BAR Q.(Restaurant review)

The middle "B" missing from Bar Q's name is a warning: you're not in hill country anymore. There's no tang of char in the air, no smoke pit seething in a back alley, no long-legged waitresses in denim cutoffs and cowboy boots. Those who come seeking barbecue--the eatery's ostensible raison d'etre--should know that, first and foremost, this is an Anita Lo restaurant, which means elegance, intelligence, and wit. Lo, who presides over the kitchen at the consistently great Annisa, earlier lent her expertise to fast food (Rickshaw Dumpling Bar), and here she seems to be striving for a middle ground. While the decor echoes Annisa's (white walls, blond wood, swaddling leather booths), the decibel level is decidedly higher, the lighting bright and unmoody. The staff, despite their black uniforms, are almost disconcertingly enthusiastic ("I like your watch!"). One night, you might be served by a former contortionist, the next by a graduate student in clinical psychology.

When it comes to food, however, balancing the innovative and the crowd-pleasing is tricky. Early reports were not encouraging: diners, perhaps expecting sticky kalbi and rolls of paper towels, expressed dismay at the portion sizes, the prices, and the general culinary weirdness. But, to a Lo fan, the most exciting dishes here are precisely those which play havoc with tradition. Tuna ribs--a part of the fish commonly ...