Cuisine:

• Others
• American

Vie Restaurant Description:
Chef-owner Paul Virant (Ambria, Blackbird, Everest) has a gem of a restaurant in a town that has hardly known fine dining until now---despite its affluent status. The space, set on the site of an historic home, pays homage to its predecessor---but with a clean, minimal approach. The winding floor plan and neutral dining room with sparkling chandeliers and black and white photography of Western Springs offers a low-key (and stylish) backdrop for innovative, artful but not over-the-top cuisine. Virant comes up with some interesting and creative combinations; he's particularly touted for his innovative pickling, canning and aigre-doux techniques, which are seamlessly (and often surprisingly) incorporated into dishes that, at their root, are familiar. A great supporter of local and sustainable produce, Virant fashions fleeting delights on his ever-changing menu. Hits have included wood-grilled Virginia striped bass, braised local cranberry beans, grilled fennel, arugula, Mandarins, mint and red onion marmalade, and Gunthorp Farms duck leg and thigh confit, French lentils and roasted carrots. Virant has a formula that keeps diners coming back, be it for pan-roasted Icelandic halibut, black rice, sunchokes, fried sage gremolata, local pea shoots and preserved Meyer lemon aïoli, or the Vie burger of Dietzler Farms beef and house-made bacon, aged Wisconsin cheddar, Yukon Gold potato home fries, and pickled jalapeño vinaigrette. Sweet finales might include bittersweet chocolate and peanut butter mousse cake, brittled peanuts, cocoa nib brittle and chocolate sauce. The wine list is a nice one: it's flush with atypical selections, many of which have a story to tell.


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