Sit down at MiLa, the glossy new restaurant in the Renaissance Pere Marquette Hotel, and two miniature cast iron skillets arrive with the bread basket. One has the expected dab of butter glistening with grains of salt. The other holds a lima bean purée. The silky purée is earthy with an edge of sourness. It's comforting and precisely balanced, like a family member's secret recipe the one time they cooked it just right.

The small opening gesture sets the tone at MiLa. Slade Rushing and Alli...