Lantern Menu

Lantern Restaurant Review:

Lantern’s simple décor relies on minimalist concepts with banquettes and backless stool-style seating. A single taper flickering in a glass vessel is the table’s only adornment. A leader in the sustainable farming movement, Lantern’s chef-owner Andrea Reusing not only uses local produce exclusively, but teaches her farmers to grow Asian herbs and exotic mushrooms for her kitchen. So her tantalizing pan-Asian dishes reflect the seasons. Even her whimsically named cocktails, such as Strange Acquaintance, are made from farmers market ingredients. Appetizers may include cabbage and black mushroom dumplings and the crispiest salt-and-pepper shrimp with fried jalapeños, coriander and sea salt. Main courses could be roasted Moulard duck with white sweet potatoes, pickled apple and shallots, or lemon grass-grilled pork chops with jasmine rice, chili-lime sauce and a green papaya salad. Her signature dish, tea-and-spice-smoked chicken served with shrimp fried rice, is available all year. For dessert, try the persimmon pudding with candied kumquats, cream and local pecans or roasted banana ice cream topped with caramel sauce and North Carolina peanut brittle. While modest in length, the wine list is smart and rich in uncommon and intriguing choices. A sparkling Riesling would make a great pairing with much of the fare, and other offerings from Germany and Austria are ideal as well, but there's plenty from the wider wine-making world.