Steak

by The Gluttonous Ghost

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Octopus

Ah the glories that only cheese and wine can bring.  Chicago’s avec is flush with new wintry cheese from Italy, Spain and France from their cheesemonger Pastoral.

Guests at avec can choose three cheeses, which are then complimented by a red grape-Marcona almond salad with date-orange relish and quince paste.  The new cheeses include: Pantaleo (a rare goat cheese from Sardinia); Montasio Vino Rosso (fresh cow’s milk cheese produced in the Friuli and Veneto provinces of Italy) that takes on a Parmesan texture with time; Rustica della Val Taleggio (earthy and salty); Lenora from Northern Spain (raw goat’s milk cheese encased in a natural mold rind with a bright tangy flavor and a flaky soft texture); Idiazábal (firm sheep’s milk cheese from the Basque country); Tomme Brebis Chèvre (a French Alpine cheese made with a blend of sheep’s and goat’s milk from France’s Basque region); and finally, from France‘s Bourgogne region, Le Délice (a triple creme cow’s milk cheese featuring sweet notes of butter).

avec‘s winter wine list from Sommelier Eduard Seitan features spicy, hearty wines that are paired with the equally bold seasonal food from Chef de Cuisine Koren Grieveson.

Seitan’s picks include a 2008 Via Latina Alvarinho (which compliments a wintry salad of apples, Manchego cheese, Marcona almonds, celery and apple cider); a 2008 Monasterio de Corias “Seis Octavo” from Spain, similar to a French Beaujolais (working well with Grieveson’s seared sturgeon with cauliflower, grapefruit, fennel and spicy aioli); NV Añ Espumoso Brut Nature, a Spanish sparkling wine is acidic, tart and ripe with pear flavor, perfect for Grieveson’s whole-roasted foie gras with roasted pears, candied walnuts and rosemary.

Salumi

avec

Executive Chef/Partner Paul Kahan

Chef de Cuisine Koren Grieveson

615 W. Randolph St.

Chicago, IL 60606

(312) 377-2002