Restaurant Spotlight: Perennial Virant

The folks from the Boka restaurant group nabbed Michelin-starred chef Paul Virant, gutted the previous restaurant and reopened with some of the best farm-to-table meals in Chicago. Not having visited this restaurant prior to Mr. Virant's takeover, I have no comparison to the former Perennial. But I was certainly impressed with the food presented to us this past weekend! Chef Virant’s always changing menu is guided by what’s local and in season. The seasonal American food is offered as shared small, medium and large plates. Of course we had to test out pretty much everything on the menu. After all, you never know if you are going to be able to have it again!

Small plates:

Crispy Carnaroli Rice - Brunkow cheese curds, sweet onion vinaigrette, pickled snow peas, pea shoots. Rice wrapped in cheese and pan seared to perfection? Umm yes! It tasted like grilled cheese style risotto!

Medium plates:

Yukon Gold Potato Gnocchi - Nichol's broccoli, Nordic creamery smoked cheddar, house made bacon & crème fraiche. Sooo cheesy, soooo goooood.

·    Gunthorp Farm Duck Breast - Klug farm grapes, Nasturtium leaves (a kind of water cress – yeah I had to look that up!) & almonds. Andy never learned to share as a kid, so I didn’t get to taste this. But he certainly seemed to enjoy it!

Seared Diver Scallops - Bourbon pressed & grilled watermelon, & cherry bomb vinaigrette. I have been on a serious scallop kick lately and these did not disappoint. On my scallop-o-meter, I give them a 9. The grilled watermelon was a refreshing addition!

Large plates:

Crispy Great Lakes Walleye Pike - Hush puppies, smoked tomato vinaigrette, arugula & buttermilk mayonnaise. Very well cooked and very lightly seasoned. A perfect summer dish.

Prairie Fruits Farm Ricotta Ravioli - Sweet pepper Agrodolce & Green Acres gypsy pepper sauce. Well cooked pasta, clean and simple flavors.

Howling Hounds Farm Fried Young Chicken - Creamy grits & tomato provencale. And yet again, I win with the best dish of the night. Unfortunately, I did not get to savor this dish on my own. Terence, Nicole and Andy pretty much devoured my entrée. Luckily I did manage to get in on the action, and it was pretty much the best fried chicken EVER! After gushing about the dish to our server, chef Virant paid us a visit so we could praise him in person. Such a nice guy!

To end the night, we had 4 desserts! Yes one for each of us. In all fairness, we actually ordered two, but chef surprised us with two additional desserts!

-          Creme Fraiche Panna Cotta: Michigan blueberries, Three Sisters Oats, fennel
-          Chocolate Brownie: Caramelized white chocolate ice cream, brandied cherries
-          Fried peach pie: Vanilla ice cream, bourbon caramel sauce, milk jam
-          Chef Virant’s pound cake creation with raspberries, blueberries and fresh whipped cream

Dessert overload? Nah! We devoured every morsel! Thanks chef!

PV is also open for brunch and has an awesome patio (which is offered on a first come, first serve basis.) Get your butts to Perennial Virant if you are in the mood for some local, fresh and very tasty fare!

1800 N. Lincoln Ave.

(312) 981-7070

http://www.perennialchicago.com/index.php