Vegetable tempura at Parachute

Too many restaurants serve leaden, heavily battered chunks of food and slap the name “tempura” on them. Not so at Parachute, where the vegetable tempura is as it should be: delicate, crisp and focused. The vegetables vary with the season (meaning the $4 price may as well, says chef and co-owner Beverly Kim). On a recent visit, a Korean sesame leaf looked so green and fresh underneath its tissue-thin shell of batter that it was hard to believe it was cooked. The batter shattered on my tongue just as it should. The tempura is made in small batches, Kim says, with the oil heated precisely to 365 degrees. Finished bits are laid to rest briefly on a grate so any oil can drain away. The plate comes with just a few pieces of tempura, served with a soy-based dipping sauce. It’s a small but crucial dish; I’d call it as important an opener as Parachute’s signature baked potato bing bread.

3500 N. Elston Ave., 773-654-1460, www.parachuterestaurant.com

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