Two

I didn't live in Chicago when the doomed Black Sheep was here, but I hear about it once in awhile. Two took over the spot late last year. It is one of the many restaurants that is on my way from work to home, so I checked it out, but it failed to impress considering the other restaurants on that route like Vera and La Sirena Clandestina. Last night I needed a good bar meal after working late, but both those places were packed and I couldn't snag a spot. So I reluctantly went to Two, which was not packed (maybe not a great sign for business). I was happily surprised. The special was a suckling pig with a silky bourbon glaze on a set of two flaky biscuits on a mount of buttery parsnip mash. It was so good I ordered another. Then I had the bread pudding, which was delicious brioche melded together with a slightly crispy caramel and homemade vanilla ice cream. The bad thing is that portions are really really small considering the price. The curse of small plates strikes again I suppose.

They have a good beer and cocktail list too which I will have to try sometime.

Two
1132 W Grand Ave, Chicago, IL 60642
(312) 624-8363

I'm confused. You say that it "failed to impress", yet you were "happily surprised", the special was so good you ordered a second one, and the dessert was delicious, so it sounds like you were mightily impressed. Care to clarify how it "failed to impress"? (Or is your objection solely to the relationship between prices and portion sizes?)

Incidentally, that was also the location of May Street Market, before Black Sheep.

nsxtasy wrote:I'm confused. You say that it "failed to impress", yet you were "happily surprised", the special was so good you ordered a second one, and the dessert was delicious, so it sounds like you were quite impressed. Care to clarify how it "failed to impress"? (Or is your objection solely to the relationship between prices and portion sizes?)

Incidentally, that was also the location of May Street Market, before Black Sheep.

It failed to impress on my two previous visits. It wasn't bad. It was just not very interesting to me, particularly with the portion sizes. But this meal did impress me and I will visit more often.

nsxtasy wrote:I'm confused. You say that it "failed to impress", yet you were "happily surprised", the special was so good you ordered a second one, and the dessert was delicious, so it sounds like you were mightily impressed. Care to clarify how it "failed to impress"? (Or is your objection solely to the relationship between prices and portion sizes?)

I interpreted that as she had visited it previously and was unimpressed and based on that she was happily surprised this visit

Edit: whoops, looks like Melissa beat me to it

On reflection, it might not just be about the price point. The thing about Two vs. Vera is that both are "small plates." But Vera's small plates are designed like tapas whereas most of Two's are like scaled-down to quarter-size entrees. Vera's are easy to share, Two's feel like a tease, like you are just starting to enjoy a dish and then it's gone, which is why I ordered two of the special last night. I feel a lot of their dishes I had previously, the short ribs and duck egg pasta for example, just don't work for sharing in the way the bacon wrapped dates at Avec or the uni toasts at Vera work, where you just grab them off the plate. Two's involve a terse negotiation because they are not as ample nor as easily divisible. It never adds to my enjoyment of a meal when I'm discussing with a friend how to divide up a single short rib or a poached egg.

mgmcewen wrote:It failed to impress on my two previous visits. It wasn't bad. It was just not very interesting to me, particularly with the portion sizes. But this meal did impress me and I will visit more often.

Aha - that makes sense. Thanks!

I understand completely. I haven't been there since they opened, I thought I posted about it, but maybe not. I was a frequent visitor of May Street Market, and just haven't been of Two. I agree, I think it's the pricing and sizing. There really isn't enough for "Two". I had a good meal when I was there, but nothing to really bring me back as a regular. The staff couldn't have been friendlier.

I love when restaurant developers pick business names that seem intentionally designed to defeat web search-ability.

(though due to tweaks because of the era we're in, Google handles it beautifully already)

Santander wrote:I love when restaurant developers pick business names that seem intentionally designed to defeat web search-ability.

In addition to Two, other examples in Chicago include Local, Brunch, Waffles, Jam, etc. (It seems to be particularly prevalent among breakfast-focused restaurants, so that they can communicate the breakfast concept through the name.)

There is a Black Board Eats deal today to get a 30% discount off dinner here. http://www.blackboardeats.com/ We had appetizers there last week, and our portion sizes we felt quite ample. Maybe we just hit on the right things! Grilled leeks, duck fat potato croquettes, mussels with homemade tasso, and roasted bone marrow. All priced between $8-$14 and plenty for two. Super welcoming and warm service made it a pleasant evening. Lots of information about vertical indoor farming and they say their produce is hand delivered by bicycle!

Thought this thread deserved a bump as I had one of my favorite dinners of the year at Two last night. Really, unexpectedly impressive beer list (Goose Island Proprietors BCS on tap???!!) started out the evening on a good note as did as a friendly, welcoming owner (or possibly manager).

After reading through this thread, it seems as though the ownership read it as well and responded specifically to the criticisms. The dishes seemed fairly priced, and a good amount of food in each. There were three of us, an admittedly challenging number to do 'shared plates' with, but the kitchen seemed to know this and most dishes arrived with bites in multiples of 3, which was greatly appreciated.

Stand outs were the grilled asparagus salad, lamb belly, and waygu beef brisket which may have been the most perfectly cooked and tasty pieces of meat I've had this year. Coversely, the suckling pig dish was a little rough and overcooked, and the "blondie" desert was straight up dry. But overall, a really great meal where 3 of us got to try a good portion of the menu and left very satisfied but not overly full.

TWO Team Planning Second Restaurant, Antidote, in River North

http://chicago.eater.com/2016/2/15/1098 ... restaurant