East meets West at Irae 60

East meets west at Irae 60 in Vernon Hills, a lovely, contemporary restaurant serving both Japanese and French cuisine.

Chef/owner Joe Choi, a native of Osaka, Japan, opened Irae 60 five months ago. Choi previously owned Kegon in Northbrook and Bistro Nami in Clarendon Hills.

The name of his new venture combines its Highway 60 location with a reference to the hymn "Dies Irae," reflecting a life-changing religious experience of Choi's.

Choi, 50, trained in his home country, and says that Japanese chefs of his generation were taught classic French techniques before being allowed to study Japanese cooking, so he wanted to highlight both of these specialties.

You can order Japanese dishes or French ones or both but don't expect any confused fusion. Each keeps to its own style here. Choi presides over the sushi bar and Japanese side of the menu while the French side's consulting chef Roland Liccioni informs the French side, with a kitchen staff of Le Francais veterans doing the prep.

Which is not to say that the food follows routine lines. Among the starters, for example, you'll find Choi's terrific "sushi pizza," a disk of crisped rice topped with salmon and flying fish roe, with capers, peppers and green onions. A wide variety of newfangled maki rolls supplement the classic sushi, so you can also order such items as the "Marilyn Monroe roll," with white tuna and tuna tartare plus Brie and pistachio-cheddar cheeses. I gave it a pass.

The nigiri sushi features large pieces of fish somewhat loosely adhering to their rice balls. My preference is for smaller, tighter nigiri, but this style seems increasingly common. Everything tasted fresh, which is the most important consideration with sushi.

Menu items change seasonally, but you might find Asian items such as pan-seared scallops on a bed of soba noodle salad, sauteed asparagus tips and mango, as well as tempura and traditional rice-based don bowls.

French options include such appetizers as curried lobster and scallop ravioli, lobster mousse studded with lobster and scallop meat, wrapped in rice paper, sauteed and served in lobster foam.

Both sides of Irae share a tendency to fussiness. For example, the roasted foie gras starter is so layered about with garnishes that it's hard to find the liver. I don't mean to say it's not a perfectly adequate serving, and it was beautifully cooked. The red-wine-poached pear, truffled celery root puree, Armagnac sauce and all the rest were also well-made.

But foie gras doesn't need all of that stuff. A simpler preparation of seared foie gras with, perhaps, a tart sauce, would have been more enjoyable.

However my roasted duck breast, served in a generous portion of rare slices accompanied by slowly cooked confit leg meat, was perfect. Roasted sea bass, moist and flaky, in merlot wine reduction also worked well.

Other choices include roasted loup de mer with fine herbs and tomato lemongrass coulis; farm-raised poached salmon with sweet pea sauce; and a duo of roasted Australian rack of lamb and grilled Kobe beef with ratatouille and lamb jus.

Desserts include a beautiful berry napolean with a rich Pear William-infused sadayon and a classic, vanilla-tinged creme brulee with fresh berries under its shattery sugar topping. Chocolate mousse and chocolate cake are other options.

The wine list offers a good range of international choices at fairly reasonable prices.

Whatever you order, dining at Irae 60 should be a delightful experience. It's a really gorgeous restaurant, with light and dark woods, a sleek glass sushi bar and elegant furnishings. The service staff also includes Le Francais veterans, who show their polish.

Irae 60

Fashion Square, 700 N. Milwaukee Ave., Vernon Hills, (847) 367-6600, www.irae60.com

Cuisine: Separate French and Japanese menus

Setting: Elegant, contemporary dining room behind a strip mall facade at Illinois Highway 60

Price range: Individual sushi and appetizers $6 to $16; entrees $17 to $32; desserts $8 to $11; wine $8 to $14 by the glass, $30 to $133 by the bottle

Hours: Lunch: 11 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. Monday through Saturday; dinner: 5 to 10 p.m. Monday through Saturday, 4 to 9 p.m. Sunday

Accepts: Reservations; major credit cards

Other: Free parking