The joint was jumping at Meritage the recent Friday night we went to try it…and, according to the fellow who steered us there, it’s jumping just about every night. Valet parkers were barely keeping up with traffic and when we thought we’d grab a drink at the bar while waiting for the rest of our party to arrive, people were four-deep. A "happening place," for sure.

But we’d come to try the food (plus, Mrs. Hilton was along) so we decided to skip the bar-scene - and the equally jumping sushi bar - and go straight to our table, where the hostess was happy to seat us, despite the fact that we were still missing two of our party. The restaurant section was jumping too…and we can’t recall when we last saw so many waiters scurrying around with wine bottles in hand. The reason soon became clear: Meritage has a wonderful selection of wines…and at very reasonable markups, which is one sure way to earn points with Jimi.

            For starters, we decided the easiest and best thing to do would be to get a plate of sushi and sashimi for the table. Everyone was glad we did. The "rainbow" and "spider rolls" hit the spot. And the sashimi - although not the largest and most exotic selection we’ve seen around town - was fresh and delicious. We chose a bottle of New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc to go with. It was perfectly chilled, crisp - with a subtle sweet-dry, apple-citrus flavor - and everyone at the table found it a perfect choice (an unusual event indeed). The modest markup only added to our pleasure.

            Our party of six found it surprisingly easy to decide on entrees; another unusual event in our dining around experiences. I’d call the menu "Cal-Ital with an Asian Twist." There was something for everyone, and I shamelessly sampled, as usual, from every plate. Mrs. Hilton had pan-seared duck breast with "vegetable and duck confit stuffed cabbage" (kind of like a Cali-egg roll) and mighty tasty. Our two waist-watchers had, respectively, a nicely cooked "crusted Chatham cod," with assorted shellfish, in a tomato-miso broth, and Asian spiced tuna - really good, but ditch the pastry-shell ‘dish’ we all agreed - and give us more of that awesome vegetable lo mein. Number-one son, who normally avoids fish like the plague, had sautéed monkfish medallions - with shrimp, lobster ravioli (please note, Mr. Menu-writer, that the plural of ravioli is ravioli) in a rich and yummy lobster truffle sauce. Diner-5 had a meaty rack of lamb, with a goat cheese potato gratin that stole the show. I resolved, good citizen that I am, to sample the "peppercorn crusted ribeye steak, since you can’t have a good restaurant without a good steak, cooked properly to order and served hot. (A+ on all counts…with extra plusses for tenderness and for some nicely-crisped fat around the edges.) It came with creamed spinach - not overcooked to mush, as it so often is - and steak frites, which I’d almost asked them to hold back. Good thing I didn’t: For once, everyone was grabbing from my plate.

            What to drink with such an assortment? Truth to tell, we aren’t that impressed with the concept of "Meritage wines," where restaurant Meritage has quite a long list. It’s a brilliant marketing concept - the very same one that’s behind those so-called but rarely super "Super Tuscans" - where the winemaker blends a bunch of varietals, so the result can’t be named after a particular dominant grape. Although you’ll always get a very good wine, thanks to the careful blending, you’ll never, in our book, get a wine with real "character." We surely weren’t going to try a French wine with our Cali-Itali-Asian selections…but we clearly needed something bold. Lo and behold, we spied an American Sangiovese from Miner Family Wines in Mendocino. Aside from being a perfect Cal-Ital wine - and a bold wine too (97% sangiovese; 3% zin and 14.% alcohol) - it would make the perfect preview to the Chianti tasting we’d scheduled for the following night - and it was very reasonably priced for what it was. In yet another "first," everyone at the table loved this wine too.

            Desserts, the women in our group said, were major highlights of the meal. Although the warm apple tart with rum raisin ice cream and the warm banana tart were devoured avidly by all, the consensus winner was the chocolate souffle cake with white chocolate ice cream.

            We’ll be back here for sure - for the happening happy hour, to see how the very-happening sushi-bar develops - and to work our way through their food-friendly and budget-friendly wine list.  By all accounts, a grade "A" experience.