Seafood canneloni with shrimp, scallops, lobster, charred tomato and Ricotta cheese. Seared sea scallops with zucchini, haricot vert salad and lemon confit. Spinach salad and goat cheese cake with roasted beets, sundried fruits and orange bacon dressing.

Imagine being 26 years old, sitting in your new restaurant, gazing out at the evening sky and translating its beauty into your restaurant’s name. Add in having been a professional basketball player, coming back to your hometown, and forming the corporation in honor of your mother. This is the life of Leonard Stokes, former star basketball player at Turner-Carroll High School and alumnus of the NBA’s Denver Nuggets and Washington Wizards. Now he is the owner of one sunset, the new incarnation of the infamous Locker Room sports bar and the late, much missed Lotis.

We dined at one sunset a week after its grand opening celebration. There is a funny feeling of nervous anticipation when you walk through the door of a business that has yet to develop an identity in the community. At one sunset, the staff greets you warmly, the first of many instances demonstrating that customer service is a number one priority. There is a full service bar to the left. Sunset hues warm the room, and the subdued lighting lends a cosmopolitan feel. As we entered the dining room, the large tables and the spacious layout of the room impressed me. The manager seated us near the front, advising (warning?) that the rear of the dining room was about to be filled by 40 basketball players from West Virginia University, in town to play a game the next night. My first thought was that things were going to get raucous. The second was we better order fast before a bunch of big guys ate all the food in the kitchen.

We didn’t actually want to bring on the food too quickly, as the atmosphere was relaxed and welcoming, and it felt good to sit and chat. John and Richard ordered cosmopolitans and I had a Grey Goose martini (a bit heavy on the vermouth). Warm bread was served with three options for dipping: sun-dried tomato, oil with basil, honey butter. When that went quickly, our gracious waiter John brought another serving, and we reviewed the great variety of first course choices on the menu. Richard chose the seared sea scallops ($8.95) with zucchini/haricots vert salad and lemon confit. This was our favorite appetizer. Three fat, golden brown scallops rested on the vegetables and sauce. They were delicately crisp and meltingly tender. The sauce made the dish a joy to the tastebuds. John ordered the crab cakes, which are different than most—they are almost entirely crab, with little filler and served with a spicy caper sauce. The crabmeat was fresh and delicate, the sauce so delicious that we wanted more of it. I ordered the crispy tuna roll, which was perfectly prepared and presented with a sesame vegetable slaw and honey soy sauce. In this unusual appetizer, despite the perfect presentation, the tuna itself didn’t sparkle.

Wanting to experience as much as we could, we went on to share the soup of the day—a red pepper bisque that was warm and filling.

The next course, shared by the three of us, was red wine poached pear salad ($7.95) with mixed greens, onions, walnuts and gorgonzola. The pears had been cooked to the exact right stage of firm tenderness and had a musky, spicy flavor. The accoutrements made the flavors and textures crunch delightfully.

Richard selected the wine for our meal. There is a small but good and moderately priced wine list with wide-ranging offerings from domestic and foreign vineyards. Our Oyster Bay sauvignon blanc from New Zealand, at $6.50 a glass, was dry and a good foil to the food.

Choosing an entrée from the mouthwatering selection was a challenge. The trout almondine ($17.95) with new potato, haricots vert and champagne cream sauce sounded delicious. But I do love catfish, and when I asked the manager what to do he said, “Go for the catfish!” So I ordered it blackened ($16.95) with braised collard greens, soft polenta and Creole sauce. John selected the veal and shrimp scampi ($25.95) and Richard ordered the braised lamb shanks ($24.95) with root vegetables, garlic mashed potatoes and red wine sauce. Entrees range in price from about $16 for Asian sesame chicken pasta to $31 for a strip steak with potato galette and garlic spinach. In between are a good variety of choices including a citrus salmon with risotto and port wine sauce as well as spaghetti Bolognese with short ribs.

I’d like to tell you the entrees danced off the plate, and they almost did. Richard’s velvety lamb shank melted on the tongue, but the root vegetables needed more time in the soft and gentle preparation. The shrimp and asparagus in John’s scampi nicely complemented the delicate medallions of veal. And my catfish was thick and tender, with a lot of tomato-y sauce. To my mind, catfish is best lifted from its lowly status with a crisp and spicy preparation. The polenta was creamy, and an ideal match with the collard greens, which had such a perfect bite of softness and bitterness touched with sweetness.

Our enjoyment of the meal was enhanced by the graciousness of the staff. The smiles and solicitousness made this enjoyable meal even more memorable. The generous size of the tables and their spacing helped to foster a dining experience that was relaxing and intimate.

For dessert, we put one portion of the house-made chocolate decadence with crème Anglaise and fresh berries ($8)in the middle of the table and went at it. It met the chocolate craving test. A pumpkin cheesecake and other cakes and tarts are also available, and we were told the restaurant would be offering more house-prepared desserts in the future.

As we drank our coffee, we saw the various members of the basketball team begin to stand up to shake hands with the owner. Stokes is a gracious host. He introduced us to the visiting team’s coach, and after they left he sat with us and shared his dreams. He wants to make an impact in Buffalo, in appreciation of all his opportunities and as a tribute to his mother, after whom his corporation, Candy’s Culinary and Hospitality Group, is named. Chef Bruce Bain also joined us at our table. Bruce is a well-known and respected chef in Buffalo, having worked for many years at the Rue Franklin. The pair has far-reaching dreams, most immediately to expand the menu to include small plate offerings, then to install a pizza oven and, finally, to get the patio ready for warm weather dining. More abstractly, they are seeking to create a venue that is a Buffalo melting pot, at once contemporary and multi-ethnic. Leonard is even pursuing an opportunity with the Ciminelli Corporation to work with the children of the Buffalo Schools. Dreams, ideals, building community. These are men with the talent and vision to make it happen.