Choosing a place to eat in the Fan District is often decided by where you find a parking space.

Whether you want a club sandwich and fries or a steak and garlic mashed potatoes, you can find it on Main Street, Strawberry Street, Lombardy Street, Robinson Street -- well, you get the picture.

This similar style of American cuisine served at so many Fan restaurants isn't bad; it's just palate-numbingly overdone.

Granted, a few glimmers of "something new" have crossed the great Belvidere divide, gracing the Fan with some of what's found easily in Shockoe Slip or Shockoe Bottom -- an upscale diner/bar, Mediterranean-inspired tapas and sushi.

But, why not a redefined, more contemporary take on the Fan's signature style of cuisine?

Instead of the same proteins, veggies du jour and chef's choice of starch dressed in vaguely different flavors, how about wild boar or, say, seared rabbit loin with chimichurri?

If you haven't checked out the building on the corner of Floyd and Robinson recently, you're missing something good. Something very good.

Early this year, Verbena took over the building once home to Konsta's and Carlton's, transforming the dated space into a casually elegant display of copper, dark wood and coolly balanced combinations of just-different-enough edible intrigue.

The latest venture of Richmond's up-and-coming restaurant mogul, David Bess -- in the span of a few months, he's taken over Cha Cha's Cantina and The Lucky Buddha -- Verbena showcases the talents of former Dogwood Grille sous chefs Todd Richardson and Noah Sandoval.

Not surprisingly, Verbena's menu has whispers of Dogwood's culinary playfulness, but it takes the dining experience to another level with the V-Lounge, a loft serving small plates such as duck leg dumplings and rabbit empanadas, and a sizable cheese menu.

What's more impressive is how Verbena's unaffectedly chic vibe seeps into all aspects of the meal. The wine list ($20 to $78) features easy-drinking varietals at reasonable prices -- Yalumba Viognier ($24) and Owen Roe Sharecropper's Pinot Noir ($38), for example.

The staff is far more with it than one would expect of a three-month-old restaurant. Our server, a suave yet amiable gent with a cascade of dreadlocks, rattled off the specials' ingredients as if he created them himself and, with much-appreciated humility, told us the prices first.

Even when a party of 15 took over half the downstairs dining room, the servers, including Bess, worked as a team to ensure waits between other tables' courses were limited.

Verbena's menu blends unusual ingredients without any sense of faux pretense. My foie gras BLT ($12) -- goose liver, Hanover tomatoes, frisée, smoky bacon and rich truffle mayo sandwiched between lightly grilled crostini -- combined decadence and whimsy in one mouth-watering package.

Grilled shrimp kabobs ($8) got a dose of "something different" when paired with an assertive Hanover tomato salad accented with horseradish and candied lemons.

Substituted for red snapper, lightly seasoned rockfish ($23) was topped with a crunchy slice of thick-cut bacon. The subtle brininess of brown butter and kalamata olive farro (an ancient grain with a firm, chewy texture) blended with the peppery bite of lemon-arugula salad to create a refined yet distinct canvas for the fillet.

Wild boar chops ($28), the evening's special, were wonderful -- robust in flavor yet extremely tender. A tempura-fried scallion and a sweet potato-baby bok choy napoleon finished with soy ginger sauce added appropriately subdued depth to the dish.

Verbena plans to expand soon, adding a bakery in the adjoining building that once housed Konsta's bakery. If our desserts (all $6) were any indication of what's to come, I can't wait until opening day.

Strawberry shortcake layered with fresh whipped cream received an unexpected jolt from balsamic reduction. Fresh raspberries and a vibrant pool of intensely tart passion fruit sauce elevated a moist pistachio cupcake from decadent to divine.

Chefs Richardson and Sandoval aren't trying to reinvent the wheel. Instead, they're taking the wheel and suavely boosting it to new levels with sly yet balanced culinary twists. Add in Bess' natural, front-of-the-house ease, and Verbena may just set a new standard in Fan dining. dcraig@timesdispatch.com.