My wife and I joined another couple at Avalon last weekend upon their invitation and had a great experience. Having just one, unremarkable night there years ago, we were both skeptical. But we trusted our friends? discerning taste (and their knowledge of ours), and wow, what a delicious surprise it turned out to be!
We found the menu to have several intriguing options, and overall, the dishes were a touch creative and well executed. At our table, we started with the poached calamari (melt-in-your-mouth tender, served with kalamata olives as an inspired choice) and the grilled romaine hearts (an interesting preparation, flavored with crisp polenta croutons). Our entree choices included the mushroom tortellini (tender and flavorful in an elegant truffled mushroom broth), the pork tenderloin (beautifully adorned with artichokes), the black pepper fettuccine carbanara (presented with an egg yolk on the top), and the braised beef agnoloti in a Cabernet demi-sauce (this dish alone is worth the trip).
As a group of wine lovers, we brought along both lighter and heavier styles of white and red that paired well with all our choices.
With respect to atmosphere, the space has an open, updated, contemporary feel to it (at least since we had been there), and the crowd was lively. Service was attentive, well paced, and even at the end of a busy Saturday shift, the servers were patient with us as we lingered over our last bottle.
On the downside, while our table near the fireplace provided nice ambience, it became smoky at one point. Also, the noise level was on the high end, but as a lively party of four ourselves, this wasn?t too much of a problem.
I will definitely return to Avalon, and encourage anyone to give it a try for the first time, or revisit it like we did.
Pros: Diverse menu, BYOB
Cons: Noise
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