Certainly one of the best dinners I have had in recent memory. Reservations at 8:30 lead to being seated on time (pleasant surprise). Upon getting settled we were presented with our only slight negative.
Calling all restaurants: If you have a list of fancy exotic drinks on you menu, please explain what goes in them. There was a special Valentine's Drink list with names like Lover's Leap, Broken Heart, Love Birds, etc. How in the heck are you supposed to know what you want to drink when you have NO idea what goes in them? We had to ask the server and after reading off her cheat sheet we were so enlightened. It was only a minor setback. I took the "Lover's Leap" and was delighted with a potent mixture of Dark Rum, Vodka, Razzmatazz, Sweet and Sour (may be leaving something out) with a fresh orange slice clinging to the rim of the glass.
On to the good stuff: As an appetizer we shared a petite piece of smoked salmon swimming atop 3 silver dollar potato latkes. This was truly divine. Salmon was cooked perfectly, moist and flavorful throughout. The potato pancakes were so-so but mainly served as a frame for the incredible fish.
For the main course I stuck with my aquatic mood and ordered the Sea Bass. I thought I had already tasted the pinnacle of seafood, but oh how I was wrong. An immaculately prepared filet, slightly browned on the outside and buttery on the inside, sat atop a vegetable risotto painted with a sauce that I'm sure is illegal in some states. My dining partner ordered an "Avalon" fresh Caesar style salad and added lemon garlic chicken. I can't comment too much on the salad, not my forte, but she had nothing but positive things to say. She especially liked the citrus bite of the chicken.
A meal such as this needs an exclamation point and a rich dessert sounded like the perfect answer. We decided on a fried apple cheesecake with caramel sauce and rum flavored vanilla ice cream. It sounded quite promising and it in fact was beautifully plated and very good tasting as well. Unfortunately for the life of me I couldn't get it out of my head that I was eating a jazzed up version of a Taco Bell Caramel Apple Empanada. As it is, both of those choices hit the spot and darn near anything fried usually does the trick. This was a very nice conclusion to an exquisite meal. Bravo Avalon!