Perennial
1800 N. Lincoln Ave.Chicago, IL 60614-5812
Lincoln Park
312-981-7070
perennialchicago.com
Hours: Dinner: seven days
Saturday & Sunday brunch
Our Review
Situated in a primo piece of real estate facing the Green City Market, whose purveyors provide many of the restaurant’s ingredients, Perennial is for the most part a solid homecoming for executive chef Ryan Poli (formerly of Butter). There’s a rustic and seasonal simplicity that’s occasionally sideswiped by some untamed flourishes: a sweet peekytoe crab salad was all but destroyed by a bitterly acid avocado mousse, and the short-rib cannelloni that accompanied some otherwise beautiful seared sea scallops was a textural nightmare of overmanipulated manky meatstuff. Overall, though, Poli is working excellent ingredients into appealing, often colorful creations like halibut with sweet corn, fingerling potatoes, house-made Iberico bacon, and a lobster infusion or seared sea scallops with English pea puree, carrots, pickled green garlic, and lavender salad. On my last visit the simplest dishes were the most impressive: a lamb duo of chops and spicy braised loin with eggplant chutney, a lush foie gras torchon on the charcuterie plate, and a watermelon-tomato-olive-oil salad that should be devastating at high tomato season. This is one of the most boring restaurant neighborhoods in the city, so Perennial ought to be valued by locals as well as hotel guests.
Price: $$$
Payment Type: American Express, Discover, MasterCard, Visa
Past Events
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Allergen-Free Dinner
- Tue., May 4, 6:30-8:30 p.m. 2010
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