Checked out Avec River North on the first night of Restaurant Week. $60/person for a 5 course meal.
First course: Hamachi Crudo. Delicious fish that balances well with the persimmon sweetness and the heat from the fermented chili. Sauce was absolutely fantastic, with a nice spiciness at the end.
Second course: Endive and Apple Salad (forgot to take a picture). Crunchy and savory, but felt like it needed more balance when you didn’t get a bite with a slice of apple. Still enjoyable, but probably the least interesting of the dinner.
Third course: Baked Rigatoni Pasta. Standout of the meal for me. Loved the additional roasted Brussel sprout leaves on top to add some crunch. Mushrooms were almost like little sausage bites mixing perfectly with the pasta. Big fan.
Fourth course: Roasted Duck Tagine. Delicious and an ENORMOUS portion. Duck was tender, easy to pull apart with just a fork. I’m not normally an eggplant guy, but this eggplant was perfectly cooked and swimming in what almost tasted like a roasted red pepper sauce. Also loved the bread and spent a good portion of this course ripping off bits of it to devour more of the sauce.
Fifth course: Sachlab Rice Pudding. Nice, light ending to the meal. The bits of fruit added sweetness to a more neutral tasting rice pudding. I was also incredibly full by this point, so I was glad it wasn’t something heavy like chocolate cake.
Overall, thoroughly enjoyed it as my first time to Avec. Will need to go again to try some off the other items on the menu like their pizzas!
4.5/5, great value for Restaurant Week!
by strata1213