Normal Heights has another family-friendly food option courtesy of the just-launched Burnside, which replaces a former Greek restaurant at 3375 Adams Avenue. Russell Hampton and Nick Zanoni, who own the neighboring Sycamore Den, have opened a new 30-seat sandwich shop that will also feed their cocktail bar.
The team was originally exploring a full-service restaurant in the downtown area but when plans shifted, they transitioned the concept into this casual, 1,000-square-foot space that features some consulting design work from Sycamore Den's scene-setters, Bells & Whistles.
Open from 11 a.m. to 11 p.m. Sunday through Thursday and 11 a.m. to 1 a.m. Friday and Saturday, Burnside is cooking up global mix of gourmet, meat-centric sandwiches developed by chef Lhasa Landry (The Heart & Trotter Butchery). Landry told Eater that the menu revolves around reinvented versions of the classics; her Cubano subs in mojo-marinated porchetta for the standard roast pork, a po' boy gets an Asian twist with salt and pepper shrimp and ginger aioli, her British fried potato-stuffed butty is Sunday dinner in a bun with pot roast, roasted carrots and caramelized onions and she takes the retro Monte Cristo into full dessert territory by filling it with berries and sweetened cream cheese or peanut butter, chocolate and marshmallow. There's also a banh mi created in collaboration with A MIHO Experience, served with side of pho broth provide by the Pho Realz?! food truck for dipping. The walk-up counter style eatery is also serving four draft beers and one on nitro, wine, cold brew on tap and variety of retro sodas, plus some kids menu offerings.
If you want to enjoy a cocktail with your sandwich, Burnside's full menu can be ordered at Sycamore Den and brought right to your seat or delivered to another adjacent watering hole, the Ould Sod. For the opening, Sycamore Den general manager Sarah Ellis along with bar team members, including Eric Johnson (now at Juniper & Ivy), have created a fresh, seasonal menu of cocktails — lighter, refreshing drinks to complement the sandwich selection. Ellis has also expanded the wine list to include a large array of rosé, just in time for summer.
