Brunch Bites: DIY Pumpkin Pop Tarts and Chicago-style Bloody Marys at The Grid

In this week's batch of brunch bites, 2 Sparrows brings the gourmet pop tart experience home with a recipe for pumpkin pop tarts and The Grid launches brunch.

Admit it, you're still ravenous for pumpkin. Of course you are, Halloween hasn't even happened yet and you haven't yet consumed your body weight in pumpkin spice. Put down the candy corn, there's pumpkin pop tarts to be had, and they're easy to make yourself! Well, you can get your fix at 2 Sparrows, the contemporary brunch spot with a knack for novel whimsy, but you can also take the recipe home and recreate them yourself. Could be a nice change of pace in the morning from your normal latte routine/habit. All it takes is flour, sugar, salt, butter, and water for the tart dough, and cream cheese, powdered sugar, pumpkin puree, pumpkin pie spice, egg, and a dash of enthusiasm for the filling. For the full recipe, visit here.

(Chicago-style Bloody Mary at The Grid. Yow)

Have you ever been eating a Chicago-style hot dog and thought to yourself, "I wish this was drowned in a Bloody Mary"? Yes? Then it's The Grid to your rescue! The recently opened restaurant, a new iteration for the space formerly occupied by Baume & Brix, just launched a new weekend brunch program, wherein Chicago-style Bloody Marys feature a full-fledged Vienna beef hot dog with poppy seed bun, pickle spear, sport pepper, cocktail onion, and cherry tomato. The tomato juice in the Bloody Mary is almost like ketchup, but I'll let it slide. This is just the tip of the brunch iceberg, folks. Based on The Grid's affinity for elevated tavern fare, the restaurant is doling out heirloom apple French toast, bacon and egg RISOTTO, fried kale and eggs, and a badass bowl of granola studded with maple Irish oats, walnuts, pumpkin seeds, fresh berries, and milk. There's also a build-your-own mimosa bar with eight different juice selections. Things get pretty zany when guava juice is involved.