I had the great pleasure of dining at Le Lan on North Clark Street in Chicago today for lunch. I’m not sure I would have gone there on my own, but I’ll definitely go back.
A friend took me and she clearly knew her way around the place. Plus, it was impressive that the host knew her name. I instantly liked him because he heard me say, “Ooo, passion fruit margarita, too bad I can’t have that.” And he brought me one gratis…for fun. At least I thought it was fun.
Equally impressive was that rising star Chef Bill Kim, a Korean food master, stopped by our table to ask about our food — excellent and, most fun for me, talk about where he gets his ingredients…as local and as fresh as he can get them.
One of his go-to places is Green Acres Farm in North Judson, Ind. But he had his staff shoot us yet another gratis dish…a plate of candied and lightly blanched strawberries and rhubarb. I’ve never tasted slightly crunchy rhubarb. But it was mouthwatering perfection.
I wasn’t sad to hear that today was the last day Le Lan is open for lunch because I really want to come back and order the Tea-Smoked Duck Breast for supper. Yum.
Virtual Farmgirl 