As my GT colleague and fellow blogger John Wroblewski pointed out in his blog this week, there are a lot of great places to dine in the greater Chicago area. Whenever we visit Chicago, we’ve always got a list of places he’s recommended to try (like Two Brothers Roundhouse in Aurora), but more often than not we end up adding a few new discoveries of our own. Such was the case on our recent trip to the Midwest, when we sought out a restaurant that would serve up a fine pre-Christmas dinner not far from my daughter’s home in the western suburbs. We chose Vie in the village of Western Springs, Ill. Its chef/owner, Paul Virant, combines influences from his boyhood on a Missouri farm, grandmothers who were avid canners, his formal training at the Culinary Institute of America and working at New York and Chicago restaurants to create “seasonal contemporary American cuisine.” Michelin-starred Virant has earned numerous accolades — 2011 James Beard nominee for Best New Chef, Great Lakes; one of Food & Wine‘s Best New Chefs in 2007; Best New Chef 2005 by Chicago Magazine — and Vie itself landed on Guyot’s Top 40 Restaurants in the U.S. But both the man and his restaurant welcome guests in a manner that meet his stated goal: “I wanted to create an extension of my home.” That “home” featured polished concrete floors and a clean, soothing palette featuring soft gray walls, black leather banquettes, steel-gray chairs and black and white photographs on the walls. We were shown to our table adjacent to the fireplace adjoining the bar/lounge, just inside the foyer, and greeted warmly first by our server and then by Chef Virant himself, who brought us a complimentary amuse bouche after we’d ordered. Served, charmingly, in little 4-ounce canning jars, the warm, creamy wild mushroom mousse got us off to a great start. Sommelier Christopher Harris brought to our table a light, crisp Viognier from the southern Rhone region and chatted amiably with us about the bottle of a Walla Walla Cabernet Sauvignon we’d brought with us from home. (We shared a glass with him, the chef and our server, always pleased to be ambassadors of Northwest wines to knowledgeable recipients. They, in appreciation, waived the corkage fee — how kind!) The seasonal menu, which changes often, is divided into “firsts” (tapas-sized items ranging from gnocchi to foie gras), soups and salads (I tried the creamy parsnip soup, while Harry opted for a buttercup squash dish with lentils and chevre) and entrées. We each ordered a different main dish and found all of them delectable and hearty: a matsutake mushroom risotto with pickled asparagus, wood-grilled pork sausage and pork loin with Brussels sprouts, a butter-poached turkey breast and turkey sausage combo with pickled sunchokes and fresh apples, beef strip loin with leeks and kale, and the wood-grilled Vie burger. In addition, we shared a charcuterie plate (the country paté was sublime) and a cheese plate, choosing three from more than half a dozen domestic cow, sheep and goat cheeses served with a housemade berry preserve and dried fruit and nut crostini. Chef Virant’s expertise with pickles and preserves shines through in the relishes, garnishes, sauces and sides that contribute important elements to many of his dishes. We topped off our meal by sharing four of pastry chef Elissa Narow’s scrumptious desserts — each giving a nod to the season: a Valrhona dark chocolate molten cake with pumpkin butter and pumpkin ice cream; a sweet potato bread pudding with orange caramel sauce; glazed cider doughnuts with ginger shoot gelato, roasted apples and candied ginger streusel; and a St. Louis cream cheese buttercake with strawberry-rhubarb preserves. I honestly could not name my favorite here; they were all simply fabulous. Yes, a trip to Chicago is always a treat, especially when it comes to great food! — Patty Vanikiotis, associate editor/copy editor