Chicago Restaurant Week may be my new favorite time of the year (behind Christmas of course). So many great restaurants participate with a set fixed price menu equalling almost triple for the 3-4 courses that you get for the price if you didn’t order from that menu. So of course when the announcement came, I booked like 9 reservations of just a few of the places I’ve been wanting to check out for so long. I’m ready to explore more of Chicago and put to test my resolution of ordering items on a menu I would normally not.
Avli has probably been on my list of places to try since I moved back to Chicago 1.5 years ago. For whatever reason, I just could never pull the trigger on going or would end up picking a different place to try. I also didn’t really know I liked Greek food until last year or so. I couldn’t have picked a better restaurant to begin restaurant week. With multiple locations across the city, it’s the perfect place for upscale Greek. The River North location is super cute on both inside and outside, and we even found ourselves sitting in their outdoor terrace and not needing winter coats in January due to all the heat lamps they have around. A place I’m already excited about going back to soon. Yamas!!
The food!! Oh my gosh. It was unreal. That’s what I have to say about that. I ordered off their set menu and my friend decided to order off their regular and neither of us left disappointed or hungry. I started the night with Garides Kataifi (shrimp wrapped in phyllo dough with a spicy mayo sauce), which while delicious, may have been the one item I would’ve changed. But for my entre, I chose the Arni Fournou (lamb with this kind of chimichurri sauce served over roasted potatoes) and I honestly don’t know if I’ve ever eaten lamb before. Probably cause the idea of eating lamb freaks me out but moving past that. But this meat was so incredibly tender, fell off the bone, and just melted in your mouth. Not at all gamey like I thought it might be.Was just as delicious the next day when I was eating my leftovers. And to finish the night, I indulged in the Portokalopita which is kind of a boozy orange and pistachio cake. Overall, incredibly impressed and would recommend this to anyone looking for some truly great Greek food. My Overall Rating is 9.5/10!
Until Next Time, The Library Abroad
The Library Abroad 
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