Avec Restaurant ~ Chicago

When Avec opened in late 2003 as the quiet sister of Blackbird, the holiest establishment on Randolph Row, Avec was expected to be its downgraded bistro cum wine bar. Conceived as a casual, rustic, looser turn for Blackbird’s impeccably trained chefs, it turns out that the food at Avec is (arguably) better.

A dazzling wine list presents 120 bottles of traditional, often unknown varietals from France, Italy, Spain and Portugal; some 30 selections are ingeniously presented in 250 ml. bottles or carafinas, essentially making them glass-and-a-half or one- third-bottle pours. A clean, modern and organic space of naked cedar slats, hickory floors, blond oak benches and a back display of emerald-green wine bottles, Avec’s diners sit at long communal tables or at the stainless steel bar.

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