First bite: V.I.C.E.
It seems like the crop of downtown late-night dining spots is growing every night. And the brand new V.I.C.E. (with a kitchen open until 1 a.m. most nights) offers many virtues in this department.
On a recent late Wednesday, outdoor seating, which shuts down at 10:30 p.m., was no longer an option so we settled onto a comfy banquette (skip the leather ottoman stools) in this long, high-ceilinged dining room with exposed brick walls.
A sister to the adjacent Vivo, V.I.C.E. calls itself an “amuse-bouche boutique.” Its food, directed by chef Chris Laramie, turns out to be a lot less precious and a lot more generous than the moniker suggests.
First up were a half-dozen plump Kumamoto oysters ($16) served with a sweet champagne mignonette, cocktail sauce and a killer creme fraiche and dill sauce. Also excellent were five wonton tart shells filled with fragrant tuna tartare ($10), and a trio of sticky, delicious maple-and-orange-juice glazed ribs ($7).
But the loveliest savory by far was the $10 pair of juicy “2 oz. Kobe Burgers” topped with crisp pancetta, arugula, Camembert and truffle oil between ultra-fresh brioche. While it’s true I’ll eat just about anything drizzled with truffle oil, this was a perfect combination of textures and flavors.
Finishers were warm S’mores ($2) featuring a graham cracker boat carrying raspberry ganache and toasted marshmallow, and the wonderfully sticky seasonal (peach and plum) stone fruit tart tartin ($4). Eating rich foods so late at night might cause you some guilt, but V.I.C.E., with its thoughtful execution and surprisingly reasonable prices (save the Osetra caviar service, which goes for $355), has a way of making it feel a bit more virtuous.
V.I.C.E., 840 W. Randolph St.; 312-733-3379
Chef shift
At Tru, Tim Graham has stepped into the role of chef de cuisine now that Joel Dennis has sailed over to Blue Water Grill to serve as executive chef.
“Tim Graham has been my sous chef and executive sous chef for four years, so we will ease him into [the No. 2 role of chef de cuisine] and see how it goes,” says Tru’s executive chef Rick Tramonto.
Tramonto’s culinary empire, helmed with his partner Gale Gand, includes Tru, Osteria via Stato and a complex of restaurants in the Westin Chicago North Shore in Wheeling (Osteria di Tramonto, Gale’s Coffee Bar, etc.). So will Tramonto feel the need to spend more time at Tru during this transition? “I am still going to be at Tru every other week,” he says. “That has never really changed.”
