Every town has a culinary plum. And in Escondido, it would have to be Asia-Vous, a quaint new restaurant that pays meticulous attention to service details (purse stools for women, magnifying glasses for the vision-impaired) and offers a deliciously tangled menu of Euro-Asian fare constructed by Chef/Owner Riko Bartolome.

Sandwiched between an old-fashioned barbershop and artisan glass store, it’s impossible to imagine the H&R Block office that stood here previously. The 49-seat, white-linen dining room offers parlorish comfort in muted purple accents amid gilded-framed mirrors and a handsome bar. In a more contemporary touch, a big kitchen window spanning the back wall allows patrons to gaze at the occasional pyrotechnics leaping from the ovens.

But it isn’t until you start seeing Veal Sweetbreads and Kobe Beef on the menu that you realize something of a higher Epicurean nature is descending onto the landscape. Escondido, it seems, has arrived with the addition of Bartolome’s freewheeling approach to the culinary arts, a knack that he developed after graduating from the Culinary Institute of America, and which climaxed while working at Matrixx in Los Angeles.

At Asia-Vous, the ambitious chef pairs ingredients that push and pull from one another the very moment you start reading his plate descriptions, which might better explain the availability of those magnifying glasses. From the “small plates” section, for instance, you’ll find a salad of field greens mixed with sweet potatoes and grapes – or Smoked Hamachi offset by fennel and golden watermelon. The latter, a yellow tail fish used commonly in sushi, was cool and fresh and presented like a rose, albeit a tad salty.

As my dining companion skipped over the starter courses to save room for a fabulously rich Kobe Top Sirloin (crowned with a puck of foie gras compound butter), I continued forth with the soup du jour, a superb ginger-rice creation speckled with bits of roasted chicken. The ginger was admirably restrained to allow the delicate flavors of the other ingredients to ring through.

A “medium plate” of house-made Potato Gnocchi I ordered was anything but typical – thank god. While Italian kitchens normally drown these pasta-like globules in heavy pesto or cream sauces, Bartolome fuses them instead with chunks of lobster (some more tender than others), squash blossoms and Tahitian vanilla bean. The taste buds are befuddled at first, yet by the third forking you quickly admire the chef’s penchant for defiance.

My big, beautiful main entrée was the pork equivalent of Kobe beef, a highly flavorful Kurobuta chop that comes from purebred Berkshire pigs. In Japan the name translates to “black hogs”. And unlike “white” commercial pork, Kurobuta is darker in color and more finely marbled. Few places in San Diego County offer the prized meat compared to culinary epicenters like New York and Los Angeles. Leave it to a plugged-in chef like Bartolome to bring square-peg foodies in our region up to speed.

Other innovative entrees include Hoisin-Crusted Lamb Culotte, Almond Duck Schnitzel and Osso Bucco with Panang curry. Or from the lunch menu, you’ll find White Truffle Fries, a Half-Pound Burger with Onion Marmalade and Poached Halibut with purple Thai rice, to name a few.

The wine list is gracefully comprised of prevalent varietals from boutique labels, including some fine champagne from Australia, France and Napa. At the urging of our knowledgeable waitress, I opted for a velvety Sagelands Cabernet Sauvignon from Washington State, which served as a stabilizer for some of the savory, far-out flavors hitting my palate.

Loose teas, French-press coffee and ports augment the titillating dessert menu. Particularly edgy is the Grand Marnier Carrot Bread Pudding served with ginger gelato and black pepper caramel. Add to this impressive concoction a brittle “hat” confection of macadamia nuts, and the energetic tenor of Asia-Vous’ well-crafted cuisine will have you driving back to North County for more.