JAM

Ever since I moved to Logan Square, this place was sold to me as the new hotness in breakfast & brunch. We ended up going there for a big group breakfast and… well, maybe I’m being too stingy with my rating here. It was certainly a good meal, at times even very good. But the spot is small and cramped, the wait was forever, the service was harried (too few people for too many customers, not their fault), and the food was, while very fine, not as earth-​shakingly great as I’d been led to believe. The distance from the hype and the actuality may not be JAM’s fault, but it accounts for the relatively low rating — there’s at least three places nearby that serve just as good a breakfast without all the wait. Don’t at all regret going, but am not especially eager to go again.

A bit off the beaten path but definitely delicious. If there’s a wait it’s very reasonable. The French toast are heaven. They melt in your mouth! Homemade coffee to start was worth the calories. Jam is on our go to list for Chicago brunch spots!

I have lived in Chicago almost 20 years, and this is hands down the best brunch I’ve ever had in the city. Jam has it all — beautiful décor, friendly service, and above all awesome, creative food.
My husband and I had the burrito and French toast at the helpful recommendation of our server. We each tried each other’s dishes and agreed they were amazing. The food alone would have been worth the trip, but the addition of the beautiful, modern décor and nice people really made it. We were also amazed at the price point — not cheap, mind you, but phenomenally reasonable for the quality of the food and the overall experience.
When we complimented our server, he mentioned their Bib Gourmand awards. They’re well deserved. I strongly recommend making the trip to Logan Square for this gem.

a Michelin bib gourmand restaurant worthy of the title! we went to Jam today and it was just so darn good!!! we ordered:
trout quiche: the egg in the quiche was beautifully silky
malted custard french toast: SO GOOD SO GOOD! this wasn’t overpoweringly sweet, and it was unlike any french toast i’ve had before.
salad nicoise: THIS IS ANOTHER SO GOOD SO GOOD! i don’t typically like to order salads at places because, well i just can’t justify paying for greens, but we wanted to try this because of the octopus and i’m so glad we did. this was such a unique salad with random components (octopus, olive tapenade, grapes, eggs, the shallot dressing) that i would never think go together, but somehow came together deliciously!
if i were to name a con, that would be the drip coffee i ordered. it tasted old, and it was cold when i got it. my cup was refilled, and the second time was a little better, but honestly i didn’t think the coffee was that good. this could be because we were their last customer before closing.

EPIC! Been coming here for a few years now and this place has NEVER disappointed! The food is ridiculously great! By far my favorite place for breakfast/​brunch. Super friendly staff :)
P.S even their regular coffee is great.

Honestly not sure why JAM doesn’t have good reviews here on Unilocal.They offer unique takes on traditional brunch options, and the food is extremely solid if not amazing, especially given the prices.
I got the eggs benedict, which was hands down the best eggs benedict I’ve had. The pork belly was crispy, and the maitake infused hollandaise sauce brought the dish together with its delicious creaminess. I also loved how the poached eggs were topped with a bit of microgreens, which balanced out what would have been an extremely rich dish.
I also tasted some of my friends’ french toast, waffles, and quiche. I liked the consistency of the french toast but found them a bit soggy; however, the waffles and quiche both were done extremely well and something I would love to try next time I come by.
JAM has got its food game down; I’d rank it as one of the top brunch places I’ve been to in Chicago, right next to The Winchester and Dusek’s.

This place has a kickass burger. I have been on a single-​minded, beef-​induced fervor of a burger binge for the past few months and FINALLY — this place delivered. A cute little brunch place in Logan Square! Who knew?
We also got the french toast, which came highly recommended by the server and now I know why. A half-​order was more than enough for me and my friend to share.
The service was really, really excellent. I rarely say that, but seriously, this guy was good — really friendly, accommodating, patient, knowledgeable, helpful, and lots of other positive adjectives my pancake brain can’t summon at the moment.

Was in a horrible space when I came to this spot for a meal by myself. It brought me back to life.

I’d considered JAM a spot with open tastebuds. I ordered the malted custard French toast– considering I have a major sweet tooth. For me, the french toast texture was a bit soggy. The lime cream on the side was refreshing though. On another note, the jamburger was not the best but decent! The fries were great, as well as the homemade ketchup
warm water not very –thirst quenching
bit crowded/​friendly service

Jam
³⁄₅ stars
Went to Jam the day after a Halloween party so I’ll try to keep the rating as least bias as possible seeing how I was a bit hungover. I was glad the staff was friendly to us because we walked in at 2:30p when they close at 3p, I know that can be a touchy thing, and I would’ve gone sooner if I could have. I don’t care too much for décor, but I will say this place had an elegant bomb dropped inside. The simpleness of the wall design, open kitchen, and use of mirrors really opened up the restaurant. I really enjoyed their take on sconces with the ingenious light bulb, which I’ve only seen once before. I would’ve really liked to take a picture, but the struggle to hike over for one wasn’t worth the effort. There was group of girls next to us who lost their voice from the night before, yet continued to yell in a raspy manner that hurt my ears.
I was stuck on the pastrami sandwich, but decided to get the egg sandwich with the pork shoulder, because double meats just sounded really good at the time. The yolk oozed in a manner that can only delight my hungry stomach and slurped up that goodness! For some reason, there was too much juice in the sandwich: from the egg? the pork shoulder? idk, but it made my bread so soggy that I ditched my hands and used my utensils pretty early into the sandwich, which was very difficult at the time and kind of ruined my sandwich. I saw them butter and grill the bread, I just wish it had a better crisp to it. Oh, their knife was really nice and took a pic of it. Yea, the little things tend to get me.
You could tell their Metropolis coffee wasn’t just any cup of Joe, but wasn’t exactly MY cup to drink (I’m a huge Dark Matter fan). Maybe the beans weren’t as fresh, or it just sat in the carafe a bit longer than usual.
My friend got the Jamburger, but since they were out of buns the chef recommended the ciabatta instead. I was starving at the time, so I also ordered to share their special of the day: french toast. It was $ 12 for 2 slices… $ 6 a slice… it was good, but not worth $ 6 slice good. My friend was waaaay to nauseous to eat, so I apologized to her as I was scarfing down my food with her head in her hands. What? Was I not supposed to eat? ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
I’d like to go back when I’m a bit more coherent so I can enjoy the food a bit more. Looking back, that burrito suizo sounded really good.
edit:
btw, this is my first review and am having difficulty uploading my pics. Will update when I can bc that knife tho!
update:
Figured out how to upload pics. Wish I had a better angle on that knife, because it really was interesting!

This is my first review of Jam but not my first time eating here. It is a shame because usually my experiences have been much better. I do not know if they just had a bad day but the brunch we had was not up to their usual standard. Specifically the egg sandwich i had, which was a good idea in theory but just poorly executed and under-​seasoned.
Today’s meal was 2 stars but since i have had much better experiences prior to today i gave them 3. Hopefully next visit will let me raise them to 4 where they should be.

Six weeks after our visit here (prompted by a token leisurely weekend day with no plans and a recent rave review from my bff about brunch here), and these are the things that come to mind first:
— Wowza on the plating presentation! So pleasing to the eye!
— Solid coffee drinks.
— Service with a smile! Never underestimate this.
— Seats about 40 inside and 14 – 18 people on the outdoor patio.
— Salmon brunch was A-​OK (salmon is served cold).
— Signature french toast dish is solid, but not mindblowing. Summery flavors delivered with the peach jam, lime zest, and whipped cream.

Two words: jowl bacon.
Oh. You still want to know more? Well. Let’s start with the jowl bacon. I never knew the jowl of the swine was THAT flavorful & utterly delicious.
So yep. Go to JAM. Get the jowl bacon.
You still feel like you need more?
Well, ok. The omelettes are good, the French toast is really decadent. They have seasonal specials that are always good & even the coffee is outstanding. And the service is great. And it is a really cute, comfortable, welcoming spot.
And (drumroll, please): Jowl bacon.
That is all. #JowlBacon

This place has flown under my nose for awhile now as a hidden gem on the Logan Square. I had nothing but an outstanding experience here, starting and ending with quality /​timely service and delicious /​outstanding food.
The menu items suggested by our server were beautifully prepared and presented. The French toast was unbelievable; an absolute must-​try but the kicker was the burger and I’m saying this as someone who has tried every listed burger in the city, Jam’s needs to be on everyone’s list. Mouth watering, double stacked, perfectly cooked.
Skip the lines at Lula and the basic brunch at Dunlay’s — spend a bit extra and get your money’s worth at Jam.

Good food, friendly service, and no wait early on a Sunday. Nice to have the farmer’s market to go to right outside the restaurant after an early Sunday brunch. Every dish I tried here was good and I would have it again.
The malted custard french toast is their signature dish and we had a half portion to start with. It was really good, but glad I just got the starter half portion. Wife had the burrito which was packed with beef and very tasty. I had the poached egg white with Spätzle and veggies. The egg white dish was one of the most novel brunch dishes I have seen in a long time. I would come back just to have that again.

I think my Google Maps was confused, because I got a little lost trying to figure out how to get here. But other than that, we had a late lunch on a weekday, so not many people were around and the two workers at the time were very friendly and useful in helping us decide what we should get. Because our waiter liked the french toast, we shared a small order of it. We both liked it, but I wasn’t completely blown away, I’ve definitely had better. On the other hand, that waffle of the day was absolutely divine. The waffle of the day when I went had asparagus, a poached egg and pork belly. I normally don’t like waffles, but this was divine! I’d come back for this any day. And the Metropolis coffee they served was never-​ending! If the waffle of the day sounds good, I say go for it!

Very modern place hidden in the middle of Logan Square. Great food, nice servers and they provide good non pushy suggestions on what to order depending on what you are hungry for.

What a cute little place!
Stopped in here for lunch the other day and was surprised at just how cute this breakfast/​lunch spot was on the inside. We were lucky enough to grab a table on the smallish outdoor patio and proceeded to take a look at the menu.
I liked that the service was quite good. They even brought out a couple of complimentary super mini muffins, and when we both said we were «gluten free» they replaced it with some fruit. Don’t get too excited as «some fruit» was only ¼ of one strawberry…but it was fruit! (made me laugh that they actually got a plate dirty for that!) Guess super mini applies to all things complimentary.
But the real star was their take on a salad nicoise. This was delicious with potatoes, octopus and a poached egg. Delicious!
Lunch came to about $ 15 which was also super reasonable. And if you drive, street parking is still pretty easy in the area.
Jam. You surprised me, and in a good way. And that doesn’t happen often!

One word: Amazing! Delicious and innovative menu, beautiful and bright restaurant, adorable location, pleasant service. Chef Jeffrey Mauro works wonders at JAM Restaurant.
We visited for brunch on a weekday, and so we were fortunate that the restaurant was fairly empty. We were seated by the window at the front near the door, so there was plenty of sunshine to enjoy with our meal.
Special of the Day — Waffle with roasted eggplant, heirloom tomatoes, poached egg, truffled pecorino cheese and basil. OMG, the best waffle I have ever eaten! The waffle had an amazing soft texture, and the veggies were super fresh. I loved the creaminess of the egg yolk with the sweet herbs. So good! Still dreaming of this waffle!
Malted Custard French Toast with macerated cherries, lime leaf cream, pink peppercorns — A regular dish on their menu for a reason, the french toast is sweet and dense. The combination of cherries, lime leaf and pink peppercorn is unique and delicious.
Service was friendly and they came by to check on us regularly, only for me to praise how amazing our food was. They even wrote down the description of the special waffle on a buisness card for me to take home as a souvenir.
Overall I enjoyed brunch here very much. Definitely one of the best meals I have ever had, and can’t wait to come back again.

Very clean and inviting ambience.
We were given two complimentary mini chocolate cupcakes to start, which was nice. These were ordinary but the coffee-​like buttercream was divine.
Got the omelette and thought it was pretty tasty, although most of it attributing to the piquillo peppers. The chorizo and onions were lackluster. However, I enjoyed that it wasn’t your traditional omelette. It was light and refreshing, but packed with ingredients. The accompanied corn bread was very good, considering I don’t usually care too much for corn bread. Cousin enjoyed his pork shoulder egg sandwich. We also split the full order of French toast and that was delish. It was amazing on its own, but the lime leaf cream and macerated cherries really kicked it up a notch.
Service overall was decent. A little slow towards the end but nonetheless, friendly.