Barrington's Region wins with exceptional plating, delicious dining

Region Kitchen and Bar, the latest venture from popular local chef Dave Perlick, recently opened in Barrington, offering upscale food, a full bar and great service in a decidedly unstuffy high-end space. Everyone at Region is treated like a friend from the moment they walk in the door, and the chic look of the dining space makes you feel like you're visiting someone's stylish loft home rather than a typical restaurant.

The upscale American menu at Region is broken into two sections: field, for land-based dishes (think salads, steaks, rice), and stream, for water-based ones (mostly fish and shellfish). From there, it's separated into small plates and large plates. Every table gets a basket of wafer-thin cheesy lavash bread - trust me when I tell you it will go fast.

Presentation is a top priority at Region, and many of the dishes are uniquely plated. The French onion soup, for example, comes served in an actual onion. The kale Caesar salad is made tableside in a Mason jar, and for the hot rock steak, you're served a piping hot river rock that you fry your own steak slices on. The more typical plating for dishes is also very clean and inventive, making a trip to Region both a gastronomic and visual experience.

Our appetizers were two dishes from the small plates, the bacon-wrapped sea scallops and the Bang Bang cauliflower. For the scallops, the dish comes with two large ones and a fried polenta cake between them in a little stack. The sauce is a mix of maple, praline and apple butter. The scallops themselves were cooked perfectly, melt-in-your-mouth tender, with a nice bacon kick from the wrap that played well with the maple sauce. The polenta cake could have been a bit more textural - it was more or less just mushy, but some of it had a nice crisp edge. A much-needed crunch came in with the praline.

The Bang Bang cauliflower is nothing short of divine. It's on the small plates portion of the menu, but the serving is large and should definitely be shared. Large pieces of cauliflower are breaded and fried al dente, then drizzled with Bang Bang sauce, or a sweet Thai chile aioli, and sprinkled with sesame seeds. I was concerned the cauliflower would be too soft between the fryer and the sauce, but it was cooked very well. It wasn't as spicy as I expected either, though the heat did build up from the sauce. The Bang Bang cauliflower is the most popular small plate at Region, and it's obvious why thanks to the great flavor. Pro tip: If you plan to imbibe, the War Pigs' Salmon Pants lager is the perfect pairing with this dish.

Our main courses were the monkfish Marsala, listed under the large plate portion, and the Sunday Gravy special. Our waitress warned me that the monkfish Marsala, which came served with asparagus and potatoes, had a very sweet sauce. She was right: It was sweeter than any other Marsala sauce I'd had. I still enjoyed it, and combined with the nicely crisp asparagus, potatoes with a great snap to the skin, large cuts of mushrooms, and a big chunk of very fresh monkfish, it blended well together with everything. The only downfall I could see is that the entire dish was a bit underseasoned. Some salt or pepper sprinkled on might do well to cut the sweetness and add another layer of complexity.

The Sunday Gravy was the star of the meal for my dining companion. The dish was made of house-rolled buffalo ricotta gnocchi, black truffle/port wine butter, braised steak/duck confit Bolognese, and a Parmesan au gratin crust. All of the flavors worked together exceptionally, and the meats were perfectly seasoned. The sauce was very rich and paired well with the buffalo ricotta gnocchi, which was cooked throughout and not grainy or underdone like other large gnocchis tend to be.

For dessert, we ordered the whipped cheesecake banana foster, which was a small cheesecake topped with pralines, brandied banana-caramel cream, banana slices, vanilla ice cream, and chocolate crisp pearls. Unlike typical banana foster, it wasn't too boozy, but there was an intermittent brandy kick from the cream. The whole dish was both rich and refreshing at the same time. We were quite impressed as well that the cheesecake crust wasn't the least bit soggy; it was nice and crisp.

If I had to choose, Region would be my new favorite restaurant in the area. The combination of flavor ingenuity, friendly service and reasonable prices will always keep me coming back for more.

Region Kitchen and Bar

718 W. Northwest Hwy., Barrington, (224) 848-4005, regionrestaurant.com/

<b>Cuisine:</b> Elevated American

<b>Atmosphere:</b> Classy casual

<b>Entrees:</b> $15-$30

<b>Hours:</b> 5 to 9 p.m. Tuesday through Thursday and Sunday; 5 to 10 p.m. Friday and Saturday

<i> Restaurant reviews are based on one anonymous visit. The Daily Herald does not publish reviews of restaurants it cannot recommend.</i>