Vie Restaurant Review

4471 Lawn Ave. (Burlington Ave.) Send to Phone

708-246-2082 | Make Restaurant Reservations | Menu

Price

$$$$$

Chef Paul Virant's take on Modern American cuisine is thoroughly enjoyed in austere environs.

Vie Restaurant is one of our 2012 | Top 10 Chicago American Restaurants | Top 10 Chicago Food Rating Restaurants |

Cuisine

Modern American

Open

Dinner Mon.-Sat.

Features

Heart-healthy dishes
Romantic setting
Private room(s)
Full bar
Reservations suggested
Parking lot
Business casual

Wine

Great Wine List

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Chef-owner Paul Virant (also of Perennial Virant) has a gem of a restaurant in an affluent town that hardly knew fine dining until his arrival. 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 black and white photography offer a low-key (and stylish) backdrop for innovative, artful but not over-the-top cuisine. Virant --- along with chef de cuisine Nathan Sears --- comes up with some interesting and creative combinations; heâ€™s particularly touted for his 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. Dishes have included wood-grilled California sturgeon paired with braised Swiss chard and parsnips, candied moro blood oranges and fried Yukon Gold potatoes; and cassoulet of local pork, goose and duck, navy beans, roasted baby onions and carrots, toasted breadcrumbs, and house-made pickles and grape mostarda. Virant has a formula that keeps diners coming back, be it for pan-roasted Texas redfish or the ever-popular Vie burger. Desserts may include a German chocolate gooey butter cake with fudge sorbet, or chestnut flour crÃªpes with warm apple compote, Grand Marnier whipped cream and candied chestnuts. The wine list is a nice one: it's flush with atypical selections, many of which have a story to tell.