My Chicago Bites: Avec

A little overdue so I will be brief with this one.  Stopped by Avec on West Randolph with coworkers in Chicago back in June.  We couldn’t bear to face the potentially long wait at Au Cheval so Avec it was.  We waited for a brief moment, just long enough to start on a drink while basking in the setting sun on the sidewalk.

The menu is seasonal so it changes quite frequently with many dishes meant to be shared.  Our meal started with a plate of Avec’s signature dish, chorizo stuffed dates.  Salty and sweet, made all the more better with bacon on the outside and piece of ciabatta to soak up all the delicious sauce.

A smoked white fish salad on toast was a little messy to share but perfectly light and herbal with the mint and parsely generously scatter on top.

A beautifully seared piece of salmon encrusted with Middle Eastern spices came with frisse and a beet salad.

More seafood in the form of a branzino.  The whole shebang this time, head and tail all on.  A refreshing chickpea and currant salad with tangy onions and parsley piled high on top of the fish, beautiful and dramatic at the same time.

For something a little more substantial, we dug into a burrata pizza topped with charred black kale.  The dough was paper thin with just the right amount of crisp bite and a blistered airy crust.    As simple as it sounded, the dish was quite memorable when the ingredients are fresh and execution on point.

Finally a little plate of charred asparagus with romanesco sauce and grapes to round our meal.

Of course, no dinner is complete without a little bite of sweetness.  The nutter butters were just what we were looking for.  One bite goodness of peanut butter candy bar and I was perfectly content with every bite of our meal here at Avec.