Chorizo-beef date burger at Avec

The French Laundry has its Oysters and Pearls, Alinea has the Truffle Explosion, Nobu has miso black cod. Each is a signature dish forever tied to its restaurant. Avec has one too, on its menu since day one: Bacon-wrapped chorizo-stuffed dates. Story goes that chef Paul Kahan’s father-in-law served these at his annual tapas party. Kahan commissioned former Avec chef Koren Grieveson and longtime butcher Jorge Ruiz to hone the recipe. Bingo bango, 13-plus years later, they can’t get the dish off the dinner menu, and likely never will. Chef Perry Hendrix has reimagined the chorizo-stuffed dates in a handheld device — a burger ($14). A patty of half pork chorizo, half beef, with the dates cooked down into a mostarda (a mustard-seed-spiked fruit preserve). House-cured bacon lies lengthwise atop. Piquillo peppers give the aioli a Spanish flair, and the brioche bun gets toasted crisp on the plancha. This dish is progeny of the tastiest order. (Available at weekday lunch and Sunday brunch.)

615 W. Randolph St., 312-377-2002, www.avecrestaurant.com

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