Bib Gourmand recipient TWO (1132 W. Chicago Ave.; 113two.com) has at least two things going for it.
One is its extremely telegenic staff, almost giving the impression that one has to be a model in order to be hired. Our server, Oscar, was as friendly as he was handsome, and the few others (male and female—including Oscar’s brother) who were there wore smiles on their lovely visages. Then, there’s General Manager Yamandu Perez, a Chilean-turned-Uruguayan who exerted a certain smugness (saying at one point that he probably gets away with saying things because he smiles so much) who was charming, nonetheless.
Then, there’s the food (with Perez saying that everything—including cheeses and sausages—is made in house). There are some combinations that may seem like they wouldn’t work, but they do.
For example, there’s a dish with asparagus, homemade brioche, maitake, poached duck egg and wild onion vinaigrette: It was wonderful. Then there’s ricotta cavatelli, which comes with English peas, homemade sausage, red-pepper harissa and honey-roasted almonds.
However, there are also more traditional items that impress, like gulf prawns with chili vinaigrette; and the double cheeseburger, served with mile-high fries in a formation that seemed to resemble a game of Jenga.
My dining partner and I agreed that dinner did not live up to the rest of the meal, unfortunately. The half-baked blondie (with raspberry sorbet, oranges and salted caramel) didn’t quite work—but TWO has some intriguing alternatives, including a goat cheese-and-ricotta cheesecake as well as puppy chow.
Regarding drinks, you must try Gleaming the Cube, consisting of Langley’s, sparkling wine, fresh lemon juice, green-tea simple—and a hibiscus tea and Radler ice cube. As the cube melts, it transforms the taste of the drink.
Hamburger Mary’s on ‘Undercover Boss’
There will be a viewing party to mark Hamburger Mary’s being on the CBS show Undercover Boss.
The event will take place Sunday, May 15, at 8 p.m. at 5402 N. Clark St. Ashley and Brandon Wright, the co-owners of Hamburger Mary’s, will be featured on the episode.
See “Hamburger Mary’s on ‘Undercover Boss’ Viewing Party” on Facebook.