Perennial Virant

Last night Brady and I celebrated my birthday at Perennial Virant in Lincoln Park. We had an amazing meal; for about an hour and half I even forgot that I am no longer in my 20's! I loved everything that we ordered. The menu is designed for sharing with small, medium and large plates which I am a big fan of. We ordered 2 small plates, 1 medium and then we each got a large. It sounds like a lot of food but it was the perfect amount for the two of us, we both left satisfied but not stuffed. I still had plenty of room for the birthday cupcakes my friend Thru brought out to the bar later!

For our small plates, we ordered the Crispy Carnaroli Rice which was fried cheese curds served with a sweet onion vinaigrette and pea shoots. Think a more sophisticated version of mozzarella sticks! Our other small plate was the special for the day, Nantucket scallops caramelized in a sorghum butter and served over wilted spinach and candied walnuts.

If I was forced to choose a favorite, I would say our medium plate was the best. We ordered barramundi served over a sweet potato puree and brussel sprouts with a bacon and cranberry vinaigrette. I love brussel sprouts and the combination of the cranberry and bacon made them beyond good. This dish was so good that Brady has now been converted to a brussel sprout fan!

For our large plates, I had grilled pork with wheatberries, broccoli and mushrooms and Brady ordered the sturgeon. I really liked my dish but Brady's definitely got extra point for being interesting. His sturgeon was served with braised beef and was a unique play on surf and turf. I was very impressed with all of the flavor combinations in the food that we had and I loved how the chef incorporates local seasonal ingredients from area farms. This is definitely a restaurant we will be going back to. I am thinking that this would be a great place to bring my parents when they come visit before the holidays!

Sorry, no pictures of the food. You'll just have to trust me that it was all blog worthy! But here is a cute picture from the bar where we continued the birthday festivities :)