edgewater denizen's Profile
Avec: A good solid A dinner!!!
I've lived in SF, NY, Atlanta and Avec is in my top five of all time. I had the veal breast with fingerling potatoes and red cabbage the last time there- a small plate, believe it or not- and it was really fabulous- what a great value. These people have it together in the kitchen and waitstaff -- BUT -- please, please do something about the absurd noise level- I literally couldn't hear at all what the person accross the table from me was saying and we were SHOUTING. Also, it's become such a success that we tried to get in on a recent Saturday around 10pm and were told they had a 1 1/2 to 2 HOUR wait. Understandable, though, since the price and quality are really so outstanding.
Cotes du Rhone?
We went last night and I agree there are serious bugs. For one thing, there's a lack of attention to the front of the house. We were seated near the door and as things got busy, a big party gathered to wait for their table which spilled over into the dining area. Why not remove the two tables near the window and create a decent sized gathering area? Also, the kitchen staff was hauling in supplies like boxes of produce at 7pm, through the dining area, which struck me as very unprofessional for a restaurant in that price range. The door could also use some hardware to help it close more softly, the constant slamming got on my nerves...
We liked the menu but thought it could use editing- there are like 10 entrees, and they had four specials on top of that... less can be more. I had the spinach salad, and the lardon was really delicious, good ingredients. Then had the bouillabase which was WAY oversalted, almost inedible, though the seafood itself was of good quality and plentiful. My husband had the sea bass and escargot appetizer, and liked them but felt they both had too much garlic. For dessert, a comped creme brule (we complained about the oversaltiness) which was good except that the top was burnt and the custard liquid from too hasty execution.
This neighborhood needs a good quality bistro, I do hope they address their shortcomings...
