Vern’s serves contemporary American cuisine in a small restaurant and received a Michelin star in Nov. 2025.  Daniel and Bethany Heinze opened Vern’s in July 2022 and named it after his late grandfather.  We were at Vern’s in Feb 2023 and had a great dinner but planned this trip too late to get a regular reservation.  However, they were hosting  a collaboration dinner called Volume’s that we could get a reservation for, so we did.  The dinner was in combination with 10 years of Maloof Wines and BLVCK SVM, a rapper from Chicago.  This was a new one for me as I’ve been to other collaborations with chefs and vintners but to introduce music was another level.  The was BLVCK SVM’S Michelin Man album from which he chose 2 selections to play with each course and they repeated if necessary.    It was one seating for about 24 at a long table with Sam talking with each guest and the Maloof folks presenting their wines.  The group of people was wonderful, as we were all into food experiences but the food tonight was a more mixed end result than what Vern’s is capable of.   I would still strongly recommend this restaurant and encourage you to try one of these collaborations if you can, but it’s hard for all parts to shine in the circumstances.  (It was also quite dark, which made photography difficult, so apologies for the photos). Continue reading →