I came to Franklin's Tower because it's a new restaurant with a native son chef who, nevertheless, is a relative newcomer to the Capital Region dining scene.

Franklin's Tower, named for a Grateful Dead song, is the 4-month-old successor to the Plaza Grill, an Albany business that for 71 years occupied the circa-1820 Broadway building opposite the ornate University Plaza complex that sprawls at the foot of State Street. The new business is positioning itself as a place for cocktails, food and live music -- eclectic stuff, not just the Dead.

A partnership headed by David Kuk bought the building from Gary Tenczar last spring, then gave it a thorough cleanup, renovated the restrooms, painted the walls and created window treatments. The result is an emphasis on certain architectural highlights -- Art Deco doors and bar, old wood mouldings, tile floors -- as well as the University Plaza view.

Lunch and dinner patrons can dine in dark-mahogany booths on the first floor or trek up steep stairs to a comfortable, red-walled dining room that reputedly once was a hangout for the likes of Babe Ruth and Dan O'Connell, among other athletes and politicians. Up on the cozy third floor, there's a bar, plush love seats and a view of University Plaza to attract private parties or overflow diners.

Even the drink menu gives a nod to Albany history with such specialty cocktails as the Ironweed Combo, Legs Diamond Hurricane and Hawkins Stadium Coconut Espresso Martini.

Constant Companion and I sat at the busy bar to drink in the atmosphere and a pair of icy-cold Jim Beam Manhattans, then ascended the stairs. We had the place to ourselves. Having company would have been nice, but the upside was having the delightful Elizabeth as our very own server.

Companion began with one of the day's two soups created by chef John Hennet, a native of Guilderland who returned to the area after years of cooking on Long Island and did a turn at Justin's. Once word spreads, the place should be as bustling for dinner as it has been for lunch.

The tomato bisque Companion selected over the mushroom soup was a smoky delight, rich and thick and perfect for a rainy night.

My starter was a tasty quartet of prosciutto-wrapped jumbo shrimp nicely grilled and served with fresh sage, a smoked mozzarella/cream sauce and a little pile of crisp potato matchsticks. A fine mixture of tastes and textures.

My basic house salad was serviceable, but The Tower, which Hennet bills as his signature salad, was above average -- mixed field greens, hearts of romaine, dried cranberries and apricots, spiced candied pecans tossed in a sherry dressing. Lots of interest points.

From the four-item list of a la carte entrees, I picked a winner -- an inch-thick porterhouse (tenderloin attached) pork chop in a chef's-blend marinade, broiled through without losing a bit of flavor or juice. An excellent crispy-fried risotto cake and sauteed spinach selected from the starch/veggie list made great friends with the meaty chop.

Companion selected chicken Frangelico from another part of the nine-entree menu. White meat chicken is sauteed with mushrooms, pecans and scallions in a brown sauce laced with the Italian hazelnut liqueur. Roasted red bliss potatoes and sauteed spinach helped smartly balance off the sweetness of the Frangelico.

The dinner menu currently is offered Wednesday through Saturday evenings with a pub menu available Monday through Saturday. The latter contains a wide variety of tavern food with some upscale touches -- steamed Prince Edward Island mussels roasted in a garlic clam broth with sun-dried tomatoes and basil croutons; grilled shrimp BLT with tarragon Mayo on a baguette; chilled Asian noodle salad with peppers, scallions and cilantro marinated in an Asian sauce.

Our dinner bill with a drink each was $94.65 before the tip.

By the way, you may wonder if the Grateful Dead ever played ``Franklin's Tower'' in Albany. Not that I could discover, although onetime Dead member Robert Hunter who wrote the song played it at the Palace Theatre back in '97. Nice tidbit for dinner conversation.

See the review online here.