"Duffy Duck"

Buy a "Duffy Duck" sausage at Frank "N" Dawgs and receive 10% off your next dinner in Avenues at The Peninsula.

James Beard and Food & Wine

Avenues Team had a great time at the Awards!

My Kitchen Staff

Nearly every time I sign a menu, I include the words: "It's all about the Ingredients." It's impossible to make extraordinary dishes without using extraordinary building blocks. That's why I'm constantly searching for the absolutely best ingredients that I can find.

In a great kitchen the ingredients are not just the special fish, truffles, tiny lettuces and herbs that we are able to work with. I am very fortunate to also be surrounded by an amazing staff of talented people, cooks, front staff and sommeliers who all work hard to bring each and every night of service to an exceptional level.

Over the next few weeks, I'd like to introduce some of these people to you. They are a fun, talented and a diverse group of individuals. They have my heartfelt gratitude.

Check, Please!

http://www.wttw.com/main.taf?p=1,49,2

Wagyu Beef, White Truffle, Scallion

Elements of this dish include:

Grilled Wagyu Beef Ribeye
White Truffle Creme Caramel
Sicilian Pistachio Puree
Grilled Beef Fat Confit Potatoes
Sicilian Pistachio
Truffle-Grilled Beef Fat Vinaigrette
Sliced White Truffle
Black Truffle Pieces
Carbonated Grapes
Scallion Puree
Scallions

Potato Gnocchi, 5 Supporting Herbs, Queen Anne's Lace

Elements in this dish include:

Crispy Potato Gnocchi
Cippolini Onions, roasted in their skins
Baby Red Onions
Chive Puree
Crispy Prosciutto Chips
Grilled Prosciutto Consomme, Table-side
Queen Anne's Lace
5 Supporting Herbs:
1. Chive Tips
2. Marjoram
3. Winter Savory
4. Purple Oregano
5. Marigold Petals

Beets, Strawberries, Black Garlic, Red Sorrel

Elements of this dish include:

Red and Gold Beets, Roasted
Candy Striped Beets, Raw and Shaved
Champagne Ice Beets, Raw and Shaved
Hazelnut Oil Powder
Roasted and Ground Hazelnuts
Sherry Vinegar Pate de Fruit
Candied and Salted Hazelnuts
Black Garlic Puree
Red Beet Puree Frozen in Nitrogen
Golden Beet Sorbet
Fleur de Sel
Freeze Dried Strawberries
Fresh Strawberries
Red Sorrel
Beet Stem Marmalade

White Pumpkin, Bitter Chocolate, Finger Limes, Purslane

Elements of this dish include:

Bitter Chocolate in the form of a soft Ganache
Fried and Salted Pumpkin Seeds
Compressed Apples
Baby Lady Apples
Finger Limes
Duck Confit
Brioche Bread fried in Duck Fat
Crispy Duck Confit Skin
Pumpkin Chips
Puffed Spice Cracker
Purslane
Golden Purslane
Pumpkin Leaf
Pumpkin Oil
White Pumpkin Soup Poured Table-side

Quince, Mandarin, Saffron, Hyssop

Frozen Quince Puree
Bitter Orange Puree
Freeze Dried Mandarin
Mandarin Cells
Saffron
Hyssop

Concord Grape, Raisin, Crispy, Wild Lemon Balm

Elements of this dish include:

Concord Grape Custard
House-made Concord Grape Raisins
Freeze Dried Grapes
Wild Lemon Balm

It is a semi-sweet transitional course from the savory world. After the custard is set, we build the dish and place it under vacuum. When the guest open the jar it "pops" like a jelly jar.

Cassia Bud, Tropical Notes, African Blue Basil

Elements of this dish include:

Cassia Bud Custard
Tropical Granola
Banana Puree
Lime Zest Puree
Licorice Syrup
Freeze Dried Pineapple
Frozen Coconut Shell
Coconut Powder
African Blue Basil
Basil Seeds

Bitter Chocolate, Malt, Coastal Huckleberries, Lemon Verbena

Coconut, Banana, Lime, Licorice, African Blue Basil

Five Mushrooms, Espelette, Toasted Farro, Mandarin, Fennel in the Philosophy of "Head to Tail"

Elements of this dish include:

Porcini Mushrooms
Trumpet Royal
Chanterelles (2 Ways)
Hen of the Woods
Lobster Muhrooms
Chicken of the Woods
Farro (Cold Salad Form)
Espelette
Mushroom Syrup
Mandarin Segments
Freeze Dried Mandarin
Fennel (Every Part of the Fennel)
Farro Milk (Frozen and served table side)

Summer Blackberry, Greek Yogurt, Roasted Cashews, Nasturtium Leaves & Flowers

Elements included in this dish:

Greek Yogurt Sponge Cake
Salt Roasted Cashews
Powdered Cashews
Olio Verde
Blackberry Cells
Blackberry Sorbet
Greek Yogurt Sugar
Nasturtium Leaves & Flowers

Frozen Foie Gras, Washington Plums, Puffed Hay, Okahijiki

Elements included in this dish:

Sweet Corn Pudding
Washington Plums
Freeze Dried Corn and Corn Powder
Milk Poached Corn
Seared Foie Gras
Frozen Foie Gras Emulsion
Plum Puree
Okahijiki
Puffed Hay(2008 Harvest)
Fleur de Sel

Chicago Social Magazine

Cover Shot

Inside Shot

Rabbit Loin, Morels, Ramps, Nasturtium, Minutina

Flavor components and ingredients that are presented in this dish:

Charcoal Water Vail
Grilled Rabbit Loin
Fried and Stuffed Morels
Grilled Ramp Marmalade
Pickled Ramps
Ramp Top Puree
Pickled Ramp Roots
Nasturtium Pudding
Nasturtium Leaves
Mascarpone
Minutina

Alaskan King Crab, Steelhead Roe, Togarashi, Calamondin, Tangerine Lace

Flavor components and ingredients that are presented in this dish:

Alaskan King Crab
Orange Blossom Pudding
Cucumber Consomme
Pickled Cucumber
Steelhead Roe
Calamondin Puree
Togarashi
Tangerine Lace

Rhubarb, Anise Hyssop, Young Pine

Elements of this single bite:

Red Wine-Rhubarb Puree
Raw Rhubarb Threads
Black Lava Salt
Young Pine Meringue
Anise Hyssop
Young Pine

Star Chefs

Interview

Photo

Podcast Interview

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Thank you Michael Nagrant!!!!

Chicago: The Best Thing I Ate This Year (So Far) | Serious Eats

Just In!!

Check out the newest Review:
http://resto.newcity.com/2009/04/07/chicagos-best-new-chef-the-votes-are-in/

King Crab, Steelhead Roe, Kalamansi, Togarashi

Iberico Pork Belly, Elements of Cocoa, Running Squirrel's Miner's Lettuce, Smoked Paprika

Elements of this dish:

Braised Iberico Pork Belly
La Quercia Farms Lardo
Cocoa Noodle
Smoked Paprika Pudding
Pork and Smoked Paprika Gastrique
Pickled Romanesco
Running Squirrel's Miner's Lettuce
Grilled and Smoked Bread

Wagyu Beef Cheeks Cannelloni, Black Sesame in Forms, Coriander & Shiso Blooms

Elements of this dish include:

Wagyu Beef Cheeks braised in a Coconut Milk Caramel
White Sesame Seed Pudding
Sudachi Fluid Gel
1 Year Old Preserved Kumquats
Soybeans Confit in Sesame Oil
Black Sesame Seed Sponge Cake
Black Sesame Seed Oil Puree
Kaffir Lime Milk
Shiso and Blooms
Coriander and Blooms

Revisiting The Past

As we reflect back on some of the dishes that were created last spring, it is only natural for us to contemplate new dishes for the spring of 2009.
As a chef, it is important to continue to challenge yourself to grow and always move forward in a responsible way.
Avenues has been closed for the month of January. This time away from my regular schedule has given me the opportunity to brainstorm and conceptualize new dishes for the spring menu of 2009.

While being away from the kitchen, I composed one new dish a day. I have 31 new dishes finalized on paper and ready to execute in the kitchen.

Here is a small sample of the spring menu items:

Jidori Chicken, Sudachi Sherbet, Consomme of it's Carcass, Shiso Petals

Wagyu Beef Cheek Cannelloni, Kaffir Lime, Black Sesame in Forms, Coriander Blooms

"The Life Cycle Of Fennel"

Caramelized Goat Milk, Rhubarb, "2008" Hay, Oxalis

Avenues Latest Review

Read it here.

Snail Caviar

We wanted to add some depth to the blue cod dish by echoing flavors of earth, soil, rain, oak leaves, moss and overall terroir of the forest. I cannot think of a more amazing product that exudes all of these flavors in one bite other than snail caviar. It is earthy, dirty, raw and in your face with the forest floor. Brilliant!

Blue Cod, Carrot, Fennel, Quince, Snail Caviar

Blue Cod from the Pacific Northwest is lightly cured with a mixture of sea salt, sugar and lemon zest. We rinse and dry the cod, place it in to a sous vide bag with a little Olio Verde and poach the cod at 122F for 12-15 minutes. Then, we chill and flake the fish into large pieces.

The rest of the accompaniments to the dish:

Tiny Heirloom Carrots (4 Varieties)
Black Olive Crumbs
Black Olive Oil Powder
Raw Carrot Juice Pudding
Fennel Frond Puree
Fennel Bulb Threads
Fennel Stock Slices
Tiny Carrot Fronds
Quince Sorbet
Carrot Chips
Snail Caviar(See Above)