If Mado is my go to neighborhood restaurant, Vie is my go to fancy place.  Although as soon as I type this, i think of Vie family suppers and Vie burger dinners.  I think what canVie and chef-owner Paul Virant not do well.  If one night it's about the best meatloaf I've ever had (I learn after-the-fact that it's house cured beef bacon that does the trick) it's foie gras ice cream another night.  This winter, I was in Chef Virant's office with him as he put together his latest menu.  He rattled off the locality of nearly every item.  Some of it was from winter farming, like Michigan's Werp Farm, but much of it was from items put-up in house.  They can.  They make their own cheeses.  If there is a sausage on the menu that day, you can bet it came from in-house.  I have said this on other forum, but more than anything, Vie seems to me, the embodiment of Joy of Cooking.    You begin with beverages, inspired cocktails, and end with equally inspired candies.  In between may be their version of classics, the current menu features a blanquette as well as their take on homefries.

While Vie's menu may read standard, there is also, for sure, a Vie style.  Like you can always recognize Miles Davis's sound across genres, you can recognize Virant's hand no matter what the dish.  He plays always in multi-part harmonies.  Why have one type of turkey on your plate, when you can have two.  Compare and contrast.  There is almost aways something pickled or bright to offset any heaviness.  Vie rarely makes sauces, instead using vinaigrette's or flavored butters to accent.  The plating is not intricate, pristine or glorified, but is right, a working combination of meat or fish, vegetable and accents.

The Vie rooms are a wonder of lighting and strategic scenery.  Without a lot of design budget, Vie has created spaces that match their dishes.  Like I was saying, Vie is a fancy place.  There are wines and then there are reserve wines.  The servers are friendly but polished.  There are tasting menus and amuse's.  I would like to eat often at Vie, but I like to eat at Vie for things like my anniversary.  When we learned that my daughter no longer needed to wear a back brace, we knew where we would celebrate.  It may be boring for you that I have so few restaurants I like.  I have a hard time needing any other fancy place but Vie.

Vie

447 Lawn

Western Spring, IL

708.246.2082

http://www.vierestaurant.com/index.html