Aug. 29--The French Laundry has its Oysters and Pearls, Alinea has the Truffle Explosion, Nobu has miso black cod. Each is a signature dish forever tied to its restaurant.
Avec has one too, on its menu since day one: Bacon-wrapped chorizo-stuffed dates. Story goes that chef Paul Kahan's father-in-law served these at his annual tapas party. Kahan commissioned former Avec chef Koren Grieveson and longtime butcher Jorge Ruiz to hone the recipe. Bingo bango, 11-plus years later, they can't get the dish off the dinner menu, and likely never will.
Now with Avec having started lunch service, chef Perry Hendrix has reimagined the chorizo-stuffed dates in a handheld device -- a burger ($14). A patty of half pork chorizo, half beef, with the dates cooked down into a mostarda (a mustard-seed-spiked fruit jam). House-cured bacon lies lengthwise atop. Piquillo peppers give the aioli a Spanish flair, and the shallot bun gets toasted crisp on the plancha. This dish is progeny of the tastiest order. Available for weekday lunch only 11:30 a.m. to 2 p.m., 615 W. Randolph St., 312-377-2002, www.avecrestaurant.com
