The address for Vino & Cucina Trattoria Italiana is on Carson Street. But really, it’s on Norse Way, which feels more like the main street in a Middle American town than a shopping and dining destination north of Long Beach Airport, a feeling helped along by the presence of a retro eatery called Dale’s Diner just across the street, an old school soda shop, with burgers on the menu, and rock ’n’ roll in the air.

I guess by extension, you could think of Vino & Cucina as the sort of casual, easygoing trattoria found on the main square of any number of Italian villages, the sort of place where the diners are regulars, the staff knows everyone’s name, and everyone knows the staff. Sitting there on a quiet evening, numerous couples and small groups came in, greeting the kitchen staff and the serving staff. The feeling would be village over there, and it’s neighborhood over here, with some folks not even looking at the menu. They’ve been here many times before; they know what they want.