2 Sparrows

2 Sparrows is a new breakfast/lunch spot on Diversey and I met a friend there this past Saturday for a late breakfast. I had heard that the place is a collaboration of two former Trotters' guys, but the chef (Greg Ellis) was most recently with GNR Pastoral, where he had been since 2007.

The space itself is really nice - medium colored woods, lots of natural light, overall aesthetically pleasing.

The menu is more ambitious than most in that area, and I had a tough time deciding between the corned beef hash, shrimp and grits, pork belly and sunny side up egg biscuit sandwich, biscuits with lamb sausage gravy, and ramen bowl with pork belly. We ended up ordering shrimp and grits and corned beef hash. My shrimp and grits was a mixed bag. On the plus side, the portion size was generous, the shrimp were large and beautifully cooked, and the grits were creamy yet slightly toothsome, and delicious. I didn't love the tasso gravy though. The sauce, which I believe contained chipotle peppers, dominated the flavors, particularly the tasso ham which was unfortunately hidden by the sauce. Mild alterations could turn the shrimp and grits into a dish to satisfy even the most hungover Lincoln Park folks.

The corned beef hash seemed really odd out of the gate, served in a bowl with bangers (huh - isn't the corned beef enough), a poached egg and mixed greens (yes, in a bowl with uncooked mixed greens). I have no idea what they envisioned with this version of CBH, but no matter what problems the dish might have had in conception, the most glaring problem was the too finely diced corned beef, which ended up being overcooked, dried out, and thus largely flavorless.

2 Sparrows also offers some clever takes on pastry - two types of house made pop tarts (one filled with foie gras and cherry compote, the other filled with apricot and with a lemon-thyme glaze. We preferred the foie gras-cherry pop tart, but weren't wowed by either version. The ratio of cherry compote to foie gras was a little too high, and the texture of the foie gras a little off (grainy, a little dry). The other pop tart had a tasty lemon glaze, but the thyme was not recognizable and the lemon overpowered whatever apricot flavor there was. The crust itself was fine, but the fillings and glazes will decide these pop tarts' fates.

We also shared the maple-bacon doughnut and it also missed the mark. Nice texture (cake doughnut IIRC), delicious candied bacon, but the glaze did not offer even the faintest maple flavor. Add in a good maple glaze and you've got a breakfast treat of champions.

2 Sparrows has only been open for two weeks, so although the kitchen failed to deliver food to meet my expectations, I hope that as they develop and tweak the menu, they find a way to deliver on the relatively ambitious breakfast menu.

Service once seated was excellent, but the FOH was majorly confused. For instance, we were told that they'll call us on a cell phone when your table is ready, but that they're so busy and the call might be quite delayed so you really shouldn't leave (so do you lose your place in line if you provide a phone number but leave?) We were also quoted very different wait times in the span of 30 seconds. And we watched as people were told to wait outside the restaurant, even though 10 or more could comfortably wait near the host area and there were only 6 people waiting inside (uhhh, this won't fly in December). But again, 2 Sparrows is very new so it would be unfair to criticize too harshly so soon. I'm sure many people in that area are hoping 2 Sparrows is a huge success, and judging by the crowds this past Saturday, they're off to a good start in that regard.

2Sparrows
553 W. Diversey
773.234.2320

Hours:
Mon-Fri, 7am- 3pm
Sat-Sun, 8am-3pm

How long did you end up waiting? I really want to go there but am thinking I should wait a few weeks for the opening hype to die down, or maybe try to get in on a weekday somehow...

We've been twice.

Opening weekend and this past weekend. Sunday morning both times.

First weekend, we waited maybe 15 minutes for a table. Food came out in a "normal" length of time.

This past Sunday we waited maybe 20 minutes but the food took close to 45 minutes to come out. The said there were too many large groups and it slammed the kitchen.

The staff and owner were very apologetic. And the food is pretty good.

The Eggs Benedict with Tasso Ham is great. We tried the Foie Gras Pop tart did have a weird mix. All the Foie was in the center and the cherry was around the edges.

The Lemon-Honey donut was pretty good, though.

I think we'll wait a few more weeks before going back but we will be back.

claypoolfan wrote:How long did you end up waiting? I really want to go there but am thinking I should wait a few weeks for the opening hype to die down, or maybe try to get in on a weekday somehow...

I waited perhaps 30-40 minutes around noon Saturday.

We went at about 11:30 last Sunday and were quoted a 90 minute wait. Even though this place is around the corner, I think we're going to give it a few more weeks to settle down (or at least go earlier in the morning).

After walking by 2 Sparrows a few times and seeing a packed house, people milling about outside waiting for tables, highchairs at tables, and strollers parked in the entryway, we thought it might be a good child-friendly neighborhood spot to take the twins for their first restaurant experience. Thanks to the recent time change buying us an extra hour before nap time, we were finally able to make it, and I'm very happy we did.

The room is bright, modern, and spacious (and LEED certified), and the staff was, without exception, extremely friendly and accommodating. Our waiter explained that they make their own corned beef for the corned beef hash and make the bangers that come with it, cure their own pork belly, use premium/locally-sourced/etc. ingredients, yadda yadda...all the stuff one might expect from two Charlie Trotter alums.

Because of Chicago's stupid Sunday liquor laws, we weren't able to try any of the interesting-sounding cocktails (I could've gone for a Bloody Norseman)...we had to settle for fresh-squeezed OJ and coffee instead. My wife decided on the shrimp & grits, and I had the corned beef hash and a side of pork belly to share.

The shrimp & grits were my favorite rendition of the dish so far - perfectly-cooked grilled shrimp, coarse & buttery grits mixed with chunks of tasso, and a delicious gravy with a bit of kick to it. My corned beef hash was awesome - it was the classic chopped corned beef and diced potato, served with a perfectly poached egg on top, and two bangers and a salad of mesclun, diced pickled beet, sliced red onion, and what seemed like buttermilk dressing. The slab of pork belly was nothing to write home about - I was hoping for some sort of a glaze, but it was just a slab of plain pork belly.

Our girls both loved the grits and the corned beef hash - we also ordered a single buttermilk pancake for them to share. However, our waiter let the kitchen know we planned on splitting it for them, so they made us two small pancakes instead - a nice touch, and much appreciated.

Needless to say, we look forward to going back to 2 Sparrows for many more family breakfasts in the future.

2 Sparrows
553 West Diversey
Chicago, IL 60614
(773) 234-2320

Just as a data point...I realize many people don't have the option to frequent the place on a weekday morning, but I had a business breakfast there a couple of weeks ago on a weekday. I selected the place. Based on having read the posts here, I was a bit apprehensive that the place would be crowded, but that was not the case at all. In fact, beyond the not-startling fact that it was not as crowded on a weekday as it would be on a weekend, the place was completely empty when I walked in at 8:15 in the morning. (This also addressed my other concern going in, which was that we would not be able to linger as long as necessary to discuss our business once we'd eaten our breakfasts.) By a couple hours later, two or three other parties had come in but were sitting far enough away from us that the confidentiality of our discussion was not impinged.

I definitely enjoyed my eggs and my biscuits with lamb gravy. I didn't get a strong lamb flavor out of the gravy, but it certainly was good. The biscuits were a bit on the dense and heavy side--approaching scone-like--but also good. The dish could have been hotter. It sounds like every bit of praise I'm giving is qualified by a complaint, but none of these flaws was a dealbreaker. I'd rather think of this as "constructive criticism." I'd go back.

The service was very welcoming, friendly and accommodating.

If you have a business breakfast (or any other reason to go) during a weekday, 2 Sparrows is a good choice.

I was at the Chill event at Merchandise Mart last night and had the chance to try 2Sparrows' biscuits and lamb gravy. The gravy was cold and the biscuit was too salty, but I definitely liked its scone-like density. Of course, any time you are mass-producing food for a big event and letting it sit out, it won't be as good as in the restaurant, so I definitely still want to get in and give them a try.

We went to 2 Sparrows this afternoon around 1:30 and we were quoted a 25 minute wait. We were seated in about 10 minutes.

I thought that, overall, the food was good but there's definitely room for improvement. We started with the foie and cherry compote pop tart. I really liked the pastry and the cherry compote was quite good but the foie was pointless. There was a hint of liver flavor but it didn't really add anything to the dish. I almost wish that they would use a creamy mousse and have the thing be really oozy when you cut into it. That would be far more interesting.

I had the belly sandwich, pork belly and a fried egg on a biscuit with some pickled onions. The biscuit was good, but heavy. The whole sandwich was actually sort of bland. I'm not sure if that was because of a lack of seasoning or if the biscuit just overpowered everything else. I put a pretty decent amount of salt and pepper on the sandwich after taking a few bits but it didn't really help. The tater tots that were served with the sandwich were outstanding, as was the wife's corned beef sandwich. The corned beef sandwich was actually pretty fantastic and that alone would get me back. I also saw some bowls of ramen that looked really good. With 2 Sparrows literally around the corner from our place I'm sure we'll be back.

I went yesterday around 11 with a friend and wavered between breakfast and lunch, but decided to go with breakfast. We started with the maple bacon doughnut, which was very good, but I'd had the Nightwood version the week before and 2 Sparrows didn't match up. It was drier with a good carmel sauce, but a little more of it would have helped the dryness of the doughnut, the bacon lardons were very tasty.

I got the biscuits with lamb sausage gravy which was served with a side salad of mixed greens. All this came in a bowl which was great for the biscuits and gravy, but caused the salad to absorb the gravy which I didn't care for. I liked the biscuits, they were denser than I'm used to, but they stood up really well to the very rich lamb gravy. My friend pointed out the gravy tasted like it was made with cream and I think he was right, there were nice pieces of lamb sausage and flecks of black pepper, but I'm not sure I would have know it was lamb if I hadn't been told. I'll definitely order this again. The salad was very good with house pickled fennel, but there was no way to keep it out of the gravy.

My friend had the corned beef hash which was also served in a bowl with a banger, poached egg and the house side salad. The corned beef hash is house made which made even stranger that it was the consistency of cat food it was so finely ground. There was a puddle of water on the bottom of the bowl which we guessed came from the very undercooked onions in the hash. The banger was an oval shaped patty with a nice thyme profile, I liked this, but it did seem strange to add meat to a meat dish.

I live close so I'll definitely go back to try the house made corned beef sandwich and some more of the breakfast items, I just hope they change the hash.

I had breakfast here on Monday with two friends. The place was virtually empty at 10 am. I had the eggs Benedict, and I had one big complaint. The poached eggs should never had left the kitchen. They were the ugliest eggs I had ever been served on top of being under cooked. The flavor profile was fine but it just seemed like amateur hour.

I returned, but I was less impressed on my return visit and I'm fairly certain there won't be a third visit. I had the shrimp and grits (didn't even realize I had this the first time) and I was less than impressed. What might have been a flavorful dish was marred by grits that were served largely crusted on top (in other words, left alone for too long in the kitchen - and maybe the plate too - without being stirred) and shrimp that were terribly overcooked. Chilaquiles were flavorful, but were seriously lacking in cheese. Also split the maple bacon doughnut, and while the cake doughnut itself was just moist and light enough, again the maple flavor was a bit lacking (although better than last time). I know they're using Burton's maple syrup (great stuff), but in my opinion, not enough to really bring out the maple flavor promised.

Aside from the food, there are some things about 2 Sparrows that really bothered me this past visit. First, they were very slow about seating people and tables remained open for lengthy periods as many people were waiting to be seated. The explanation given was that they couldn't seat people until plates and glasses were set on the tables (although they offered seats at the bar immediately . . . which had no glasses, plates or silverware). Worse, service staff constantly squeezed between tightly packed tables, not to service tables, but rather because it was a shortcut to the kitchen that saved maybe five steps. Thus, staff kept banging into our table and a couple of others nearby. I can understand if a server needs to squeeze between tables to service a table, but that's not what was happening. It's pretty tough to enjoy a meal when you're worried that food and drinks are going to be knocked over onto your lap. On the plus side, I know I won't experience this again at 2 Sparrows.

I have been for breakfast, and I have been for lunch, and lunch was better. Better enough that I would highly recommend it. It's been too long (unfortunately) for me to recall what I had, except that it was a sandwich, and every single ingredient on it, including the bread, was outstanding, and the whole was at least as good as the sum of its parts. Everyone else at the table felt equally enthusiastic about his or her lunch. On the other hand, breakfast on a previous visit underwhelmed me. I didn't think the biscuit and gravy I had was particularly good, and everything else was just all right.

This is too bad, because the place sort of seems to want to sell itself as an "incredible breakfast/brunch place," while its strong suit is actually the lunch menu and its execution of same. They either need to improve breakfast/brunch, or reposition themselves as a lunch place. Repositioning may be easier.

Edited to add: I just remembered what I had. A grilled-salmon BLT. A substantial, thick piece of very fresh salmon, cooked "just enough" (i.e., nicely rare without being raw), very flavorful, high-quality every other ingredient, all balancing well. I had reasonably high hopes but didn't expect to like it as much as I did.

We've been a few times now, and probably won't be back. The servers are nice, and we've never had trouble getting seated with a not-unreasonable wait. But we've had more than one instance of food being undercooked/raw (both the duck hash and the house-made tater tots) and getting the wrong thing due to (we assume) problems hearing us (DH would NEVER order Eggs Benedict). I do really like their "grilled cheese" - which is actually more like a toasted cheese sandwich - but I can make it at home, too.

I hadn't heard anything about the place when I stopped in today for a late breakfast. I was actually hoping for a more conventional, even diner breakfast, and imagined from outside that it would be something like that. So, I was a bit nonplussed at the somewhat fancier, higher level menu.
In the end I decided to go with the flow and go with the thing I was least sure about based on the menu description, which was this: RICE & BEANS - 10 pancetta, asparagus, tomato salsa, ramp pesto, farm fresh egg.
I liked it a lot.
Served on a handsome rectangular plate it could easily not have worked, not harmonized, etc. But I thought it was very balanced and interesting and fun to eat. The rice/beans gave it a sort of overall steel-cut oats texture; the pancetta presence was just enough to add smoky-meatiness as background, not major component. The 1" lengths of asparagus were perfectly done, the bright green ramp pest added color and a nice earthy freshness. The "tomato salsa" seemed more like just diced tomato, but it was good tomato and was welcome. The perfectly fried egg looked great sitting atop this little mountain, and the yolk, once broken, did its binding job.
I have to say that not that much of the rest of the menu appealed to me, but I'd go back for this dish, and to try the house-made sausage.
Service was very friendly and I was seated, menued and watered immediately. But the food took a really long time to arrive. There was an apology, but no explanation.
Oh, I also got a side of creamed collards. Somehow this didn't quite work for me. I imagined the sharp bitterness of the greens tamed and smoothed by cream. Instead, the whole thing just looked and tasted musty. Earthy in a slightly unpleasant way, like mildewy basement. That's overstating it. I ate it, but I just don't think it came together.
Nonetheless, if I were hungry on that stretch of Diversey again, I'd definitely have another go at it.

2 Sparrows, the Lincoln Park breakfast and brunch spot, will close briefly midsummer to undergo renovations.

When it reopens with a "warmer feel, warmer colors and expanded bar," it will offer dinner service Wednesdays through Sundays, a spokeswoman confirmed.

The dining room will be updated with warmer colors, the spokeswoman said, offering "a better vibe for evening and dinner service." The expanded bar will have seating and will tout a menu of craft cocktails, beers and a larger wine list. A "chef bar" will be added for patrons to interact with the chef while dining.

The dining room will have "more intimate seating," she said.

The restaurant has never offered regular dinner service but has held popular monthly pop-ups, teaming with North Shore Distillery and other local drink companies.

http://www.chicagobusiness.com/article/ ... ing-dinner

closed.

I'm surprised -- When I went for brunch this summer it was packed. Also, I assumed profit margins for brunch were high, since there are a lot of cheap egg dishes. Maybe they just couldn't pull in enough during the weekdays?