Time for another restaurant review... Mrs. Newper and I were able to sneak out for dinner without kids tonight, so we hit up Avec, a place she had wanted to go for sometime. They don't take reservations, but as it so happened, we would need to be back by 9 to pickup children anyhow, so we decided to go a little earlier. I think they open at 3:30 -- we got there at about 4:45 and they already had a small line. The whole restaurant is very skinny... I'd guess it's not much more than 15 to 20' across, but it goes back a ways. You can sit at the bar that runs the whole stretch and seats around 20, or go for the communal table seating. Each table seated eight, and they would put people at the ends of tables as needed to get the right number. As luck would have it, there were two spots available right in the middle of one of the tables, so we were able to jump the line.
It's a small plates type thing -- shocking, I know. We had the chorizo stuffed dates which apparently is a signature dish there... it was really fantastic. Wrapped in bacon, and served in a peppery sauce with a artisan style roll (hard and flaky exterior, soft interior) to soak up the sauce. Their menu changes seasonally, but apparently this is one that is always on there and I highly recommend it. We also got the hangar steak which was served with some pickled mustard greens and toasted chickpeas. Also really really good... the acid really played well with the steak and definitely evoked more of a spring time dish. We finished up with the pork shoulder which was served in a small cast iron pot with couscous, some glazed carrot strips, golden raisins and a few other things... Wow -- it was really superb. Wife got the carrot cake for dessert which was really unique... it was almost savory in the way they spiced it. A generous dollop of creamy coat cheese on the top with some pineapple and walnut tidbits sprinkled around. Very tasty. I got some of the "nutter butters" -- three little (3/4" square) peanut butter bars basically. Not bad, but probably the least interesting thing of the night.
We split a bottle of wine, and after all of this the tab was really reasonable at $100. I would recommend this pretty heartily except to those that have issues with the communal seating, or those that really want a reservation time. The place was happy to serve wine and cocktails to those waiting for a table, although there really was nowhere for people to stand and wait -- maybe room inside for 10 people to wait? Not sure if they let you hang out on the street and drink or what they end up doing.
Check it out at
http://avecrestaurant.com/ and note the menu listed is not their current menu -- they've changed for the spring/summer. But what you see on the website is the entire restaurant. It was Blackbird quality without Blackbird prices.
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