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Business & Tech

Avenue East Falls Short of Healthy, Delicious Commitment

But hip decor, diverse menu, convenient location make for enjoyable evening

With a long sushi bar and a menu full of traditional Chinese dishes, as well as some Thai, Vietnamese, Malayasian and Indonesian favorites, Avenue East brings together the flavors of East Asia in a convenient downtown location.

Avenue East is BYOB and, fortunately, located across the street from Breen's Liquor, where we picked up a Riesling, low in alcohol and perfect for spicy Asian food. It was early in the week and early in the evening, but Avenue East already had a good crowd for dinner.

Inside, more than two dozen square wooden tables are subtly illuminated by tiny, cone-shaped lamps suspended from the ceiling. Exposed brickwork on the sidewall and ducts overhead give an industrial feel, while the glass doors that make up the front of the dining room offer a view of Union Avenue and perhaps some good people-watching opportunities.

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Chinese food is not known for being healthy fare. The menu at Avenue East begins with a note about the nutritional content of its food: No MSG or trans fats, low-sodium soy sauce, white-meat chicken and lean cuts of USDA Grade A beef. Many, but not all, of the entrees offer nutritional information (calories, carbohydrates, protein, fat and fiber content). An effort to serve fresh, healthy food is good business sense in a health-conscious society, and voluntary posting of nutritional information can be admirable, if not daring. But do not be misled by 216-calorie sweet and sour chicken or the 227-calorie broccoli beef. In small print on the first page of the menu, in the middle of a five-line paragraph, is the note: "Entree and nutrient content based on share by two persons."

I began my meal with the 7-Spice Shrimp from the weekly specials menu. The five pieces of shrimp were lightly breaded with Panko bread crumbs, broiled with butter and topped with a colorful sprinkling of seven Japanese spices ($7.95). Served over a bed of shredded lettuce and carrot garnish, the shrimp were perfectly cooked, and while I wouldn't call them spicy, they had a nice bite.

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My friend started with the satay beef from the regular appetizer menu. Two flat slices of tender, marinated, grilled beef were served with a peanut sauce and a side of diced cucumber and onions. I think I made the better appetizer choice.

For the entree, I again ordered off of the weekly specials menu: sesame beef, a plate of lightly battered flank steak sautéed with sesame sauce, garnished with broccoli and served with a side of brown (or jasmine) rice ($14.95). Like my friend's satay appetizer, the beef was lean and tender, but it tasted as if it had been grilled before it was breaded and sauteed. The sesame sauce was flavorful, though I wish I had more to go with my side of nutty, brown rice. The broccoli was soft and well-cooked.

My friend ordered the Bangkok crispy fish, a red snapper fillet with tamarind sauce, also served with a side of rice ($15.95). We were told flounder would be substituted for the red snapper. Restaurants are known to pass one fish off for another, so we appreciated the honesty here. This entree was a simple one—heavily breaded pieces of fish, served piping hot over a garnish of shredded lettuce, onion and carrots. The sauce was served on the side. If I returned to Avenue East in the mood for fish, I'd probably opt instead for the Vietnamese steamed fish ($13.95). Flounder with tomato, tofu, ginger and cilantro should offer a lot more spice and flavor.

Better yet, the honey-glazed walnut shrimp looked tempting: lightly battered shrimp coated with a creamy citrus sauce topped with glazed walnuts ($14.95). Meat options included black pepper steak ($14.95), spicy basil beef ($10.95) and lemongrass chicken ($10.95). Avenue East also offers vegetarian options, from Masaman, red, yellow and green curries that can be prepared with meat (starting at $9.95), seafood (starting at $11.95) or tofu ($8.95), to the traditional Buddha's Feast ($7.95) and several other choices. The menu also includes two pages of sushi selections, from simple California rolls ($4) to the Avenue East Special, 9 pieces of sushi and 15 pieces of sashimi with two special rolls ($39.95).

Dinner portions were ideal for one, neither skimpy nor overloaded. There was no need for a take-home bag, so I cannot imagine these portions designed for two people. I'm stumped as to why Avenue East would base its nutritional content on two people sharing a meal, except that a 10.25 grams of fat in Kung Pao shrimp sounds more healthy than 20.5 grams of fat.

For dessert I chose the fried banana, which was served sliced and wrapped in a crisp but tasteless pastry. My friend ordered the pot de crème with berries. This rich, dense chocolate mousse served with blueberries, a blackberry and a strawberry might have been the highlight of the evening.

We both finished with hot cups of ginger twist tea. Made by Mighty Leaf, this mix of lemongrass, tropical fruits, mint, ginger and ginseng came in a woven, silken pouch. Had it been served in a pot of water brought to a rolling boil, this high-quality tea would have been a perfect, relaxing end to a multi-course meal. Instead, the tea was brought to us with cups of water not hot enough for a proper brewing.

I had heard a lot about chaotic service at Avenue East, though we did not find it to be the case. The dining room was more than half full when we left, and our waiter was attentive from start to finish—and very apologetic after we pointed out that he had poured our water in a glass with a lipstick print.

The concept of healthy, Asian fusion in downtown Cranford is an attractive one, but the food at Avenue East doesn't match the higher-quality, more creative Asian fare one might find in an urban center like New York City. Still, with a dim, hip décor, a good downtown location, and a diverse menu and crowd, Avenue East is a convenient spot for an enjoyable evening out.

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