May 29, 2025
We placed our orders, wishing we were hungrier. Everything looked and sounded so good. If we hadn’t eaten so much the night before, we would’ve ordered their signature bacon: thick cut slices candied with brown sugar and black pepper.
The courtyard had perfect sunny weather for our outdoor breakfast. We chose a long picnic table under a patio umbrella. On another table, seven boxes of fresh produce were waiting to be picked up by customers. A guy pushed his bicycle through the black gate, grabbed a box, tied it to his bike, and pedaled away. Two tables away in the corner, a man with his head down typed on his computer. He wore a black sweatshirt and a blue baseball cap with “HAM BISCUIT” in white block letters.
Grant noticed him, too, and declared that one day he wants to be able to work like “that guy in the corner,” leisurely sitting outside in the sun in Chicago. At the time, I hadn’t realize who “that guy” was but something made me think he wasn’t just any ordinary guy off the street. He was unassuming but I was sure I had seen him before.
The waitress brought out our orders. She placed the sausage biscuit in front of Grant. His big, fluffy biscuit was sliced in two. One half carried a chicken sausage patty draped with white American cheese and the other half was topped with glossy peach habanero jam. The jam dripped down like liquid gold and the tiny chopped green chives on the cheese made it look happy.
She placed the Farmer’s Biscuit in front of me. The edges of the griddled biscuit peeped out under a mound of arugula, pink radishes, toasted sunflower seeds, sliced asparagus, and creamy goat cheese. I’ve never seen biscuits dressed up so fancy for breakfast.
Then she dropped the lovely slice of blueberry rhubarb pie, topped with a citrus oat crumble, between our plates. The pie filling shined a vibrant bright pink from the Mick Klug blueberries mixed with rhubarb and commanded our attention.
We forgot what we were talking about before our food arrived. We forgot about everyone and everything else and attacked with our forks and knifes. My biscuit tasted deceptively fresh, light and healthy. Grant enjoyed his biscuit too, especially the peach jam. I can tell he liked it because he “mmm-ed.”
Every mouthful at Bang Bang Pie & Biscuits was heavenly. Their bakers use brilliant flavor profiles. The biscuits and pie were not too heavy or boring. You get a hit of tartness and sweetness in each bite, with the perfect amount of richness. It made me wish I could try everything on their menu. Even before I took the last bite of that jewel-toned pie, I was already planning our next time here. We would come for lunch and I would reserve more space in my stomach. We will make no plans for dinner so I didn’t have to pace myself and fear wasting food. Better yet, we could bring a large group of friends so we could try every one of their savory biscuits, savory pies, sweet pies, grits (fancy and plain), granola, and their jumbo cookies.
I looked again at the guy in the corner. It was odd; he didn’t have any food or an empty plate in front of him. Suddenly it hit me: he was Chef/Owner Michael Ciapciak. Not only does he get to come to this shop every day to work, he has all the recipes. This man was an international restaurant and hotel critic for Forbes for four years before he opened up Bang Bang Pie & Biscuits. Imagine a life globetrotting and eating at restaurants. That’s my dream job! Before Forbes, he worked at Gramercy Tavern, Blue Hill, Stone Barns, and TRU.
It all made sense now why Bang Bang Pie & Biscuits was like eating fine dining at a corner coffee shop. This experienced chef knows exactly what he is doing with bacon, biscuits, and pies.