On a street lined with stores selling dunes paraphernalia and an old fish and chips house, a small upscale Italian restaurant has found a home.

The fact that Bella Notte — a new Italian restaurant in Paso Robles — is located next to the Food4Less might fool you, but this is not fast food or a national pasta chain. It’s the realized dream of two brothers who have worked in the food service industry for years, and who are now making Northern Italian food with authentic flavors and ultra-fresh ingredients.

Ellie Ross always noted the quaint building at 1435 W. Grand Ave. in Grover Beach when she drove past.

It’s the newest fashionable restaurant to open in downtown Paso Robles, and it’s so easy to miss that many locals have yet to discover the chic lounge and dining room that pays tribute to the glamour of the Prohibition era.

While most Cal Poly graduates trade in their books for desk jobs, Trevor LaSalle and Eric Peterson took what they learned from their college jobs at A. J. Spurs and opened a restaurant.

A co-worker recently boasted to me about the pancakes she enjoyed hot off the barbecue on the sunny patio of the Honeymoon Café. Wait, barbecued pancakes? Yes, and they’re delicious, she added.

Goobers by the Beach is an unlikely name for a restaurant, but for owners Jeff and Barbara Wynn, it was the perfect fit.

After operating DiStasio’s for 11 years in Los Osos, Ken MacMillan searched long and hard for a second location. So when Pacific Café vacated its quaint waterfront space on the south side of Morro Bay’s Embarcadero, MacMillan knew he found the perfect space for DiStasio’s on the Bay.

Sometimes the best meals are enjoyed in the simplest of settings.

When I first went looking for the Seaside Cafe and Bakery, I nearly missed the tucked-away eatery in Shell Beach.

Sean Faries, co-owner of Native Lounge in San Luis Obispo, often hangs out near the front of his new restaurant to watch the reactions of customers as they enter.

Each Tuesday night, Windows on the Water in Morro Bay is abuzz with oyster lovers gathering for the upscale restaurant’s popular weekly specials.

I can’t count how many times I’ve been asked, “Where can I get a good steak in this town?”

A grinder is the Tony Soprano of sandwiches.

Last year at this time I was envious of my sister, who lives in Washington, D.C. She’d spent most of January dining at her area’s upscale eateries for Restaurant Month, when many establishments offered prix fix, threecourse menus for a mere $30.

When I heard of the new Wow Yanagi in Pismo Beach, I wasn’t that interested in checking it out. After all, could a fifth restaurant in the countywide Yanagi chain be much different than its counterparts?

Few local restaurants offer an upscale dining experience plus a glimpse into history, but this is what you get at the Cass House Inn in Cayucos.

In an effort to reinvent itself, Rose’s Landing has embraced the essence of Italy in its upstairs space, now a separate restaurant named Ciao Bella Trattoria.

Part 2 of our collection of local holiday recipes is just as enticing as last week’s Part 1.

Abalone is often known more for its exquisite iridescent shell than for its meat.