If you've been vamping in VIP rooms and rolling down on Rush, you don't want to slum it by ending a hungry night over burrito bombs or
Flash Taco fajitas.
In order to keep the luxurious superstar glow alive for a few more hours, head to one of these spots, all open until at least midnight, to sate your four-star tastes.
Avec (serves until midnight Monday-Thursday, 1 a.m. Friday-Saturday)
Everyone knows that a good cleanse can soothe the sting of a late-night drinking binge, and while this isn't a Roman bathhouse, the blond wood-planked walls at Avec give off a sauna vibe, and the heat from the food is sure to salve the adrenaline and buzz of a long night. You don't have to take our word for it: This a favored watering hole of some of Chicago's best chefs, who nosh here after a rough night on the line. The incredible wood-oven-roasted Spanish, French and Mediterranean-influenced cooking drizzled with fruity olive oils, topped with funky cheeses and pickled and preserved fruits is comfort food for the culinary set. Try the house-cured mortadella or crispy duck leg with plums and star anise.
Fixture (serves until midnight daily)
At most lounges, the food takes a backseat to revelry and spacey beats, but the kitchen crew at Fixture (pictured) redeems your faith in small plates ($6-$14). The buffalo sliders with white truffle mayonnaise are more Buckingham Palace than White Castle, and if this storefront conversion of the old Burgundy Inn was open when Alan Richman wrote "The 20 Hamburgers You Must Eat Before You Die" for GQ, they would have made the list. Pasilla-marinated lobster ceviche is a ballet of texture and flavor, with creamy hunks of spicy lobster, crunchy jicama salad and citrusy cactus pear emulsion. Even mom-inspired classics like mac and cheese are kicked up with smoky bits of applewood bacon and rich bay scallops.
Avenue M (serves until 11 p.m., bar menu until 1 a.m. daily)
Roll like a late-night Rockefeller in banquette heaven by slurping down his namesake oysters filled with creamy spinach and artery-clogging hollandaise at Avenue M. While contemplating your entree, order up a little Gin and Sin: Beefeater gin, freshly-squeezed orange and lemon juices and a drop of grenadine. As any good magnate or oil baron will attest, every evening should end with a 32-ounce porterhouse and an eight-ounce lobster tail, and while you can only score these eats until 11 p.m., the bar menu ain't no Weiner Circle. Close the restaurant and you'll be sucking down jumbo coconut shrimp with vanilla cream and balsamic glaze, Maryland crab cakes or braised short rib beef sliders.
4 Taste (serves until midnight daily)
Located on a dark corner of Milwaukee underneath a viaduct, the restaurant has a Sin City-type industrial vibe, but if you're looking for a night of martinis and majestic food, this is your one-stop shop. Long before small-plates places started popping up like Zebra mussels on the Lake Michigan shoreline, 4Taste was slinging inspired dishes like Mississippi quail with Yukon gold-potato hash and a fried quail egg. The seared day boat scallops with tomato saffron marmalade and chive oil make for a spicy-sweet nightcap. Best of all, living large won't break the bank, with all plates priced at $9.95.
aria bar (serves until midnight daily)
With sari-draped tables, a golden sofa and a backlit glass sushi bar, this companion to aria restaurant in the Fairmont hotel gives off a modern harem-lounge vibe. It may be late, but you can sample a balanced progression of tastes that would be right at home at Charlie Trotter's. Creamy tuna tartare with crisp chives, crunchy batons of Japanese mountain yam and caviar is a textural merry-go-round of contrasts, while slices of anago eel marinated in mirin rice wine tastes like a puffed sushi dessert. If raw fish is not your thing there are many noodle bowls, flatbreads, and small bites available including lobster avocado spring rolls.
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