11 Dishes At Carmy & Sydney’s Restaurant
DISCLAIMER: The following article contains spoilers for The Bear season 2.
The Bear season 2 concludes with a delectable menu crafted by Carmy (Jeremy Allen-White) and Sydney (Ayo Edebiri), which pays homage to iconic moments from the show. This season follows Carmy’s journey to establish his own restaurant while trying to balance a fulfilling relationship with Sydney. However, he is still grappling with the loss of his brother Mikey (Jon Bernthal) and his complicated relationship with his mother Donna (Jamie Lee-Curtis). Carmy channels his trauma into his work, collaborating with Sydney to create a menu that showcases moments from both seasons of The Bear.
The menu also reflects the lessons learned by Carmy’s colleagues from their individual journeys. Marcus gains a new appreciation for pastry work from his time in Copenhagen, while Sydney’s quest for culinary inspiration contributes to the opening night menu.
The Bear’s dining experience begins with a large focaccia bread accompanied by various meats and vegetables. The Parma ham is supplied by family friend Chester (Carmen Christopher), who affectionately labels the box “Carm’s Parm,” a nod to the Berzatto’s Italian heritage and the bread that originally formed The Original Beef of Chicagoland’s iconic sandwiches.
The dish that Carmy presents to Claire (Molly Gordon) at the start of the meal is the bone broth that he and Sydney perfected earlier in season 2. A broth made from beef bone is poured over frozen grapes, served like a tea service. This dish holds particular significance as it represents the dish that Carmy and Sydney perfected together, reflecting their bond.
The bucatini pasta dish, which Carmy keeps on the menu, also has ties to his relationship with Claire. After discovering that none of her previous partners had ever cooked her a meal, Carmy decided to make up for it by cooking her the thicker spaghetti with a thin hole in the middle.
The seafood dish, Seven Fishes, is the plate that Carmy gets most upset about in The Bear season 2 finale. The name is a callback to the Christmas flashback episode in which Donna insists on following the biblical tradition of the Seven Fishes, despite the fact that The Bear’s Berzatto family never eats them. Carmy’s anger with Sydney over the Seven Fishes dish losing heat is a flash of Donna’s influence on Carmy.
The T-Bone steak dish is a tribute to The Original Beef of Chicagoland. The plan is to continue serving their original beef to the neighborhood during the day, run by Ebraheim (Edwin Lee Gibson), who didn’t feel like he had a place within The Beef’s fine-dining makeover. The steak dish thus honors the legacy of Carmy’s much-missed brother, Mikey.
Marcus pays homage to The Original Beef by crafting his own version of the honey bun, which became as popular as the beef itself. The savory cannoli represents everyone in the restaurant, named after Mikey, who brought them all together.
The Copenhagen sundae is a delicate dish that Marcus learns to make from Luca (Will Poulter), a pastry chef and former colleague of Carmy, during his trip to Copenhagen. Marcus serves up his own take on the Copenhagen sundae at The Bear’s opening, a beautiful metaphor for his growth.
The final dessert offering is a cherry donut, which Marcus was perfecting when Carmy threw it on the floor in a fury about kitchen service. This incident highlights the close relationship between the kitchen staff, as they can joke about it. It’s for this reason that Carmy teaches Sydney the ASL sign for “sorry” to be used in the heat of the kitchen as an unspoken apology and an invitation to discuss issues after service finishes.
Richie’s (Ebon Moss-Bachrach) transformation from a hot-headed traditionalist to a dedicated customer service professional is the most heartening arc in The Bear season 2. His chocolate banana dessert, served to Uncle Jimmy (Oliver Platt), is an affectionate callback to Jimmy’s childhood and signifies Richie’s growth.
The Bear season 2 portrays Carmy’s struggles with focus, and it’s up to Sydney and Natalie to keep him on track. On the morning of the friends and family night, pregnant Natalie is struggling and hasn’t eaten, so Sydney makes her an omelette. She fills it with Boursin cheese and sprinkles it with broken up sour cream potato chips. Sydney later tells Carmy that it was the happiest moment of her day so far, an affirmation of why she got into cookery in the first place.
All episodes of The Bear season 2 are streaming now on Hulu.
WARNING: This article contains SPOILERS for The Bear season 2.The Bear season 2 ends with a delicious menu created by Carmy (Jeremy Allen-White) and Sydney (Ayo Edebiri) that contains various callbacks to moments from the show so far. Season 2 of The Bear follows the ambitious timetable of realizing Carmy’s long-held dream of running of his own restaurant. Working alongside Sydney, Carmy tries and fails to juggle the demands of setting up a successful restaurant and have a fulfilling romantic relationship. It’s also clear that he’s still struggling to cope with the loss of his brother Mikey (Jon Bernthal) and his complicated relationship with his mother Donna (Jamie Lee-Curtis).
Like many creatives, Carmy puts a lot of this trauma into his work, co-creating a menu with Sydney that reflects moments from across both seasons of The Bear. As well as drawing from his trauma to create great food, Carmy’s colleagues also reflect their own lessons in the menu from The Bear’s season 2 finale. Marcus’ time in Copenhagen gives him a new appreciation of pastry work, while Sydney’s own quest for culinary inspiration contributes to the opening night menu in The Bear‘s season 2 finale.
11 Focaccia
No meal is complete without the bread to start, and a dining experience at The Bear is no exception. On offer is a beautiful large focaccia bread with various accompaniments of meats and vegetables. The Parma ham is supplied by old family friend Chester (Carmen Christopher), who affectionately labels the box “Carm’s Parm” It’s a nod to the Berzatto’s Italian heritage and the bread that used to form The Original Beef of Chicagoland’s iconic sandwiches.
10 Welcome Broth
The dish that Carmy brings out to Claire (Molly Gordon) at the start of the meal is the bone broth that he and Sydney were perfecting earlier in season 2. A broth made of beef bone is poured over frozen grapes, which is served like a tea service. The fact that Carmy is serving the dish that he and Sydney perfected together is particularly loaded, as she has felt threatened by Claire throughout The Bear. The tender scene of Carmy and Sydney fixing the table together before opening suggests that her concern over Carmy and Claire isn’t just driven by professional concern about his focus on the restaurant.
9 Bucatini
Another dish that has links to Carmy and Claire’s relationship is the bucatini pasta dish that they keep on the menu. After Claire offhandedly mentioned that none of her previous partners had ever cooked her a meal, Carmy decided to make up for it. Bucatini is thicker spaghetti, with a thin hole in the middle, which is exactly what he cooks for Claire. It’s interesting that it’s that pasta dish, rather than the one Sydney was working on, that remains on the menu when they decide to lose two courses.
8 Seven Fishes
It’s telling that the seafood dish, Seven Fishes is the plate that Carmy gets most upset about in The Bear season 2 finale. The name is obviously a callback to the standout Christmas flashback episode in which Donna insists on following the biblical tradition of the Seven Fishes, despite the fact that The Bear‘s Berzatto family never eats them. Donna’s Christmas breakdown and her single-minded focus on everything being perfect foreshadow Carmy’s breakdown in the chiller. Carmy’s anger with Sydney over the Seven Fishes dish losing heat is a flash of Donna’s influence on Carmy.
7 The T-Bone
The impressive-looking T-Bone steak dish is presumably a callback to The Original Beef of Chicagoland. The eventual plan is to continue serving their OG Beef to the neighborhood during the day, run by Ebraheim (Edwin Lee Gibson), who didn’t feel like he had a place within The Beef’s fine-dining makeover. The steak dish therefore represents the fine-dining upgrade to Mikey’s original restaurant, honoring the legacy of Carmy’s much-missed brother.
6 The Bear Honey Bun
The legacy of The Original Beef restaurant is also honored by Marcus with his honey bun. Originally hired by Mikey to run a bakery from the Beef, the honey buns became as big a draw as the beef itself. By packaging it to sit alongside the fine dining experience, it’s a beautiful nod to how Carmy has realized his restaurant dreams while staying true to the Beef’s place in the Chicago community.
5 “The Michael” Cannoli
At the end of “Seven Fishes”, when a drunk and upset Donna crashes her car into the front room, Carmy fixated on the plate of cannoli sat on the sideboard. In episode 9, “Omelet”, Carmy explains that he hated cannoli because of the association with the emotional trauma of Christmases with his mother. On the advice of Claire, Carmy decides to confront that trauma by putting cannoli on the menu, with a savory twist. As requested, Marcus delivers a savory cannoli that represents everyone in the restaurant, named after Mikey, who brought them all together.
4 Copenhagen Sundae
Marcus is sent to Copenhagen to learn from Luca (Will Poulter, one of The Bear‘s star cameos), a pastry chef and former colleague of Carmy. One of the dishes he learns to make is the Copenhagen sundae, a beautiful delicate dish that Marcus brings back to Chicago with him. Marcus bonds with Luca as they discuss how great chefs benefit from life experience. The fact that Marcus serves up his own take on the Copenhagen sundae at The Bear’s opening is a beautiful metaphor for this.
3 Sydney’s Donut (After Carm Destroyed It Like A Little Bitch)
In a callback to The Bear season 1, Marcus’ final dessert offering is the cherry donut he was perfecting when Carmy threw it on the floor in a fury about kitchen service. Referring to this heated moment shows how comfortable everyone has become with each other. That Marcus, Sydney, and Carmy can joke about this incident shows that the pressures of the kitchen are never personal. It’s for this reason that Carmy teaches Sydney the ASL sign for “sorry” to be used in the heat of the kitchen as an unspoken apology and invitation to discuss issues after service finishes.
2 Surprise Dessert: The Chocolate Banana
Inspired by Chef Terri (Oliva Colman), Carmy’s “cousin” Richie (Ebon Moss-Bachrach) intends to “blow some fucking minds” on the first night of service at the Bear. Richie’s transformation from hot-headed traditionalist to dedicated customer service professional is the most heartening arc in The Bear season 2. It shows how much he’s grown since season 1, and also proves that he’s finally found his place in the world. To exemplify his transformation, he serves Uncle Jimmy (Oliver Platt) a chocolate banana, an affectionate callback to Jimmy’s childhood. It elicits the paternal approval that Richie has always craved having grown up without a father.
Throughout The Bear season 2, Carmy struggles with his focus, and it’s up to Sydney and Natalie remain on top of things. They repeatedly remind him to fix the chiller that he eventually gets stuck inside. On the morning of the friends and family night, pregnant Natalie is struggling and hasn’t eaten, so Sydney offers to make her an omelette. She fills it with Boursin cheese and sprinkles it with broken up sour cream potato chips. Sydney later tells Carmy that it was the happiest moment of her day so far, which is an affirmation of why she got into cookery in the first place.
All episodes of The Bear season 2 are streaming now on Hulu.
