Food Update! Jam breakfast place, Molly's Cupcakes, and more

Here are a few of the photos that were publishable in terms of quality -- my camera phone only captures well in certain lighting:

The scone of the day at Jam in Ukrainian Village: garlic paprika with whipped butter that was good enough to eat by the spoonful and raspberry jam. Really tasty. I'd been dying to try Jam; it's owned by a bunch of sous chefs at my favorite restaurants in Chicago, and everyone knows it. Consequently, by the time I roll in for brunch on Sunday there's a 1.5 hour wait, no place to really sit and, at least on the first try, they don't even let you put the name of the list unless all people are standing in front of the host. Third time's a charm though -- and showing up at 9:45 was JUST in time to beat the line.

This is Jam's Malted Custard French Toast, which features macerated quince, lime leaf cream and pink peppercorns. The entire dish is lovely -- until you bite into the pink pepercorn. That makes the dish have moxy. And it's great.

Oh, sweet egg sandwich. Jam's features pork cheeks, ricotta and persimmon ketchup. I didn't need the layers of French bolla, but it didn't matter. It's the perfect savory breakfast dish without having a lot of salt, which I like.

Switching gears:

I must recommend Molly's Cupcakes, even if the owner -- my ad class instructor -- ripped my work to shreds and may or may not have asked me, "What will that get you?" after I tossed out a solution to a problem during a brainstorm. Not that I'm bitter or anything (OK, maybe a little). But after a visit with my cupcake-obsessed (in a good way!) friend Cynthia last night, I've softened up: he's got a helluva business.

The country is dotted with cupcake bakeries, many that try to knock your socks off with creations that pair bacon with pears and strawberries with balsamic vinegar. Some of these cupcakes are really good. Others are OK, or tiring; sometimes you just wanna good, no frills dessert. What's great about John's cupcakes are that they play on comforts we all love -- think Boston cream pie or chocolate chip cookie dough -- and work them via filling and toppings into a lovely, cakey delight. The restaurant's concept is a throwback to his elementary school teacher who used to bake cupcakes for birthdays, so it's a playful schoolyard approach -- swings, for example, hang at a bar for seats. Only this schoolyard stays open til midnight, and John was there working himself  even then. Impressive.

Switching gears again:

When my friend Saul visited earlier this month, we ended up at Millenium Park around lunch time, and I immediately thought of Park Grill for burgers. For years I've been reading write ups in the many "Best Burger" issues in Chicago -- seems like everyone's got on -- yet never made my way in. Well folks, it's worth the hype. Pictured on the left is 1/2 of a regular ol' burger and the other half is the angus peppercorn crusted burger, which has gorgonzola, balsamic onions and mustard (although I swear there was bacon, too, but the online menu says otherwise). Guess which one was the best? The regular one, but they were both great. The regular one -- not greasy like its fancy, schmancy rival -- is one of the best burgers I've ever had. I'd go back. Just for the burger.