![One America’s ‘Best New Restaurants’ Is 90 Miles From Rockford](http://townsquare.media/site/721/files/2019/09/2019-09-03_1259.png?w=980&q=75)
One America’s ‘Best New Restaurants’ Is 90 Miles From Rockford
You're making dinner plans and then the "let's go somewhere new" line pops up, what do you do?
You probably start thinking about hitting up a place that you've never been to before.
Well, you might be interested in checking out a restaurant that is literally in every meaning of the word new and apparently incredible.
Located at 1462 East 53rd Street in Chicago, Virtue Restaurant is more than just Southern cuisine served in the Windy City.
Eater called Virtue Restaurant one of the "Best New Restaurants in America" and here's why:
At Virtue...Diners looking for Southern classics will find much to love on Virtue’s menu, whether in cornmeal-covered fried chicken gizzards or blackened catfish with Carolina Gold rice.
I'm getting hungry just thinking about it, but it's not your basic Southern grub. Here's where things get a bit different, thanks to chef and owner, Erick Williams.
But Virtue’s most potent dish is the cauliflower...The braised cauliflower steak is finished on the grill, creating a crisp crust over the vegetable’s fork-tender innards. Williams plates it with cashew dukkah (an Egyptian spice blend) and “root cellar vegetables” presented as giardiniera — the pickle blend Chicagoans enjoy most on Italian beef sandwiches.
The Virtue website echoes Eater's sentiments saying they "use heritage techniques to create some familiar flavors, & some new ones."
The next time you're asked if you want to try something new, you might just want to reply with "How about a road trip to Virtue?"
A trip (with tolls) from Rockford to Virtue in Chicago is roughly 90 miles.
More From 97 ZOK
![BOLD MOVE! People Swimming On Chicago High Rise During Tornado](http://townsquare.media/site/721/files/2024/07/attachment-chi-swimming.jpg?w=980&q=75)
![Big World Record-Sized Koi Removed from Midwestern Lake](http://townsquare.media/site/721/files/2024/07/attachment-FI-Koi.jpg?w=980&q=75)
![7 Best New Foods at the Wisconsin State Fair](http://townsquare.media/site/721/files/2024/07/attachment-FI-WI-Fair.jpg?w=980&q=75)
![All The Illinois Athletes Competing for Team USA in Paris Olympics](http://townsquare.media/site/721/files/2024/07/attachment-FI-IL-Olympians.jpg?w=980&q=75)
![Discover The Top Workout Trend In Illinois: Yoga Vs. Pilates](http://townsquare.media/site/721/files/2018/03/RS14477_162383291.jpg?w=980&q=75)
![The Most Expensive Turkey Leg In The Midwest Is In Wisconsin](http://townsquare.media/site/721/files/2024/07/attachment-giant-turkey-leg.jpg?w=980&q=75)
![Why There Are So Many Earwigs in Wisconsin This Year](http://townsquare.media/site/721/files/2024/07/attachment-FI-Earwigs.jpg?w=980&q=75)
![Illinois Candy Shop that Opened in 1921 Serves World’s Largest Ice Cream Sundae](http://townsquare.media/site/721/files/2022/04/attachment-o-11.jpg?w=980&q=75)
![How To Build a Chicago Style Hot Dog](http://townsquare.media/site/721/files/2024/04/attachment-FI-Heinz.jpg?w=980&q=75)