Vern’s is a small corner place that opened in July 2022 by Daniel “Dano” and Bethany Heinze.  Dano previously worked as Chef de Cuisine at McGrady’s where Bethany managed the bar.  They also worked in Los Angeles at Animal and Jon & Vinny’s.  The restaurant is named for Dano’s grandfather who is featured on a postcard that’s presented with the bill.  Currently, they are open Thurs. to Monday for dinner and brunch on Sat and Sun.  Windows to the street are on 2 sides and the kitchen is through an open window behind the limited bar seating, which is first come-first served and serves only wine and beer, no liquor.  The bare wood tables are closely set and matched with a variety of chairs and wall benches and set with towel sized napkins.  The menu has various-sized dishes that are all meant to be shared.  In addition, there were a couple of specials on the chalkboard over the fireplace, one of which ran out and a line was drawn through while we were there.  The food was creative and delicious and the vibe was casual and welcoming. Go if you can.

Set -up

 

Food

We started with the Honeycrisp apple salad that came with fennel, torn herbs, breadcrumbs and confit garlic.  The apples were sliced quite thin and coated with fine breadcrumbs and arranged on top of the mix of lettuce, arugula and cheese.  The cheese added a bit of salt to the well-dressed mix while the apples added crispness and sweetness.  It was an excellent blend of flavors and textures.

 

We were lucky enough to get the last order of bone marrow that was covered with green garlic, lemon and parsley and served with grilled bread.  There were 2 long bones filled with tasty marrow.  I would have preferred less topping, which at times obscured the rich taste of the marrow.  The grilled bread was lovely and really went well with the filling.

 

Bucatini was mixed with Swiss chard and black truffle.  The perfectly cooked pasta was generously covered with grated cheese.  The greens still had a good chew and combined nicely with the soft pasta.  It was all sitting in some magnificent broth.  The dish was totally savory and filled with appealing textures.

 

Another special that evening was a Wagyu Delmonico from Black Hawk Farms that was served with salsa verde.  We got a plate of the King Trumpet mushrooms, ginger and spring onion to go with it.  I really liked the addition of ginger to the wonderful mushrooms.  The tender and flavorful piece of beef was cooked a nice rare, as ordered and came sliced.  It was further topped with a bit of butter that really brought out the amazing flavors.  It was a fantastic combo.

 

They offered 2 desserts and we couldn’t decide so ordered both and warned the server we wouldn’t finish them but we were there to try.  The chocolate, cardamaro and hazelnut were an intense chocolate flavor topped with cream and toasted nuts.  It was the favorite of the 2 choices.

 

Satsuma, vanilla and creme fraiche was likened to a ‘dreamscicle’.  The vanilla creme faiche was on the bottom topped with frozen fruit and satsuma ice.  It was a brain freeze moment if you weren’t careful. It was very good and refreshing but I preferred the intensity of the chocolate.