Amusee to start: spring roll (not fried) of shaved shallot, bean sprouts, shaved celery with a vinaigrette.

Appetizers: Duo of Vietnamese Spring Rolls. Cold: slow roasted pork, shrimp, sweet spicy shallots and Warm: Chicken, vermicelli, four pepper vinaigrette. Also Banh Xeo.

Entrees: Roast Duck Breast w/Seared Foie Gras. Lemongrass duck rillette, confit of plum, creamy polenta, green cardamom jus. Roasted Rack of Lamb w/Red Curried Loin. Fennel salad, sweet coconut gnocchi, eggplant chutney.

Amusee was a wonderful way to start.

Banh Xeo was ok, but also included on this plate were a couple deep fried mushrooms w/a light batter over a marinated mushroom salad. Also crispy pork belly served w/a chopped mango salsa. Mushrooms and crispy pork belly were terrific.

The duck and foie gras were cooked perfectly so pretty hard to mess that combination up.

The lamb rack and loin were two of the best pieces of lamb I’ve ever had, so full of flavor. Combined w/the salad and chutney made this a very enjoyable dish.

A couple flights of Pinot Noir were the wine of choice for us.

With an Executive Chef of Roland Liccioni along w/Chef Arun (yes that Arun) Sampanthavivat, I expected more out of Le Lan. Menu and the flavors we experienced are more in the French category rather than Viet.

A quote, "So you take one four-star chef, add another four-star chef, and you get-a two-star restaurant?" from Phil Vittel's review of Le Lan here: http://metromix.chicagotribune.com/d...ining_top_heds

Le Lan Restaurant
749 North Clark Street
Chicago
312.280.9100
http://www.lelanrestaurant.com