After teasing diners with promises of "guilty pleasures/innocent food," Tasteology opened the doors to its health-focused restaurant-cum-multimedia lifestyle network on October 22. At the rear of the softly lit, soothing green dining room is a window onto a live studio kitchen. The Tasteology Network, with its eventual live feed to the restaurant's website, will feature cooking shows, national food trends, and "real-time education," network director and host Andrea Holland says. For now, "Taste HD" on a flat-panel monitor silently loops shots of chatty, sun-kissed prospective diners.

Tasteology avoids butter, cream, and deep-frying, and each of its entrees comes in at less than 500 calories (only the peanut butter-banana smoothie exceeds that limit). The menu prioritizes provocative combinations of texture and flavor over seasonality or regional focus. The contents of Indian flatbread wraps, for instance, wander from Baja (salmon and papaya salsa) to Korean BBQ to Cuban Mojo (shredded pork and black beans) to Aegean Escape (balsamic grilled shrimp and white bean hummus). Also look for healthy takes on Argentinean-style beef, teriyaki salmon, and Southern oven-"fried" chicken.

Humbly announcing on its front door that "for your convenience, we do not request tips," Tasteology applies the same tone of service-first earnestness to its website and other publications. The menu expresses pride in its willingness to disclose information about nutrition and provenance, boasting that "all our entrees are...prepared from fresh local produce, often organic when possible." This being November, collard greens and yams may very well be local; many dishes, however, contain ingredients that, like peaches, are ephemeral or, like coconut or figs, come from far-flung sources at any time of year.

Rochester is Tasteology's flagship location. The restaurant plans to launch a total of 29 franchises nationwide. The restaurant is located at 3400 Monroe Avenue in Pittsford; 385-0580; Sunday-Thursday 11 a.m.-9 p.m., Friday-Saturday 11 a.m.-10 p.m. Order online at tasteology.net.

SEA Restaurant's name is an acronym for "Southeast Asian," not a reference to the ocean. Husband-and-wife owners Mao Seng and Vilay Sysavath, recent transplants from Boston's suburbs, opened SEA on October 15 in the former Basta Pasta space on almost-upper Monroe. Seng is Cambodian, and Sysavath, who is Lao, spent seven years working in a Lowell, Massachusetts, Vietnamese restaurant; SEA's menu is a fusion of these cuisines, plus Thai.

The featured offering is pho, a noodle soup called most often by its Vietnamese name, but variations of which are popular street food throughout Asia. SEA serves noodles in an onion- and cilantro-infused broth with choice of meat (the eye-popping "beef special" bursts with flank, brisket, rare steak, tendon, tripe, and meatballs) and a side plate of bean sprouts, basil, lime, and fresh chili.

There are many alternatives to pho, including rice-based and stir-fried noodle dishes. The vegetarian section is somewhat misleading as some entrees may contain oyster sauce, but the chef will omit it if specified. Beverage and dessert offerings - and SEA's unfussy, placid dining room encourages lingering - include jasmine lemonade, the intriguing salty plum soda, and an assortment of iced tropical fruits.

SEA is located at 741 Monroe Avenue; 473-8031; Daily 11 a.m.-10 p.m.

East Rochester's Bistro 135 will reopen on November 19 with new ownership and a new name: Bistro 135 Jazz Lounge and Restaurant. In September chef/owner/operating manager Jeff Keith and partners Dave and Brenda Romilly acquired the lease of the by-then defunct former business; Keith and returning chef Joe DeLucia have together created a menu featuring what they call "upscale American" bistro fare.

Dinner entrees include a Bistro Mixed Grill and Surf (ribeye and filet with Alaskan king crab legs), a blood-orange twist on duck a l'orange, and pecan-crusted chicken in bourbon cream sauce. The rest of the menu is more small-plate oriented, with grilled pizzas, open-faced "bistro melts," and starters from polenta fries to lobster risotto.

The wine list will feature both Finger Lakes and Napa bottlings, Keith says. A long sweep of bar leads diners to a choice: upstairs, a spacious mezzanine dominated by a baby grand piano; or downstairs, a more intimate dining room warmed by a gas fireplace. Outside, Keith plans to heat the high-walled courtyard for wintertime smokers.

Bistro 135's opening week features performances by the Bobby Dibaudo Trio and five-piece combo Jimmie Highsmith, Jr., and Friends. Keith hopes to establish a regular nightly lineup of bands and solo piano. The restaurant's website links to a performance calendar as well as the menu, which will soon be fully illustrated with photographs, Keith says.

Bistro 135 is located at 135 W. Commercial St.; 662-5555; daily, 11 a.m.-midnight. Bistro135.net.

And for those of you who miss the Raj Mahal on Monroe Avenue, know that former Raj chef/owner Sudha "Ruby" Sud now cooks for the Indian buffet in the prepared foods section of Pittsford Wegmans, using her same recipes. The buffet - 20 percent of which is a rotating selection - features Raj favorites like tandoori chicken, beef curry, and gobi aloo (stewed cauliflower and potatoes).

Wegmans executive chef Eric Wendorff was a regular at Raj Mahal, which Sud owned with her husband, Sanjiv Juneja. After the couple sold the business earlier this year and had difficulty finding a new location, Wendorff approached Sud with the proposal that she cook at the store. A few dishes introduced via the Wokery sold well, and the buffet followed in August.

Sud earned a degree in business management in India before moving to the United States in 1986. She helped her brother open India House, learning to cook in the process. Sud plans one day to open her own restaurant again, but Wendorff says he hopes that she will stay at Wegmans for a while.