ever put out by The Times.

"It wasn’t easy to narrow it down, but here are the 50 restaurants that excite us most right now," the Times wrote.

Daisies, an Italian bistro that opened in March in Chicago's Logan Square neighborhood (2375 N. Milwaukee Ave.), and Thattu, which offers authentic Indian cuisine after opening in April in Avondale (2601 W. Fletcher), made the list of the top 50 spots in the country that Times editors are excited about.

Here's a bit of what Brett Anderson wrote about Daisies:

“Chefs serving ‘authentic’ fritto misto in landlocked locations typically enlist the help of airfreighted squid. That’s not how Joe Frillman does things. His Italian-inspired cuisine is authentically Midwestern.”

The review boasts that the restaurant’s chef makes cheese curds and locally sourced mushrooms the star of his fritto misto. Pastas include pierogi and whitefish that have been freshly caught from the Great Lakes. However, the local favoritism, Anderson writes, is not “shallow trickery.”

“Daisies cooking is as adept as any you’ll find in Chicago.”

Not to be outdone, here’s what Priya Krishna had to say about Thattu:

“The former food hall stand serving fare from the coastal southwest region of Kerala in India has found a larger home for its loud flavors courtesy of owners Margaret Pak and Vinod Katathil. Everything here, down to the stainless steel plates the food is served on, feels homestyle.”

The writer says diners should expect fish fries, yogurt rice, and coconutty curries as well as playful dishes like tater tots dusted with chaat masala.

See the full list from the New York Times list of restaurant favorites online here.