When chef Nathan Sears opened the Radler in Logan Square, he planned to eventually use a private dining room for DAS (2855 W. Fullerton Ave., no phone yet), a three-days-a-week tasting-menu restaurant named for the initials of the philosophical term “ding an sich,” marking the one and only appearance of Immanuel Kant’s name in Chicago's dining coverage.
Sears and his business partner, Adam Hebert, have changed the plan for DAS. “We have been hearing a lot of weird stuff, like that we [the Radler] are fancy for the ’hood,” Sears says. (The Radler’s entrées run from $15 to $24.) “I don’t really understand. We know a lot of people who live in the neighborhood, work in the neighborhood. How are we too fancy?”
Instead of doubling down on fancy for DAS, Sears and Hebert have swung the pendulum back the other way—they now plan to make it a doner kebab stand, opening July 22. For a price of about $8, customers can create, Chipotle-style, a doner out of chicken braised with tomatoes and cinnamon, shaved pork shoulder, mushrooms with the spice blend dukka, or smashed chickpeas with ras el hanout. Sun-dried tomatoes, chopped romaine, marinated cucumbers, and feta number among the fast-casual spot's possible toppings.
And it will still have its philosophical name. Kant give that up.