Vie

After reading rave reviews on chowhound, LTH forum, and various critics, and seeing the Best New Chef of 2007's words, "Vie, French word for "Life"..My goal is to help them enjoy every morsel and drop of life.” and learning of their "Use of local, fresh ingredients"... I was excited to take my parents to Vie for their anniversary.

The setting is nice -- contemporary design/decor, b&w pictures, and a surprisingly large space. Everyone from the hostess to the designated person who filled our water regularly were pleasant. the only person we unfortunately interacted with most ended up having an attitude problem...for some reason he didn't give us a decanter for our bottle of wine (other tables around us had decanters). i don't care whether or not a decanter is used, but I found it irritating that we're the only table not offered... especially since it was my parents' special day. and when my dad ordered "steak", the waiter asked, "um, are you talking about the strip steak?" it was the only "steak" on the menu, I found it unnecessary to make my dad feel stupid and second guess his order. not terrible service, but snobby and not very helpful. we had the foie gras & gnocchi appetizer, (special) corned beef, strip steak, bass, and pork belly for dinner. the timing and temperature of all the dishes were great, but there were way too much sourness (pickling) and saltiness.. taste was so strong I felt like I needed starch to settle the flavor (especially the bacon/pork belly)...but there weren't any. foie gras melted in my mouth, but the sauce was too sweet and a bit sour too... the only thing that wasn't too strong was probably the well-made gnocchi (without the vegetables that came w/ it), as it melted in my mouth. the two slices of bread served to each of us was also quite good, tho two out of four of us had the ends of the loaf served to us. while the flavors were somewhat inspiring, it was way too strong. Unfortunately, I would not be interested in wasting my time for a return (thanks to the memorably disappointing server). I also wonder whether or not Chef Virant was available -- never saw him out, so perhaps that was the reason why everything was overly seasoned.

ricotta gnocchi, pan roasted oyster mushrooms,

werp farms sorrel, sweet butter

seared au bon canard foie gras, warm english crumpet, local squash butter,

wisconsin black walnuts and walnut vinaigrette

pan-roasted sea bass, braising greens, preserved tomato arrabbiata,

toasted breadcrumbs, shaved celery and arugula

slow-cooked “fresh bacon,” wieland family farm cranberry beans, tuscan kale,

preserved tomato vinaigrette, house made giardiniera

marinated and wood-grilled painted hills strip steak,

toasted barley, marinated cauliflower, mushrooms, mustard béarnaise

"Special" Corned Beef (St. Patrick's Day)

Recommended Wine (which also sucked):

06 Gypsy Dancer, Pinot Noir, Emily Ann, Chehalem Mt.,

Oregon

As a side note, my friend went to Vie a few weeks ago and had a wonderful experience-- she said her waiter was so wonderful and even offered to give a tour of the restaurant/kitchen after they finished eating. the pantry, variety of pickling jars, marinades, were shown with pride and everything looked fresh and clean. goes to show how different the wait staff can be...

while i want to give them a second chance, there are just way too many other restaurants I'd rather try and many more that I'd want to return to.

my expectations were high.. it's such a shame.

Vie

4471 Lawn Avenue

Western Springs, IL