Kennyz wrote:I have lauded Avec countless times, and often describe the cooking as "the best in Chicago." I stand by that, but had one dish tonight that's on my "avoid" list. It was a flank steak that had been rolled and stuffed with some sausage, chopped egg, and peppers, and placed on a plate adorned with pickled carrots.

Man, i couldn't agree more. i was there last night and had this. it didn't work. first off it was too salty. second, basically everything you said sums it up. i love avec, it is hands down my favorite restaurant in the city, but this course needs to be tweaked.

sometimes with sucess, failure will arise. it is just natural. im still gonna go back asap...

I made my inaugural visit to Avec last night and was happy to discover that all the praise heaped upon the kitchen is warranted. We split 4 dishes between two of us. The bacon wrapped chorizo dates were great but were actually my least favorite of the dishes. Each plate was so good that I don't want to say that one was the best, but if I had to choose, the trofie with cinnamon and coriander braised lamb shoulder, preserved lemon, spiced yogurt and pistachios gets the nod. The focaccia with Taleggio ruled, and the artichoke crostini provided the perfect light respite from the heavier dishes. I'll be back soon, especially for the trofie, and to try the flatbread and the Brussels sprouts which everyone seemed to be ordering (and which our waiter said was his current favorite). Added bonus: they played Steely Dan for the entirety of the dinner. Avec will be one of my go-to places to entertain guests from out of town.

Be warned that they do change up the menu. While some things seem to stay on there, many preparations change with the seasons.

Tawl John wrote:Each plate was so good that I don't want to say that one was the best, but if I had to choose, the trofie with cinnamon and coriander braised lamb shoulder, preserved lemon, spiced yogurt and pistachios gets the nod.

This is a fantastic dish, the best thing I've eaten lately for sure. Be warned: it's extremely filling and you get a lot of it. Split three ways is probably the ideal portion. But, yeah, absolutely delicious. All the flavors meld beautifully (including the figs, not mentioned above).

I had a great visit to Avec last night. In addition to the delights mentioned up-thread, the pan fried lake trout with pain perdu, which is currently on the menu, is outstanding. Words fail me, but it all came together in a beautiful blend of flavors.

S

All I have to say is that the lake trout/pain perdu dish at avec right now is pretty damn delicious.

I’m headed back to Avec tonight. I’ve been there a few times, but it has been several months since my last visit. Anyone have any suggestions about can’t miss dishes on the current menu other than the fried lake trout with pain perdu already mentioned above? I appreciate any help.

There is a chopped 'slaw/salad with brussel sprouts and a brown butter vinagrette that is addictive and good to share; the Prosciutto/grapefruit/mint/gin dish is still on the menu and still genius; and the the ol' roasted octopus dish is back as well.

Skip the trofie pasta with the duck and sardines, though.

Can I heap some big praise on Avec's salads? I've had one at each visit, along with a few other small plates, and every time the salad wows me. I can't think of any other place where I always find myself wanting seconds on the salad. At a pre-theatre dinner tonight, we had a cauliflower, green bean, potato (with various size potatoes - some small as a marble, which I've never seen before) and sun-dried tomato salad with an anchovy vinaigrette. Excellent textures and flavors- crisp, thin slices of cauliflower, snappy green beans, slightly pungent, balanced dressing. Those of you that really love anchovies might not find the dressing assertive enough, but me, I like anchovies to just whisper to me, so the dressing was perfect for me. I loved our other two plates as well (the dates and a wild boar sausage) but I'm finding myself wondering if I can stop by after work another day this week and get more of that salad.

Planning on making my first visit to Avec this weekend...wondering what is the best way to tackle the menu? Stick to the small plates? Is it best to share the larger plates? Anyone must have dishes from people who've been there recently? I'll be going with just one other person.

For two people, 3-4 dishes should be just right. For large plates, the focaccia is excellent. The current pasta dish - trofie with duck, chai cured bacon and sardines - was transcendent the first time I had it and merely very good the second time. Highlights of the current menu are the crostini with red bean hummus and the trout with pain perdu. The Brussels sprouts salad is nice. The hangar steak with strawberry salsa was good but not mind-blowing. The potato and cauliflower salad was enjoyable but underwhelming for me.

When I went two weeks ago with two friends, the brandade was our favorite dish. I think the trout was our next favorite.

Went last week; our favorites were the pork shoulder (large plate), the trout, and then the hanger steak with the strawberry salsa.

The food sounds wonderful. The reviews are wonderful.
Why have I never gone?
Everytime I go to their website
and see a picture of the interior, it just looks
so darn uncomfortable. I can't imagine staying there
for more than 30 minutes.
I'd like to hear from you regarding the comfort level.

hoppy2468 wrote:The food sounds wonderful. The reviews are wonderful.
Why have I never gone?
Everytime I go to their website
and see a picture of the interior, it just looks
so darn uncomfortable. I can't imagine staying there
for more than 30 minutes.
I'd like to hear from you regarding the comfort level.

I find the seating to be uncomfortable, personally, but the food more than makes up for it. I wouldn't let the seating stop you from eating here, it's worth any minor discomfort.

Yeah, it's pretty uncomfortable. It's worth it.

I had that trofie pasta on my gf's bday dinner and thought it was fantastic, really rich but not too much of the intense, salty proteins.

gleam wrote:Yeah, it's pretty uncomfortable. It's worth it.

Agreed, entirely.

=R=

ronnie_suburban wrote:

gleam wrote:Yeah, it's pretty uncomfortable. It's worth it.

Agreed, entirely.

=R=

The last 4 times G.F. and I have been seated at the bar. I much prefer the bar to the tables if it is only a party of 2.

gtomaras wrote:

ronnie_suburban wrote:

gleam wrote:Yeah, it's pretty uncomfortable. It's worth it.

Agreed, entirely.

=R=

The last 4 times G.F. and I have been seated at the bar. I much prefer the bar to the tables if it is only a party of 2.

Actually, I agree there, too. The bar is definitely more comfortable, even for a big guy like myself.

Made my first visit to Avec last night and lucked out by getting seated at the bar in front of the chef working the stove. A friend and I split the brandade and chorizo stuffed dates...I ordered the trout with pain perdu for myself and he had the wild boar sausage. The dates were as good as advertised, but I agree with others that there could be a better chorizo to date ratio (the chorizo dominates). The trout was great, but the pain perdu was flavorless and underwhelming. I had a bite of the boar sausage, and thought it may have been a little undercooked. The brandade came out last which I thought was odd, but it was worth the wait...very rich and tasty. Overall I enjoyed the experience, especially getting to watch all the chefs in action. I wasn't blown away by the food, but my expectations were probably set too high and I didn't get to try enough of the menu. Loved the wine and beer choices.

I was just thinking this morning I would love to sit at the bar the next time I go -- is it something you can request and wait for, do you think? Or do you just have to sit wherever you're seated?

I had the trofie again on my most recent visit and it didn't taste as overwhelmingly good as the first time I had it, either. But it was still good.

I like sitting at the bar also (when there's just two of us). i<3pizza, when you check in, tell the host/hostess that you'd like to sit at the bar (or want whichever becomes available first, if that's your preference).

In my experience, I've been seated faster if I'm willing to sit at the bar.

i<3pizza wrote:I was just thinking this morning I would love to sit at the bar the next time I go -- is it something you can request and wait for, do you think? Or do you just have to sit wherever you're seated?

I had the trofie again on my most recent visit and it didn't taste as overwhelmingly good as the first time I had it, either. But it was still good.

You can request and wait specifically for the bar (or for specific seats at the bar), but as Darren72 says, just ask for first available if there's a wait. That will usually mean the bar anyway.

I've become quite skilled at giving Paul Kahan my money. I recently posted a love letter to the Publican, and I tell everyone that Avec is my go-to restaurant in this city. Hell, Blackbird isn't bad either.

Rather than go late, we went early, showing up at 3 pm, walking around the block, then being ushered inside shortly after 3:30. We had the place to ourselves for most of our meal, quite the change from my past meals there that have been bustling to say the least. A quartino of a totally serviceable unfiltered pinot noir, then a potato and shaved cauliflower salad, followed by the chorizo stuffed dates with bacon and piquillo pepper sauce, roasted swordfish, then a braised pork stew of sorts.

Everything was just spot on and delicious. Not a bad dish in the bunch, and when I think about it, I can't say I've had a bad dish there over my numerous visits. The two of us spent maybe $45 each, but there was a fair amount of food. Probably could've done without one of the first dishes and been totally satisfied at our late-lunch.

I can't be the first to wonder whether the Kahan empire expansion has diluted quality at his restaurants. In my last 2 Avec visits, I'm batting 1,000 when it comes to choosing a clunker of a dish. In May it was the unpleasantly chewy, hard-to-eat rolled flank steak, and today it was homemade pasta with an offal-based veal "bolognese" sauce. The flavors in this dish were fantastic, but it was so ridiculously oversauced and laden with an unpalatable quantity of heavy cream that it became impossible to eat. When all that cream (I'm guessing almost a full cup in the modest serving) mixed with the pasta starch, it became a heavy, spackle-like glob. I almost sent it back before it was served, because from my seat fronting the kitchen I could see that the cook had ruined it. But instead I tried it first, then – as politely as I could – let the cook know that I really couldn’t enjoy it with so much cream. He was gracious enough and asked me if I wanted anything else. I declined in favor of some mediocre leftover Indian food waiting at home.

Two in a row for me, and I'm a well-documented big fan of Avec. People say The Publican is good now, so maybe that's where the talent's gone (though I didn't love that a couple of months ago either).

SHEAM, but it's closed on Monday.

Kennyz wrote:I can't be the first to wonder whether the Kahan empire expansion has diluted quality at his restaurants. In my last 2 Avec visits, I'm batting 1,000 when it comes to choosing a clunker of a dish. In May it was the unpleasantly chewy, hard-to-eat rolled flank steak, and today it was homemade pasta with an offal-based veal "bolognese" sauce. The flavors in this dish were fantastic, but it was so ridiculously oversauced and laden with an unpalatable quantity of heavy cream that it became impossible to eat. When all that cream (I'm guessing almost a full cup in the modest serving) mixed with the pasta starch, it became a heavy, spackle-like glob. I almost sent it back before it was served, because from my seat fronting the kitchen I could see that the cook had ruined it. But instead I tried it first, then – as politely as I could – let the cook know that I really couldn’t enjoy it with so much cream. He was gracious enough and asked me if I wanted anything else. I declined in favor of some mediocre leftover Indian food waiting at home.

Two in a row for me, and I'm a well-documented big fan of Avec. People say The Publican is good now, so maybe that's where the talent's gone (though I didn't love that a couple of months ago either).

SHEAM, but it's closed on Monday.

Maybe it's just a couple instances of bad luck. Koren Grieveson is still running the show at Avec and I've seen her there . . . often even bringing out food to tables . . . multiple times in the last couple of months and I have not experienced any decline in food quality. Not sure if there was any other turnover in the kitchen but my last meal there about three weeks ago was as good as usual.

Not sure if there was any other turnover in the kitchen

Justin Large moving over to Big Star is the turnover.

BR wrote:Maybe it's just a couple instances of bad luck. Koren Grieveson is still running the show at Avec and I've seen her there . . . often even bringing out food to tables . . . multiple times in the last couple of months and I have not experienced any decline in food quality. Not sure if there was any other turnover in the kitchen but my last meal there about three weeks ago was as good as usual.Maybe it's just a couple instances of bad luck. Koren Grieveson is still running the show at Avec and I've seen her there . . . often even bringing out food to tables . . . multiple times in the last couple of months and I have not experienced any decline in food quality. Not sure if there was any other turnover in the kitchen but my last meal there about three weeks ago was as good as usual.

Glad to hear your recent experiences have been good, and I certainly hope my bad ones were just isolated instances. Though I have not seen her at all lately, I don't doubt that Chef Grieveson still works at Avec. But I also have little doubt that in addition to Justin Large leaving for Big Star, other good cooks have been spread around the empire. Chef Grieveson might have conceptualized an excellent dish last night, but she left it in the hands of someone who didn't execute it. That someone, btw, and one of his two counterparts working in the kitchen last night, were people I'd never seen at Avec before.

The last time I was at Avec was the night of the Bulls home opener (so not that long ago, but before Big Star opened). I didn't notice any drop-off in quality, but we stuck to some of the more basic stuff on the menu. Hopefully any recent downturn will be remedied quickly as the new crew gets up to speed.