Brunch at Park 52

The scene: "Good evening," the hostess offered when we arrived for brunch just past noon. "Welcome to Park 52." Evening? We slept in, but we didn’t think it was that bad. A quick check for sunlight (plenty) and signs of activity at the bar (none) confirmed we weren’t that lazy; she’d just slipped up.

The Hyde Park spot just started serving brunch in December, so we can’t really blame her for being off by several hours. Still, the time-warped greeting felt scripted, a reminder that Park 52 is still operating with the hyper-polished precision for which Jerry Kleiner is known, even though Kleiner is in the process of handing over the reigns to partner Marc Brooks.

Kleiner’s fun touches are still here too. The American bistro, still less than a year old, is bright and bold, with splashy touches such as oversized light fixtures and heavy red velvet drapes framing the huge windows. It’s also much roomier than its neighbors in the Harper Court complex, some of which already draw big Sunday brunch and lunch crowds. Especially now that Dixie Kitchen & Bait Shop has hit the big-time on WTTW-Ch. 11’s "Check, Please!" (a "lost episode" featuring president-elect Barack Obama hyping the spot first aired Friday), Park 52 might be the easiest spot to snag a table in these parts on a Sunday.

The cuisine: Park 52 sticks to its formula of American classics at reasonable prices at brunch, and that cuts both ways. A menu of familiar dishes like steak and eggs ($13) and buttermilk pancakes ($6) is comforting, but it leaves little room for inconsistency.

We wouldn’t change a thing about the custard-filled brioche French toast ($9, right), topped with sliced fresh strawberries and served with a tangy-sweet strawberry cream cheese sauce. Not so with the wings on our chicken and waffles ($12), which were juicy enough but underseasoned. Our huge, meaty crab cake ($10) suffered the same fate.

One thing that didn’t need any extra pizzazz was our Caribbean coffee ($6), a double hit of caffeine and rum that would have worked just as well after dinner as it did in the afternoon. Good evening, indeed.

***

Loved it: A big bowl of cheese grits ($5) with melted cheddar on top

Hated it: Waiting in line at the painfully slow self-pay parking machine

Brunch time: 11 a.m.-3 p.m. Sunday

Cost: $15-$17 per person, $23-$25 with a cocktail

Wait: None

M. Kathleen Pratt is the Metromix dining producer. kpratt@tribune.com

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