Avenues or Moto?

Trying to decide...taking my dad to Chicago for his birthday, want one really amazing special occasion restaurant. Having trouble deciding, as there are so many choices in Chicago. I've pretty much narrowed it down to these two. My dad is pretty open minded and will try any kind of food, I just want the best tasting food and the best experience. He does like Asian food a lot, so should I consider Arun's?

my only concern would be if Moto could become the "Birthday spot" - I would worry it would overshadow the occasion.

Hands down--if you are able to sell a kidney--Avenues is the finest birthday meal and overall dining experience that I ever treated myself to in my life.

Epoisses wrote:Hands down--if you are able to sell a kidney--Avenues is the finest birthday meal and overall dining experience that I ever treated myself to in my life.

I have heard nothing but praise for Avenues, and from what I've seen, I think my dad would enjoy it more than Moto. I actually just made a reservation at Avenues, thanks for the help!

My pleasure.

I completely concur in Epoisses's description of Avenues. My husband took me there for my birthday and it was better than our experiences at Trotter's, Tru, Seasons and Spiaggia. I hope you mentioned the birthday when you made your reservation. They acknowledged my birthday in numerous ways when we were there.

3 of us ate at Avenues a few weeks ago, and while the food was spectacular, the service was mixed. I dont know if they have a sommelier, but whenever I had a wine question, it was either answered incorrectly, or the waiter said he would have to check. My favorite was when I asked if a specific Loire white was chenin blanc or sauvignon blanc, he said he thought it was "the cabernet." I was also a bit surprised that no a la carte menu was offered when there was one on the internet site. When I asked if we could order a la carte, the waiter said "that might be possible." We ended up doing 2 protein and 1 grand tasting. I was a bit surprised that Chef Bowles made no effort to work the room, since he basically is standing in the middle of it. Like I said, the food is great, and it is a very elegant spot. The truffled popcorn at the Peninsula Bar was also excellent.
-Will

WillG wrote:3 of us ate at Avenues a few weeks ago, and while the food was spectacular, the service was mixed. I dont know if they have a sommelier, but whenever I had a wine question, it was either answered incorrectly, or the waiter said he would have to check. My favorite was when I asked if a specific Loire white was chenin blanc or sauvignon blanc, he said he thought it was "the cabernet." I was also a bit surprised that no a la carte menu was offered when there was one on the internet site. When I asked if we could order a la carte, the waiter said "that might be possible." We ended up doing 2 protein and 1 grand tasting. I was a bit surprised that Chef Bowles made no effort to work the room, since he basically is standing in the middle of it. Like I said, the food is great, and it is a very elegant spot. The truffled popcorn at the Peninsula Bar was also excellent.
-Will

Oddly, I ate at Avenues once and (as I was just discussing with my dining companion the other day) the wine service was by far the most memorable thing about it. The sommelier was a chap called Aaron Eliott (I think) and was he was a really nice bloke. We had the 4-course option (not sure that they even offer that any more) and asked him if he could pair a wine with each course. He made some excellent and really interesting choices and was a pleasure to talk to. Maybe he's not there any more?

The food was good (I think Chef Bowles was pretty new at the time and was still finding his feet a bit), the service was OK and I didn't like the room at all - a bit lifeless, in my opinion. Never really felt the urge to go back (which is lucky, because I can't afford it)

Moto, on the other hand, I loved - I can't wait to return when I have some cash saved up.

What's interesting about Avenues is how inconsistent an experience it can be. I love the food and think that Chef Bowles is doing wonderful things. Aaron Elliot was the sommelier at least when I was there and he certainly know his stuff.

On the downside, service can be spotty at best. I've certainly had trouble understanding some of the staff when they've tried to explain dishes to me. Given the complexity and the style of food, this certainly detracts from the overall experience. Also, the room does not match the food at all. It is a remnant from the restaurants prior incarnation. The folks from the Peninsula would be well served to update the decor (although the table spacing is some of the best in the city).

Fascinating. When my husband and I were at Avenues, last fall, one of the things we enjoyed about our experience was the friendly, yet professional, service. I had found the service at Tru, for example, professional but a bit cold. The waiter we had at Avenues, on the other hand, was pleasant and even lighthearted. I also thought the manager was very friendly and he and I got into a bit of a chat about collecting restaurant menus.

(although the table spacing is some of the best in the city).

I thoroughly concur with this statement. One of the reasons I find Avenues so romantic. That and the view. (Of course, I don't think the original poster is looking for romantic atmosphere per se.)

ekpaster wrote:I completely concur in Epoisses's description of Avenues. My husband took me there for my birthday and it was better than our experiences at Trotter's, Tru, Seasons and Spiaggia. I hope you mentioned the birthday when you made your reservation. They acknowledged my birthday in numerous ways when we were there.

They asked, and when I told them it was for my dad's birthday, they wanted his name, too.

When I read about the corn nut crusted short ribs, I almost drooled like Homer Simpson! The food must have been incredible for you to give such high praise! Do you remember what you had?

LionRock wrote:

WillG wrote:3 of us ate at Avenues a few weeks ago, and while the food was spectacular, the service was mixed. I dont know if they have a sommelier, but whenever I had a wine question, it was either answered incorrectly, or the waiter said he would have to check. My favorite was when I asked if a specific Loire white was chenin blanc or sauvignon blanc, he said he thought it was "the cabernet." I was also a bit surprised that no a la carte menu was offered when there was one on the internet site. When I asked if we could order a la carte, the waiter said "that might be possible." We ended up doing 2 protein and 1 grand tasting. I was a bit surprised that Chef Bowles made no effort to work the room, since he basically is standing in the middle of it. Like I said, the food is great, and it is a very elegant spot. The truffled popcorn at the Peninsula Bar was also excellent.
-Will

Oddly, I ate at Avenues once and (as I was just discussing with my dining companion the other day) the wine service was by far the most memorable thing about it. The sommelier was a chap called Aaron Eliott (I think) and was he was a really nice bloke. We had the 4-course option (not sure that they even offer that any more) and asked him if he could pair a wine with each course. He made some excellent and really interesting choices and was a pleasure to talk to. Maybe he's not there any more?

The food was good (I think Chef Bowles was pretty new at the time and was still finding his feet a bit), the service was OK and I didn't like the room at all - a bit lifeless, in my opinion. Never really felt the urge to go back (which is lucky, because I can't afford it)

Moto, on the other hand, I loved - I can't wait to return when I have some cash saved up.

What did you love about Moto?

I think Avenues is the safe choice.
It has consistently high quality food. The room itself is very comfortable and there is stuff to do in the neighborhood before and after.
Moto is far more interesting but at times less successful. Creative is great, but the food has to taste good. There were a few misses along the way, but some great hits. Exmple: The edible menu was nice, but it just didn't taste good.
Also, there is nothing going on in the neighborhood.
I would save Moto for a fun night out, but not necessarily a birthday. I like the place a lot and look forward to going back. It still has the feel to me of Charlie Trotter's in the early days, when he was experimenting more. It is fun to try the food, but there is no guarantee yet the the taste will be there consistently.

The food must have been incredible for you to give such high praise! Do you remember what you had?

I actually wrote a detailed description of our meal on this board, but it is probably buried on page 20 by now. We just got the three-course meal, alas, because we had a babysitter at home with the meter running and can't stay up much past 10 pm these days anyway. I started with the lobster prepared two ways. One was a lobster salad that was amazing. It was served with a horseradish foam and a ligonberry sauce so it sort of made the most amazing cocktail sauce ever. Husband had the quail breast. Then I had the deconstructed bouillebaise, which was also wonderful, although my least favorite part of the meal was the smoky sausage that was part of this dish -- to smoky and sort of crumbly like hamburger meat. Husband had the cornmeal covered bison which he liked a lot but he wished there had been more sauce. Desserts were a standout. The dessert amuse was a sort of chocolate pot de creme thing -- phenomenel. I had a butternut squash souffle (this was fall) which was like eating pumpkin pie made in heaven. They also brought us a chocolate passion fruit cake for my birthday! Our waitress matched half pours of wine with each course for a reasonable sum.

ekpaster wrote:

The food must have been incredible for you to give such high praise! Do you remember what you had?

I actually wrote a detailed description of our meal on this board, but it is probably buried on page 20 by now.

Nothing's ever buried thanks to the magic of search

ekpaster and GAF on Avenues

Best,
Michael

elrushbo wrote:What did you love about Moto?

The experience was very interesting and the food and wine was excellent. A good combination. It also managed to be thought-provoking without being pretentious. It was a very fun evening.

It's a matter of taste though - if I'm going to spend that amount of money, I'd personally rather go the Moto route then the Avenues route. Obviously, though, not everyone feels this way. I'd say Avenues is the safer choice.

eatchicago wrote:

ekpaster wrote:

The food must have been incredible for you to give such high praise! Do you remember what you had?

I actually wrote a detailed description of our meal on this board, but it is probably buried on page 20 by now.

Nothing's ever buried thanks to the magic of search

ekpaster and GAF on Avenues

Best,
Michael

Thanks! Good to see good reviews of Avenues, every single thing described sounded good, and the 3 course menu still sounds like a fantastic experience as well!