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Dining: Wells Street

A friend who owns restaurants says patrons come back, time after time, for a signature dish. Something no other restaurant makes or prepares in the same way.

I’d widen the reasons for returning to a restaurant: portions, presentation, ingredients, certain servers, a special view.

Spring time in Old Town

Spring time in Old Town

Two restaurants in my Old Town neighborhood, opened within the past two years, have me aching to return — and not because I can walk to them.

Perennial, 1800 N. Lincoln Ave., has right-size portions and reasonable prices (entrees: $16 – $25) for the sophistication of its food.

Portions aren’t the only reason I go back, but it looms large. (I don’t like doggy bags, and I’m trying to lose weight.) Perennial offers a half serving ($10) of pasta, and the other night I lucked into their lamb ragout fettucine. (Theirs is a seasonal menu, and that’s a winter dish. Of course, summer hasn’t quite arrived in Chicago, even in June.)

I don’t especially like lamb, but this dish makes me swoon. Lamb is shredded, mixed with oven-dried tomatoes that burst with flavor.

My friend ordered a gnocchi appetizer that sounded heavy but wasn’t, and was artfully arranged.

Another attraction: the view! Perennial wraps the corner of Lincoln Ave. and Wells St. Its outdoor tables front a leafy green swath of Lincoln Park. The other night our table gave us Lincoln Avenue and its Queen Anne row houses, just as the sky turned to blue-pink stripes.

Our waiter was cute, too. www.perennialchicago.com

At the other end of Wells Street is Old Town Brasserie (1209 N. Wells St.) There’s so many reasons to go back to this smart establishment: the decor is warm and handsome, the bar is large and lively, the waiters are often French, the menu is well priced ($7 -$33) and the food makes my head spin.

Their Lyonnaise salad is my favorite dish. Crisp frisee, bacon that goes crunch, a light dressing, perfectly portioned.

Their roast chicken is predictably good, but fish is the thing to order: a special the other night really was special! Pan-roasted halibut on a bed of spring-green asparagus, more chopped than pureed. Soothing, and melt-in-your mouth delicious.

Sides aren’t typically French: grilled salmon is paired with quinoa, skate wing with bulgur. www.oldtownbrasserie.com

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