Ari Bendersky at Crain’s is the first one to talk to Andrew Brochu about his jump to The Aviary and what the future holds. The impetus for bringing in a chef of Brochu’s level to devote himself entirely to food on The Aviary’s side of the Next/Aviary complex seems to have been to keep guests around longer, rather than having them stop in for a drink and then move on to another restaurant in the area. Nevertheless, The Aviary remains a lounge, not a full-fledged restaurant— “No matter what, you won’t be able to come in and get an entrée. It’s still going to be dainty, with finesse and on the smaller scale, just not bites. It’s maybe going to be some sort of progression or something where there’s a little more thought behind it than just one bites,” Brochu tells Crain’s. He also admits that even though he’s known Grant Achatz for years (Brochu worked at Alinea for three years), he came out of the meeting about the possibility of working for him at The Aviary “shaking a little.” Well, he’s excited and so are others, we’re sure, about the possibility of The Aviary going in a new direction that could prove to be as innovative in how an evening of dining works as its Next-door neighbor has been. [Crain’s]
