If a true Italian neighborhood existed in San Diego (like what Little Italy used to be), the newly reformatted Tioli’s in North Park would serve as its seat of passion.

When I last visited this brick corner-lot structure two years ago, the restaurant was run by a French Canadian versed in Caribbean cooking. Though his menu was largely Italian and the food bright and pleasing, there were too many culinary influences at work that I know my Italian grandparents would have rejected.

But things have changed. Tioli’s was recently taken over by two gay restaurateurs – Dave McGee who claims a stake in Trophy’s, and his soul mate, Paolo Wakham, a successful wine broker with Italian roots that have joyfully found their way into the kitchen. At home, the men regularly test recipes and fine-tune their favorite dishes before tossing them onto the menu. A whiteboard flaunting daily specials augments the lineup of old-style Italian cooking that I’ve desperately been searching for since moving to San Diego some 20 years ago.

If you’ve never encountered the fiercely classic Mozzarella Carroza, for instance, this is where you’ll find it. Offered only for Sunday brunch (or if you whisper a request to your server during the week), the toasted sandwich is comprised of good-quality mozzarella couched between two slices of dried Italian white bread that is egg-washed and dusted in flour. Flavored simply with salt, pepper and oregano, it’s fried in olive oil for an end result that is both comforting and authentically Italian.

After my dinner companion reacted passionately to his sweet, low-acidic Tomato-Basil Soup, we got down to bigger business with a superior Fettuccini Alla Carbonara. A well-constructed Gorgonzola sauce, as well as peas, onions and mouthwatering pancetta support the entrée, not to mention an organic egg that gets incorporated in the final minutes. It was so fabulous we could have eaten ourselves to death with a triple portion.

Memories of my Italian grandfather’s prolific use of crushed red pepper came rushing back to me as we dove into the Penne All’Arrabbiata. Here the hot pepper flakes served as an admirable backdrop to the flavors of fresh tomatoes, shaved garlic, extra-virgin olive oil and a trace of anchovy. We deferred to Wakham’s astute advice to push aside the Parmesan cheese sitting on the table when devouring this dish “because the flavors of fish and cheese work against each other.” No doubt, the creation stood confidently on its own right down to the last tube-shaped noodle.

Equally divine were the portobello mushrooms cloaked in brandy demi glaze, a dish posted often on the whiteboard. The fungi were cut into large strips resembling filet of beef and fanned out into a demi glaze that was as thick and robust as hunter’s gravy. Seared Asiago cheese in spots added a generous zing to the overall composition.

From the Vitello al Gusto listing, visitors choose from three different veal preparations, which include a sage-infused, Roman-style favorite known as saltimbocca. Where so many restaurants fail to pound out the veal and then top it with anemic prosciutto, the new owners at Tioli’s have mastered the craft with quality ingredients, including a judicious mantle of Fontina cheese over the meat. The dish also featured a pan-cooked medley of potatoes and tomatoes pointed up with herbs and garlic, cubes of baked eggplant cooked in homemade marinara, and a cheese-topped Roma tomato filled with portobello mushrooms.

McGee, who executes the plate-licking dinners and homemade desserts, worked years in the restaurant industry, but takes some of his cues from Wakham, who lived for a while in Italy and also teaches Italian classes. Their combined talents give diners a hospitable experience that hits the gustatory standards of provincial Italian cuisine – just the kind we hope to discover in quaint neighborhood restaurants such as this.

The interior layout remains largely unchanged, a café-type atmosphere where some of the collectible salt-and-pepper sets amassed by the former owner have been unloaded. But to remove all of the kitsch in an effort to modernize would diminish the charm – not to mention create an environment that doesn’t allow you to openly slurp the linguine and have a few loud laughs over wine.