By Susan Reigler

The Courier-Journal

According to legend, Avalon was the "Island of Apples" on which there was a beautiful, enchanted lake. When Arthur was led to Avalon by Merlin, an arm gripping the sword Excalibur emerged from the water and presented the weapon to the young king.

It might raise false expectations to give a new restaurant the same name as such a magical place. (Though it makes a better moniker than, say, Hogwarts.) But dinner at Avalon, while falling short of legendary, was filled with many almost-magical bites enjoyed in a beautiful new setting.

The Bardstown Road building that most recently housed Bobby J's has been strikingly redecorated. Walls have been removed to open up the multi-level space. The interior has been painted pumpkin orange and covered with intriguing works of contemporary art. The overall effect is bright, light and hip. Not the least of this energy comes from a staff that seems thrilled to be there and eager to welcome diners sampling chef Nathan Carlson's ambitious, creative cuisine.

Fresh ingredients are assembled in dishes with familiar names that offer a bit of a twist. For example, among the appetizers are fried risotto and Gouda spheres dressed in a smoky tomato vinaigrette; and smoked salmon with rasti potatoes (a Swiss version of hash browns), pancetta and creme frache.

Calamari takes on an Oriental accent in the fried squid with Vietnamese dipping sauce ($7), which a friend and I shared. It had been coated with a feathery tempura batter to amplify the seafood flavor and was further jazzed up by the dipping sauce.

Salads also combine ingredients not usually found in each other's company. There's a spinach salad with potato olive ceviche and a goat cheese cake, as well as one made with mixed greens, Israeli couscous, fried peas and roasted tomato.

We tried a different pair. The corn bread salad ($7) used torn bits of the bread as the base for a bed of greens and white beans all dressed in a sweet roasted onion vinaigrette. The mixed greens with Asian barbecued duck ($8) was served with a subtle, multi-layered cucumber and carrot vinaigrette. Each bite provided a new combination of flavors.

Carlson pays homage to Southern cooking traditions in entrees such as a pork chop with maple sugar chipotle glaze and succotash and seared scallops with stone-ground grits flavored with country ham hock. But there are internationally inspired dishes too.

Falling-apart braised beef short ribs ($15) are seasoned with soy and pepper and served with a generous side of thin rice noodles mixed with slivers of carrot, onion, zucchini and sweet red pepper tossed with cucumber relish.

The bone-in rib-eye steak ($18) was as flavorful a cut of beef as you'll find anywhere, made even more so with a cabernet demi glace and supported by a savory (and very rich) mushroom risotto.

The Avalon wine list has a selection nicely divided over several varietals. So we were able to drink a spicy, fruit-filled red a bit beyond the ordinary. The bottle of 1999 Chateau Potelle Old Vine zinfandel ($33) was splendid with both of our beef dishes.

Avalon's imaginative offerings extend to dessert. We shared the fried apple cheesecake ($6), a turnover of flaky pastry filled with sweet cream cheese topped with diced apples sitting in a lake of rich caramel sauce with a scoop of vanilla ice cream. Excalibur, indeed!