Deka, Wheeling

More than 1,700 miles separate Paris from Chicago. Yet Executive Chef Michael Richie has brought those two cultures together in his American brasserie, which seamlessly fuses the buttery richness of French cuisine with flavorful and decadence.

Though the entire restaurant underscores that sense of luxury, it's most apparent on the menu. There, diners will find five different types of caviar paired with one of Deka's 50 top-shelf vodkas. As the courses march on, plates of beef tenderloin cooked on sizzling lava stone and pineapple-deglazed scallops prove that the entrees aren't stuck in a traditionalist past. Just one visit will make it clear why Splash magazine called Deka "a progressive restaurant [that] goes beyond simple dining pleasures."