RIA Re-Opening Tonight, Reveals New Menu Items

Fresh from a few weeks off, chef Jason McLeod and his team at RIA will re-open the doors tonight and welcome diners back into the Michelin two-star dining room. McLeod and his team closed the restaurant just after New Year's Eve to unwind, regroup and do a little R&D for some new menu items.

McLeod said about 50 percent of the menu is new, including three first-course items: pheasant with savoy cabbage, foie gras and black truffle; foie gras with pistachio, port wine and frisee; and black cod with caviar, sea urchin and blood orange.

But expect some pretty amazing surprises on the seven-course seasonal tasting menu, which runs $120 per person (add $85 for wine pairings) and everyone at the table must indulge in the tasting menu. On that, watch for new items rabbit with foie, celery root and raisin; dover sole with leeks, pain de mie, black trumpet mushrooms, matelote (a fish stew) and bone marrow; and Peking duck breast with blood orange, fennel and cumin.

Don't worry, McLeod and chef de cuisine Danny Grant will feature additional dishes—like lobster with chestnut and fennel or dry-aged strip loin with hedgehog mushrooms—on the non-tasting menu in case you just want a taste ... and not a tasting.

And when you need a little sweet to end the night, pastry chef Stephanie Prida's dessert menu is also all new, save for the popular huckleberries with brown butter, cinnamon and meyer lemon ice cream. Indulge in such seasonal items like a date cake with sherry, kumquats and triple creme brie or Tainori chocolate ganache with black cocoa with pomelo and Aperol. And then find a cozy corner to snuggle up in and pass out.

Don't forget, you can also check out RIA as one of the first "lucky seven" each night through March. Snag one of the first seven reservations between 6 p.m. and 6:30 p.m. and score a $75 three-course tasting menu with a glass of bubbly.
· Ria Introducing "Lucky Seven;" Special Wine Dinner [~EChi~]
· All RIA Coverage on Eater Chicago [~EChi~]