Koren Grieveson was one of the other chefs joining Niche chef Gerard Craft as a “Best New Chef in America” on the cover of last month’s Food & Wine Magazine. That’s not the only reason we sought out her Avec restaurant on West Randolph Street just west of the Chicago Loop; we’d taken the train up from St. Louis (highly recommended, especially if you’re staying downtown), and we were looking for dinner about 9:45 p.m. Avec is renowned for its late hours.

True to form, there was about a 10-minute wait when we arrived. (The place doesn’t take reservations.) The menu takes the small plates/big plates approach, with the waiter recommending four or five small plates as a meal for two or two small and two big. The place doubles as a wine bar, and the selections tend toward introductions to lesser-known grapes.

We got out for just under a hundred bucks, sampling multiple wines via the quartinos (250ml carafes). One highlight was a slow-cooked pork shoulder with apricot mustard and bacon — a densely flavored, perfectly textured pig homage — but everything was wonderful. We also had a fisherman’s-village stew specialty of full-bodied bluefish with fava beans and one of the best preps of hanger steak I’ve ever encountered, tender but not chewy even at very rare prep, served with asparagus and a chile-and-onion relish.

Even we old farts (we’re pushing 50) greatly enjoyed the raucous atmosphere, but I couldn’t help but wonder how such a dining environment would play in the STL. You’re seated at communal tables that fit maybe 10 or 12, so if you’re a two, you might, as we did, have to crawl over people to get to your spot in the middle of the long table. Plus it was LOUD; I’ve had complaints that people find Niche too loud, but Avec made Niche sound like a monastery.

Our server was working at least five parties, but he made us feel attended to, and he was a whiz at wine (and beer, whose good selection we didn’t discover until we were almost finished). People were still arriving to eat when we left after 11 (the kitchen stays open until midnight weeknights and 1 a.m. weekends).

Back to local news and thoughts with my next post.