In the Fourth Street warehouse district area, a new restaurant has opened, to give you another reason to circle the same set of blocks five times looking for parking.

Once you inevitably give up and feed your $8 to the parking lot machine, it’s time to stroll over to MTwo for strangely affordable food served in small, perfectly arranged portions.

Unusual menu items like antelope kebabs and fried squash blossoms with an artful smear of garlic sauce are a welcome departure from standard restaurant food and are also surprisingly tasty.

The portions, though small, are filling, but remember to leave just enough room for some delicious strawberry pineapple gelato. While the menu is not large, there is a wide scope to it.

The décor is as different as the food.

The yellow brick and rich wood are lovely and set a conservative base for the more prominent and atypical elements. Foremost of which are the giant lanterns made of white umbrellas that hang from the ceiling.

More subtle are the folded white umbrellas with hanging ties that adorn the walls, a little decoration reminiscent of something a Japanese schoolgirl would find edgy.   

Complementing them on the opposite wall are bowler hats with ties wrapped around them. The ties have wire or other material, which shape them to look like they are flapping in the wind. In the back there is a large, textured piece of yellow-lit glass with some absolutely hideous pieces of fabric draped over its sides masquerading as curtains.

MTwo is tinged with the unexpected, and what tops it off the most are the little glasses of crayons sitting on the white paper tablecloths. The conservative and playful atmosphere that the ties, hats and umbrellas try to create is most successful in the simple elements of paper and crayons. They give the diner permission to relax and enjoy. Because of the time spent doodling and laughing, the wait for the food was not nearly as noticeable.