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| - It's nice to know that you can find fine dining in Champaign. I went to dinner at Luna by myself after the place was recommended to me by a friend. It was a Monday night and the place was completely empty but for two other customers. A little surprising considering how great I thought the food was.
The waitress who helped me was very friendly, and we chatted a little bit. Funny how she said she was sorry after I told her I was visiting from NYC... sure, the dining scene and the nightlife in Champaign aren't exactly the most vibrant, but this place demonstrates that there are a few nice places to go to after all.
The food is mainly tapas (for dinner at least... I think the menu is different for lunch), though not typical Spanish tapas. A lot of dishes sounded very interesting, and I ended up trying two of them. I ordered the seared tuna with red pepper marmalade, gingered sushi rice and green tea broth: it was very good though I think it could have been even better. I also don't think the rice was actual sushi rice, but that's a detail. I then had the apple braised pork shoulder with celery roots: this was absolutely delicious. The pork was extremely tender and tasty, and I also really enjoyed the celery roots, which were crunchy and flavorful. Great dish, I would definitely have it again!
For dessert, I tried the strawberry Napoleon: layer cake of filo dough, cream and fresh strawberries. You can't really go wrong and indeed it was delicious.
They also have a fairly extensive wine and cocktail list: I had a glass of Australian wine (a blend if I remember well), which was fine but not great. However, with dessert I ordered their cheapest port and it turned out great, not too mention that the waitress probably had never poured port before (or really really liked me!) and brought me the most gigantic glass of port I'd ever seen. I thanked by giving her the most gigantic tip she's probably ever seen as well, so I guess we're even.
$50 later, I left the place full and satisfied, and more than slightly inebriated. 4-1/2 stars.
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