At tiny Daniel J’s on North Ashland, kitschy black construction-paper bow ties adorn napkins folded to look like shirt fronts, the tablecloths are covered in brown butcher’s paper, the curtains look like they’re made from bed sheets, the waitstaff wear flowered plastic aprons, and on one visit we had to lick off our utensils after each chic course–yet reservations are almost mandatory. North Shore paranoids brave the perils of the city for Daniel J’s. Baby boomers mingle with Generation Xers. Local lads in fur jackets check out the designer duds of Gold Coast ladies whose idea of dressing down is to turn their rings around so the diamonds don’t show. And the cardinal comes in for the mushroom polenta. They all share a passion for downtown food at Uptown prices.
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Chef Jack Jones, who cut his teeth at Yoshi’s, Spiaggia, and Terczak’s, is as au courant as they come. He and his wife Mary, an ex-biology teacher who used to wait tables at Bistro 110, opened on a shoestring last May, with an atmosphere to fit their budget. The whole family pitched in–his mom made the curtains and her dad built the bar. The restaurant’s name was a last-minute compromise: Jones, whose middle name is Daniel, originally hoped to call the place Jack Daniel’s. Then he talked to a lawyer.
Save four bucks for dessert, preferably the key lime pie with raspberry, mango, and vanilla sauces. It’s the real McCoy, pale yellow and refreshingly tart. Chocolate lovers won’t be disappointed with a similarly sauced dense, rich chocolate espresso tart. Other fine options include a deep-dish apple pie topped with pastry leaves and sitting in a pool of caramel and bread pudding laced with egg custard in a caramel sauce. Our only quibble is that the desserts are served on such busily decorated plates that we could barely tell the presentation from the china pattern.
