Rising out of Pacific Beach’s glut of surf shops, frat bars and trusty displays of heterosexuality is the new three-story Tower 23, a chic hotel on the boardwalk that houses the stunningly hip restaurant and cocktail bar called JRDN (pronounced Jordan).

Rub elbows with anyone inside the place and the first thing you’ll hear out of their mouth is: “This is so un-PB.” Then flick on your gaydar while studying the restaurant’s clientele – many of them silhouetted against a dazzling wall of colored light – and you’ll pick up a few more bleeps than expected.

Owner Bret Miller delivers a daring and much-needed punch to the area, which until now severely lacked gourmet cuisine, fine wines and intelligent wait service. He named the restaurant after his young son and deceased father, both of them Jordan, adding a curious twist by leaving out the vowels.

The menu offers upscale meat and seafood dishes tailored for a stylish and seemingly diverse patronage – though, granted, the sleek lounge area complete with sushi bar attracts its fair share of booby blondes and the men who chase them. But with a fiercely high-gloss, contemporary design in place (think W Hotel), the fashionable atmosphere readily lends itself to “anything goes.”

My dining companion and I were seated at a window table in the middle section of the restaurant looking out at the ocean and large patio. By the time we popped down two complimentary bread rounds crowned with bruschetta, the interior back wall interfaced with wavy plaster had changed from deep blue to sea green from concealed light sources. Strips of white light accent a few partitions, which pull together the mingled textures of wood and concrete used throughout the airy floor plan.

We started with appetizers from the “way cool” and “getting warm” categories. A plate carpeted with Beef Carpaccio was excellent: The filet was flavored with mustard seed, sliced paper thin and then topped with shaved Parmesan and crispy capers. Two jumbo-sized Crab Cakes shaped like biscuits ensued. They sported nice crusty edges and loose shredded meat on the inside – their flavor doctored up by a puddle of lime aoili.

You’ll need to rely on your culinary instincts when choosing salad here. Tucked into the menus are order sheets that allow you to check off your choice of greens, a dressing and up to five fixings from a roster that includes hearts of palm, snow peas, roasted peppers and several more. My companion, who never cooks, left the construction process to me. The end result featured fresh butter lettuce spiked with mild herb dressing, Point Reyes bleu cheese crumbles, Maverick Ranch bacon and red onion. Everything mated.

An order of Parsnip Soup wasn’t as good. It was overly gelatinous and weak. A few sliced water chestnuts were entombed, but they did little to amplify the flavor. We regretted passing up the Lobster Bisque.

For our entrées, we gravitated to the “burning up” category, which requires more decision-making. You first choose a cut of meat or fish and then pair it with a rub, a sauce and two side dishes. It’s a fun process that my companion, this time around, entered into with confidence, opting for an eight-ounce tenderloin rubbed in butter and drizzled in smoky cabernet reduction. It was a winning lineup of flavors enhanced with delicious Yukon Gold mashed potatoes and savory pan-roasted wild mushrooms in garlic butter.

I opted for Northwest Wild Salmon and was happy that the fleshy filet, expertly cooked, wasn’t upstaged with my pickings of tri-peppercorn rub and Chinese mustard demi glaze. (The kitchen pays great respect to its daily deliveries of line-caught fish and hormone-free meats, allowing their pure natural flavors to reign.) Of my side dishes, the crispy Maui onion rings were terrifically sweet – each coated in a tasty batter that clung to the onions like magic. The braised broccoli, however, took on a bitter essence from the lemon oil and crushed peppers used in the scheme. A sensational lemon cheesecake custard and dense “chocolate bar” with spun sugar for dessert later came to the rescue.

Other side dishes include roasted asparagus with oyster sauce, roasted purple Peruvian potatoes, sugar snap peas with bacon and “marrow and cheese mac.”

From another section of the menu, the “pure sizzle” entrées provide chef specialties that include Hoisin Glazed Rack of Lamb Chops, Sonoma Duck Breast and Free Range Chicken Breast in thyme jus.

The wine list travels the earth’s “Ring of Fire,” boasting many titillating and unrecognizable labels from the coastal regions of New Zealand, Australia and South American on up to California and the Northwest.

Sexy and cosmopolitan in every respect, JRDN is giving Pacific Beach a whole new feel.