I have been dying to eat at Avec ever since I saw it on Food Network’s show “The Best Thing I Ever Ate”. (I love that show, I wish they would come out with a new season! Anytime we go to a new city, I scour the list for recommendations. We have tried some great spots thanks to it. But I digress.) Then when I saw that it is one of Anthony Bourdain’s favorites, I knew that I HAD to try it. The other weekend while visiting some girlfriends in Chicago I finally had the opportunity to dine at Avec, and it did not disappoint!
They only take walk-ins, and the restaurant is small, so the wait time can be long. My friend and I arrived at 7:00pm on a Saturday night and we were seated at the bar at 8:30pm. We had cocktails at Blackbird (same owner) next door while we waited, so that helped the hour and a half fly by. The food at Avec is meant to be shared, so we ordered a bunch of small plates.
Chorizo-stuffed medjool dates with smoked bacon and piquillo pepper-tomato sauce
Lamb bolognese pasta
Kale salad with mushroom, egg, and parmesan
Pumpkin bruschetta with ricotta salata
Mushroom and artichoke salad
Nutter Butters – the perfect small bite to end the meal
If I had to pick a favorite dish, I think it would be the dates. The sweet, salty, savory combo was amazing, and I loved sopping up the sauce with the warm bread.
Rahm Emanuel, the mayor of Chicago, was seated a few tables away from us, so we enjoyed our meal while being watched by secret service agents.
The service was great – our waiter was very friendly and didn’t get mad when we tried three different types of wine before picking our bottle. Hey, these are important decisions! I can’t wait to come back to Chicago and take TheBetterHalf to this restaurant!
TheBetterHalf says: It seems unfair that CateyLou would go to a restaurant called “Avec” sans me (and I thought that high school French would never come in handy). But seriously, this place is at the top of my lists to go once I get my fill of delicious deep dish pizza. Mmm deep dish.
dear thebetterhalf: cateylou went to avec, avec moi! you were missed, though – we could have ordered double the amount of food had you been with us! avec is definitely a spot to take you and KD the next time you & cateylou visit the windy city.
Sounds like a plan. Also, you guys should come to NYC for a weekend this spring. We have an ever expanding list of places to eat.
I so much wish that it wasn’t an 8 hour plane ride away. Those Nutter Butters look interesting.
The nutter butters tasted like a mix of peanut butter and caramel with a slightly crunchy texture – the perfect little bite to end the meal! Probably not worth an 8 hour flight, although I would add it to your list if you are ever visiting Chicago!
Good to know! I would love to visit one day.
Mmm those all look delish!! I’ve never tried stuffed dates before, but they look great! At first glance, I thought they were meatballs (haha my bad eyes..). Thanks for the “The Best Things I Ever…” rec. I’ll be checking it out very soon 🙂
Haha, they do look like meatballs, especially with the red sauce!
Oh man. SO JEALOUS. Been dying to go here. One day…. great post!
Thank you! Definitely worth a visit!