It’s an address with an identity that I thought would be impossible to match. In the past seven years, we all came to know and love it as Mixx. And it seemed imperative that any kitchen taking its place would have to adhere to a lofty fine-dining concept — or else face instant death.

But the new tenant, Region, defies such culinary sentiments with a unique approach that falls somewhere between fancy-schmancy and breezy-casual. Gone are the crab fondues and starched linens that were inherent to Mixx. The meals at Region are instead clean and simple, sans any complicated sauces and vertical presentations to prove their gourmet effectiveness. And the bare-bones interior relies on only a few pieces of wall art, including the word “trust” in big metallic letters, to achieve its we-know-the-neighborhood ambience.

The restaurant is headed by a trio of chefs who take their cue from local farmers markets and top-quality food purveyors for determining the daily menu. Thus whatever seasonal specialties the “region” currently offers will likely end up on your plate.

“We want this to be a place where people come back twice a week,” says Chef Michael Stebner, referring to his ever-changing menu and moderate prices. Formerly the executive chef at Nine-Ten in La Jolla, Stebner is joined in his new venture by Chef-Forager Allyson Colwell and Pastry Chef Jack Fisher.

Too outstanding for words was the Risotto my companion chose, which ranks among the appetizer-sized dishes that comprise most of the menu. The short-grain rice is built up with a discerning amount of garlic and finished off with truffle oil and Parmesan Reggiano. A couple ounces of perfectly wilted spinach on top added supreme balance.

Equally impressive, yet much simpler, was the Homemade Ricotta — a rustic arrangement of food that paints a picture of an Italian peasant picnic. The plate featured a plop of delectable soft ricotta along with cured salami and ham, baked garlic cloves and meaty green olives from a local market. A basket of hearty bread on the table along with our red wine amounted to pure bliss.

Food sharing became the preferred order of our meal experience, as we skipped over the few daily entrées (Pork Rack, Snapper and Osso Buco Polenta) in lieu of more “kibbles and bits.” It’s okay to keep the menu nearby and continue choosing additional items while eating, much as you would in a tapas restaurant. And it’s also okay to dress down since the wait staff is outfitted in jeans and matching baseball-type jerseys. (Thankfully, there are no caps to match.)

A crisp, semi-bitter Thistle Salad with anchovies kept us rolling — and served as something of a palate cleanser as it came bursting with fresh fennel and baby artichokes. Also, the stark-white Cauliflower Soup tasted irresistible after we seasoned it with a few pinches of coarse black pepper and sea salt from the cute spice ramekins on our table.

Another savory dish, Hand-Rolled Pasta, is tossed with several buttons of tasty sausage and rapini, a cruciferous green that is a delicious and novel substitute for broccoli. And then there was the Bruschetta, which I have to say is a must here. It’s made with lima beans — something I haven’t eaten since my parents forced them down my throat as a kid. These beans are big and starchy. Yet you won’t feel compelled to hide them under your plate when they’re presented atop a toasted baguette and dressed with olive oil and high-quality Parmesan cheese.

It takes sampling only a few small dishes before sensing that every morsel of food here is pre-judged for freshness and purity. In what seems like a bygone tradition of allowing ingredients to stand on their own, Stebner tenaciously eschews those culinary frills that trade flavor for elaborate eye appeal.

Our Panna Cotta dessert with blood orange sorbet, for example, needed no support from syrupy purées or chocolate sauces to win us over. I’m guessing that Stebner’s days of drawing liquid spider webs onto meal plates are behind him. And that is exactly what makes this new, hip eatery a refreshing find.