Chicago - June 21, 2004

The Secret Garden

Cerise's Terrace Herb Garden de Provence

Summertime is best enjoyed with a little herb.

Not that kind. (You people … )

The kind that won’t get you arrested — but will still lift your spirits. Chef David Burns of Le Meridien Chicago and Cerise restaurant has opened his outdoor herb garden to the masses, serving unique herb-infused cocktails, perfect for a post-9-to-5 decompression. Try a citrus-lavender martini or a basil martini, served up with a cherry tomato and fresh basil leaf. Burns’s herb garden is located on the hotel’s fifth-floor terrace, so you’ll be perched above it all, away from the smog and noise, and feeling no pain.

In other words, a high you can handle.

Cerise’s Terrace Herb Garden de Provence, Le Meridien Chicago, 521 North Rush Street, between East Grand Avenue and East Illinois Street, 5th floor (312-645-1500).