Your first exquisite bite at Avize will be an amuse-bouche of silky butternut squash custard presented in a hollowed eggshell. Your last nibble will be an elegant mignardise tucked into a small wooden treasure box. Inside, you might find a yuzu bergamot truffle or perhaps one bursting with the flavors of passion fruit and caramel.
Each morsel and sip in between will leave you impressed by a talented team in the open kitchen situated behind the marble bar, and in a dining room that features a 10-foot mural of a rugged Alpine range and a taxidermic mountain goat mounted above a pair of booths.
Credit: Handout
Credit: Handout
Open since October in the former Nick’s Westside site, Avize is one of the most exciting restaurants to debut this year. Under the leadership of chef-owner Karl Gorline, the restaurant is executing Alpine-inspired culinary traditions at a high level.
Avize is the first foray as a restaurateur for Gorline, 37. His career has taken him from Jackson, Mississippi, to New Orleans to Atlanta, where a friendship with chef Matt Marcus brought him to town in 2018 to help open Watershed when the restaurant came under Marcus’ ownership. That was followed by stints at Seven Lamps, Atlas, Richard Tang’s Girl Diver and Char and the Woodall.
Avize means “to examine” or “to discover” in French and also is a grand cru Champagne village. It’s an appropriate name for a restaurant that takes diners on a gustatory tour of the Alpine arch that stretches across Monaco, France, Switzerland, Italy, Germany, Liechtenstein, Austria and Slovenia.
Credit: Handout
Credit: Handout
A vegan appetizer of salt-baked beet carpaccio showcased locally grown white albino beets on a layer of thick, smoked yogurt showered in shaved Brazil nuts with flecks of fresh dillA green salad featured underutilized dandelion leaves, Georgia satsuma segments and pumpkin seeds tossed in a truffle vinaigrette.
The starters that especially surprised and delighted were venison tartare and a foie gras parfait.
The former brought the minced game meat bound with a walnut ketchup and bulked up with buckwheat, fermented blueberries and beech mushrooms. Lemony sorrel and flecks of dehydrated, smoked olive oil added subtle seasoning.
The latter featured a rich mousse of foie gras, rabbit and duck liver topped with a gelee of dandelion root tea, ice wine and persimmon vinegar. It had a colorful cap of cubed persimmon, ponzu gelee dots, lemon thyme and edible flowers of the moment.
Both dishes were intricate compositions, yet cohesive in presentation and flavor.
Credit: Handout
Credit: Handout
A full experience at Avize should include indulging in a wine pairing or two by Avize’s director of beverage and hospitality, Taurean Philpott, formerly of Bacchanalia. Philpott’s picks, which champion wines from the region, are fun to explore, and his enthusiasm is infectious.
Frequently, appetizers outperform entrees, but that wasn’t the case here.
A creative vegan pasta dish turned fermented carrots into a Bolognese sauce tossed with house-made cavatelli. Two sauces — Italian bagna cauda pungent with garlic and anchovy and herby French sauce verte — unified a bass dish plated with grilled artichokes and turnips.
Hay-smoked duck was a labor of love. Dry-aged for 10 days, the tender duck was divine when swiped in a heady, heat-free habanada cherry duck jus. Components of fermented carrot puree, rutabaga and confit fingerling potatoes made this a hearty, cold weather dish. Two accompanying sides — a braised duck leg croquette and a beef tartare tartlet, both made from kitchen by-products — demonstrated a waste-nothing philosophy.
Credit: Handout
Credit: Handout
Only a few menu items were underwhelming: flammkuchen (a glorified bacon and onion flatbread); mezzaluna (half-moon ravioli, also known as schlutzkrapfen, that was so thick and dense the brown butter sauce could not permeate the pasta); and roast chicken in an uninteresting lemon caper sauce.
While the restaurant exudes hospitality, some service aspects could be improved.
On one visit, a server prompted my party to place our orders without offering any details about the menu. Servers are the voice of the kitchen, and this kitchen deserves to have its efforts (including local sourcing and involved cooking techniques) explained, so that guests can appreciate these plates better.
Drinks need no improvement.
Thanks to Philpott’s wine list, as well as bar manager Jason Swaringen’s creative cocktails, beverages complement the food. A cocoa butter fat wash gave the white-negroni edelweiss depth and body. The Alpine swizzle was garnished with a colorful, herbaceous bouquet. And the sweet-savory espresso Piedmonte is good for starting or ending a meal.
Gorline has high aspirations for Avize. He continues to hone dishes, such as serving a decadent foie gras parfait in a tart shell made from spent sourdough starter. Soon, he plans to debut a 10-course tasting menu. I look forward to watching Gorline and his team make their climb to the summit.
AVIZE
3 out of 4 stars (excellent)
Food: Alpine-inspired; featuring local ingredients
Service: professional
Noise level: average
Recommended dishes: salt-baked beet carpaccio, dandelion salad, venison tartare, foie gras parfait, fermented carrot Bolognese, bass, wagyu, hay-smoked duck
Vegetarian dishes: salt-baked beet carpaccio (vegan), dandelion salad, flammkuchen (with vegetarian mushroom bacon substitute), cheese plate, fermented carrot Bolognese (vegan), agnolotti del plin (vegan), mezzaluna (vegan)
Alcohol: impressive cocktails and wine list; food menu includes suggested wine pairings
Price range: $53-$134 (without drinks, tax or gratuity)
Hours: 5-10 p.m. Wednesdays-Sundays; serves until 11 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays
Accessibility: zero-entry, manual-accessibility front door; table lamps facilitate menu reading
Parking: valet and self-parking in covered garage; self-parking free for up to three hours with restaurant validation
Nearest MARTA station: none
Reservations: recommended on weekends
Outdoor dining: no
Takeout: no
Address, phone: 956 Brady Ave., Atlanta; 404-879-1713
Website: avizeatlanta.com
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution’s dining critics conduct reviews anonymously. Reservations are not made in their name, nor do they provide restaurants with advance notice about their visits. Our critics always make multiple visits, sample the full range of the menu and pay for all of their meals. AJC dining critics wait at least one month after a new restaurant has opened before visiting.
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