I finally made it toThe Admiral for dinner. This restaurant/bar, in West Asheville, has something of a cult following. You almost can't read about the Asheville food scene on Chowhound, Yelp, TripAdvisor, Mtn Express, and elsewhere without stumbling on to somebody who's raving about this place. In my estimation it's living up to it's hype. They serve creative and interesting food that's well prepared in a dive-ish setting. Service was good, professional and prompt even on a hopping night. The wine selection is strange. Eclectic, I would call it. There are some good wines on the list at reasonable prices.

Here's what our table of 4 had (the first 4 items were small plates, the last 1 was an entree-size):

PEI Mussles with san marzano tomatoes, poblano, bacon, basil, grilled lime and toast
Colombia River Sturgeon with Smoked Pork Belly, Roasted Butternut Squash Bisque, Chive, Pistachio and Chai Cream
Hickory Nut Gap Beef Tenderloin Tartare with cornichon, Quail Egg, Cahills Porter, Sriracha Aioli and toast
Tempura Alaskan King Crab with cucumber, Daikon, Carrot, green Mango mixed herbs and jalapeno
NC Triggerfish with Bacon Braised cabbage, veal cheek, sweet potato and hazelnut

and for dessert:

Mexican Churro with spiced chocolate and whipped cream
Honeycrisp Apple Tart with puff pastry, marcona almond butter and rum raisin ice cream

the standouts are bold-ed for your viewing pleasure.