Infusion's owner, Abul Rahman, rushed toward us, smiling and nodding.

"So nice to see you!" he said. "Thank you for coming back!"

This was our second visit, but three months had come and gone between it and the first meal at Infusion, which included no tabletop dancing or other memorable behavior on our part. Rahman must just be that good. His new restaurant attests to it, from the service to the beautiful dishes coming out of executive chef Nicholas Brown's kitchen.

The Food

Infusion's menu sizzles. Nowhere on it is a safe or mundane dish; instead, lively combinations of broad-ranging ingredients fill the page. Steaks, duck, seafood and pork show up in intriguing preparations that boast thoughtful medleys of flavor.

Seriously spicy and thickly breaded Buffalo-fried shrimp ($10) owe their heat to Sriracha sauce and come with a cooling black-pepper bleu cheese sauce. Southwestern smoked pork and corn spring rolls ($9) are full of tender pork with intense smoke flavor complemented by cumin-lime sauce.

The day's soup -- smoked green tomato ($6) -- was ringed with oversized homemade croutons and brought spoonful after spoonful of delicate flavor. The knife-and-fork bleu cheese salad ($6) offered hunks of thick bacon atop long leaves of romaine, with bleu cheese dressing, hard-boiled egg and tomato.

Grilled pork tenderloin ($23) wore a cider glaze and cozied up to sweet potato gnocchi, cinnamon apples, roasted red onion and braised red cabbage. Succulent pan-seared sea scallops ($25) topped sweet red onion risotto rife with toasted peanuts.

Chocolate blackberry torte ($8) had a gooey center and a topper of Shiraz sorbet.

The Service

A full staff means that the odds of being well-attended are good. Staff members comport themselves with professionalism, and several of them really shine.

The Atmosphere

Put together like a gallery space, Infusion has white walls and tablecloths that focus diners' eyes on the rotating displays of art on the walls -- until the food shows up and there's no reason to look beyond the plate. A lively bar splits the room and gets livelier on the weekends, when the lounge turns to a bandstand.

The Price

$139 for two, including tax, tip and a couple of adult beverages. I'd be happy to pay it all over again, and soon.

Next Time

Maybe the pan-seared basa, with butter brown rice, sake-braised plums, tuna sashimi and orange-plum reduction. The mahi-mahi tempts as well. It's ginger-crusted and served with a red curry lime sauce and Thai basil salad.

-- By Tracy Cumbay / Star Correspondent