"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!

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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