terling, nestled amidst inner-city fast food restaurants and neighborhood convenience shops on the west end of 17th Avenue SW, may not be situated amongst the trendier locales to the east, however the establishment pulls off just enough modern appeal to lend a similar feel; it's a bit unexpected considering Wal-Mart is just a few steps away.

The lounge has been designed with clean lines and warm mahogany wood, plus a variety of seating arrangements to suit any type of encounter, be it a romantic date or a wing and beer boy's night. On this Saturday evening, although the parking lot was near capacity, the lounge was oddly barren. Perhaps Sterling attracts the dinner crowd rather than the boisterous, pre-headache, Saturday night urban set. When asked about the desolation, our gracious wait-maiden chalked it up to a consequence of corporate Christmas party neglect.

Despite the lack of a formal martini menu (Sterling is working on it), a Crantini order appeared par for the course. The libation was served to near-perfection, though the requisite cranberry or two was strangely missing. Oh well, presentation-ills can be excused in favour of that subtle little glow that any good martini prompts.

For menu features, look forward to the usual Cowtown favourites of prime rib and steaks, but pasta and seafood junkies will also find their mistresses patiently waiting for ravishment. Salad selections are uncreative to say the least, however a bit more effort has been afforded to the appetizer menu, with offerings a notch more respectable than expected at typical neighborhood eateries.

A little early for dinner, the appetizer menu was our target. The Crab Cakes New Orleans were surprisingly flavorful and moist. Served with a unique red pepper sauce, the treat had unexpected bite while offering a wonderful Marda-Gras-in-your-mouth experience. The calamari was also pleasantly surprising, and its texture did not conjure the choking phobia so commonly evoked by rubbery versions of the tube-shaped mollusk. We consumed the eight-armed delectable without fear of having to perform the Heimlich maneuver, or wondering if the chef fell asleep at the deep fryer.