Avoce - Good italian that you've had before and yet haven't

Went to Avoce on Sunday, 10/22/06 and it was a lot more sophisticated than I expected. The decor is modern, belying the rustic cusine (I really like the swivel chairs). Our server was friendly and pushy...but in a friendly way - she was a good saleswoman. She convinced us to order the ricotta, but honestly I don't need much convincing to eat fresh ricotta. This was smooth, as if it was whipped and the touch of sea salt and olive oil was nice. My fig salad with duck bresola and asiago was good and my wife's polenta fries were moist but just OK. My wife also ordered crostini with chicken liver/foie gras spread. It was creamy and seasoned well - very homogenous in texture and flavor. My Fall Pasta of ravioli stuffed with ricotta&brocolli rabe, covered in apples and walnuts in a butter sauce was good as well. Maybe a little too firm and perfect...a little more oozing of the insides and softer pasta would have been nice. We shared an order of suckling pig which I sense is going to be, or is already on, many menus this Fall. It was high priced and a small portion - which I actually didnt mind by this point - but it wansn't worth it as far as value vs. taste in my opinion - lower the price and it was 'taste' much better (unless that's what rare, suckling pigs cost). The wife's tiramisu was decent and I've had better bomboloni - they were bigger than I like and too much like regular donut holes. Overall, the dishes were decent to good and the service was good but on the 'hard-sell' side. I felt like I knew all of the dishes but they were new in a way. The flavors were nice and balanced but I was left hoping for an extra something special. The bill was $191 with tip, tax, food and wine.

Pros: Good service, nice decor,
Cons: Hard-selling tactics may be a turn-off depending on your mood, ,
Overall user rating: 7