My best friend, my girlfriend and I strolled into this restaurant at 10 pm on Tuesday. Thursday I come to meet the same friend after eating at Sepia (see later blog), and I find my friend sitting at the same table, eating the same exact fucking dishes we had less than 48 hours before. Of the hundreds and hundreds of places my Friend could have taken his family to this weekend. Seeing as this weekend was Northwestern's graduation, perfect time to beg dad to expense account a big meal, and he goes to the same place we were at two days before. That's how fucking good this restaurants is.
When you step into Avec, you feel as if you are walking into a Sauna. And while there are no old ass men's balls sagging their way onto the all wood interior, at first it can be a little off putting. However, once the first dish comes, and you acclimate to the cafeteria like brightness of the place, you realize that this is one of the more comfortable eating environments you've been in. Not to mention that the food is so good, that you could be in some Tony Bourdain like street vendor booth, and you wouldn't have sense enough, or care enough, about anything other than the taste of your mouth (how hasn't that dude gotten a tapeworm or dysentery or something- if he does...Travel Channel..if you're reading......you have my email......please......).
Koren Grieveson took her career two doors down the street, and prepares dishes that are in fact similar to her old job at Blackbird, but definitely distinctive. Every dish is incredible, but the specials really reigned supreme. My party had a large plate of Whole New Zealand Red Snapper with caperberries
and a lemon butter sauce, at 40 bucks its an investment, but it was totally worth it. While it claims to focus on "small plates" the offerings have a tendency to be larger than you would expect from a tapas themed place. That being said, plate swapping should be expected, and the food is so good you may loose a friend or two cherry-picking dishes. the pork shoulder (roasted with whole prunes and apricots) could start WWIII, or at least cause you to stab your friend/girlfriend/brother/mother with a fork. It's that good. Expect to get 6 or 7 different tastes if your in a party of three, up to 10 with a party of four.While I agree with their no reservation policy in theory, the reality turns out to be much more annoying. If you show up before 9 on most nights, you won't get seated right away. Not to mention weekends could just be packed until they close (which is at 12 am on weekdays, 1 am on weekends). Not that there aren't a wealth of eating/drinking opportunities within a stones throw to pass the time (I recommend Sepia on Jefferson for some of the best old-school cocktails you'll see in this city: it's all in the egg-white). However, you will have a hard time finding a better place to eat at that dreadful 9:30 all-the-decent-places-to-eat-are-closed time slot, I mean, it beats the Irving Park Diner Grill for that late night food run (not that I've never had a "Slinger" or know the griddle master Ken).
Booze isn't the strong point here, however they do go for quality over quantity as far as selection is concerned. Some interesting Belgian, French/Belgian Style Beers (and by that I don't mean Stella you ignorant JP Morgan prick), a thoughtful wine list, and a few good top shelf selection (Snow Queen Vodka may be the best/only good thing to come out of Kazakhstan that includes fucking Borat). The carafe style wine pour is more than generous, so much so that it may be economically better to order a carafe relative to a bottle.
Avec's length, lack of width, and general set up provides for a logistical nightmare as far as service is concerned. The bartenders, and staff try to overcome it, but ultimately are overcome by the fact that they work in a fifty foot long sauna. The service does suffer,
but that's only if you aren't eating. Like I said; if there is food in front of your face at this place, you are happy.Ultimately Avec is a much cheaper and chicer restaurant relative to it's sister Blackbird. Its hours make it an amazing destination for that 11pm dinner, however the lack of reservations make that the only time I would go. We had seven tastes in my meal and I would order them all again. Just not two days after eating there.
My Meal.....
Group Meal (tapas style)
Small Plates:
warm spinach salad with treviso, haricots verts, cranberry beans, shallots and hot duck vinaigrette 9
red pepper and tomato-braised cod with caperberries, pancetta and spicy mustard greens 12
olive oil-poached organic salmon with melted lardo, grilled scallions, dill and lemon vinaigrette 13.
Large Plates
whole roasted fish (New Zealand Red Snapper) "picatta" with fried capers, herbs, butter and lemon m.p. (40)
wood oven-roasted pork shoulder with dried apricots, prunes, slab bacon and apricot mustard 22
desert
Pistachio Cannoli (not on menu to drunk to remember specifics) 8
Fox-o-meter
Food: 9.2 tastes I loved outta 10
Drink: 6.7 tasteful selection no execution otta 10
Service: 6 blame the architect outta 10
Ambiance: 8 big sauna's outta 10
http://www.avecrestaurant.com/
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