Avenues photo essay

Your friends at The Wineauxs not only love wine, but we're also huge fans of food - once a year we take in an absurdly priced meal to celebrate our wedding anniversary. While it's in May, I had heard that the chef at Avenues (Graham Elliot Bowles) is leaving in April - so we decided to celebrate a bit early this year.

One of the unique things about Avenues is the Kitchen Bar - it looks like a typical bar but instead of a bartender and alcohol - it's the kitchen. You get to see the four chefs in action - you are right there and get to chat with them.

This is mainly a photo essay - the pictures speak for themselves. Not a single dish was a "miss" - in fact, not one dish was short of outstanding. We had a six course meal - we only had one of the same thing, the other five courses were different.

Here we go:

1. Three breads and three butters - regular, truffled, and Parmesan.



2. Amuse bouche – popcorn / cauliflower cream


3. Deconstructed BLT / Roquefort / Brioche / Ranch



4. Caviar / Champagne / Caper / Chive



5. Venison tartare / Juniper / Parsley / Lingonberry



6. Scallop / Pumpkin / Maple / Allspice



7. Risotto / Apple / Bacon / Cheddar



8. Pheasant / Celeriac / Quince / Mustard



9. Ahi / Matsutake / Chestnut / Hijiki



10. Deconstructed Beef Stroganoff / Mushroom / Spaetzle / Creme



11. Lamb / Pomegranate / Couscous



12. Cake / Apricot / Mango / Orange



13. Chocolate / Banana / Oats




A phenomenal meal to be sure. While the head chef is leaving in April, the restaurant will be taken over by Curtis Duffy - the chef de cuisine from Alinea - and my understanding is the chefs and staff will remain the same - we'll definitely be back after the Bowles era.

Note: I was referring to a slightly different menu to get the names of the dishes - should the website post the newer menu (which listed more information than just the ingredients) I'll update.

We've had some absurdly good meals - I've been to Avenues twice and both meals are tied for the best - better than Topolobampo, better than Moto, and better than Trotter's. If you're coming to Chicago and want to blow a week's pay on one mind blowing meal, this is the place.