Patria in Salinas deserves a visit, and a spot at the top of Salinas restaurants.

It’s a real-deal European bistro in an unlikely bistro kind of place.

It’s a motherlode of comfort food done with simplicity and precision.

It’s a sanctuary of handmade, rustic and reasonably priced pizzas and pastas – like the applewood bacon, thyme, goat cheese and béchamel sauce pie ($12) and the handmade spaetzle with browned butter and Gruyere ($12).

It’s a smorgasbord of succulent meats that cover the animal kingdom, with cornish game hen, rabbit, veal, scallops, bone-in ribeye, lamb and pork, accented with sly sauces, braises and accompaniments.

It’s a welcoming space with the feel of chef/co-owner Paulo Kautz’s onetime Carmel Valley locale, Cafe Rustica – French country, with glowing wood, warm art, exposed brick and pottery, bread and farm tool displays.

It’s an oasis smack dab in the middle of Oldtown Salinas, and already the wine-and-dine go-to destination for the moneyed Salinas Valley ag crowd.

It’s a resurrection of the old Hullabaloo and Windfall spot hundreds were hungry for, a much-discussed, overdue blessing for the county’s biggest city and one of its all-too-disappointing food areas.

Yes, brand-new Patria (424-5555) in Salinas is a lot of things – as is its spirit animal, Kautz. But if you have to settle on one thing, it’s the best new restaurant the city has seen in a decade, if not longer. And he’s the kind of chef who has the kind of palate that makes people happy – and one who must taste every plate and looks to visit as many tables as he can.

Between us, Weekly Editor Mary Duan and I have been three times in its early days. (Per our review policy, we weren’t aiming to critique service and execution; that review comes in a few months to let them settle. It was overall feel and inspiration we sought.)

She raves about the tagliatelle ($13), with a peas-bacon-Black Forest ham-carbonara sauce: “I would have licked the plate had we not been in public.”

As part of a piece on the food blog, www.mcweekly.com/edible, she adds this: “What stood out for me, though, was the jaeger schnitzel, a breaded pork cutlet served with deeply browned sauteed mushrooms and a rich, dark sauce.”

She also digs the generous-enough-to-share romaine hearts ($8), a sweet-and-salty symphony of white balsamic dressing, pungent blue cheese, fried onions, white anchovies and candied pecans. “I will go back for it again and again,” she says. It’s open evenings Tuesday through Sunday, and plans are in the works for lunch service too.

I experienced similar affection for the butternut squash pizza ($11) with artichoke hearts, pearl onions, Gruyere, sage and the harmonious (and indulgent) béchamel sauce, plus a nice dusting of polenta. Same goes for the silky-juicy salmon in parchment ($18) layered with beurre blanc, spinach, Kalamata olives and zucchini. The sizeable rabbit with braised red cabbage ($22) and wild boar pappardelle with asiago ($15) were good too.

We enjoyed nice values from a simple but thoughtful wine list too – an Austrian Grüner Veltliner and an Italian Barbera d’ Alba were both less than $30.

The challenge: to balance a cozy bistro feel – note the vintage bike with potatoes in the basket and the collection of antique corkscrews – with the large footprint. (The bar area could be its own bistro.) Kautz also raised our eyebrows a while back by refusing to give his name to an intern I sent to gather updates, and with reported rifts with at least one other Oldtown restaurant owner, and stories from the less-than-amicable end to his Rustica partnership. It’s awfully nice he’s now raising eyebrows – and the bar – with Patria.

QUICKBITES

•The Jan. 2 edition of pop-up dinners at the Sand City Independent stars Esalen and aids Big Sur. More on the blog.

• Ben Pon has sold Bernardus (649-2699) to Noble House. At least it’s just the lodge, not the winery or Will’s Fargo.

• Mi Tierra, which occupies ground floor retail space in the Traveler’s Hotel in Salinas, is moving into the old XL Grindhouse on Main Street.

• Rich Pepe of Little Napoli, Vesuvio, Peppoli and other tasty spots, isn’t running for mayor of Carmel. He lost to Jason Burnett last go, but helped move food-and-wine friendliness and a farmers market (now happening Thursdays 10am-2pm) to the top of the agenda.

• Peter B’s BrewPub (649-2699) closes for renovations Jan. 6-23.

•Abalonetti, Gilbert’s and Beach House at Lovers Point owners Jim Gilbert and Kevin Phillips are considering a lawsuit against the city of Monterey for blocking their acquisition of Rappa’s at the end of Fisherman’s Wharf, and have the sale of the liquor license underway. Sara Rubin explains on the blog.

•Rio Grill launches Winemaker Thursdays 5-7pm the first Thursday of every month starting Jan. 2 with Chef Cy Yontz doing menu additions to pair with wine deals. McIntyre is first up.

•Estéban Restaurant (375-0176) now does a paella menu Tuesdays with choices of stew by Chef Tom Snyder like the paella del mar with chorizo, prawns, mussels and clams ($48 per couple).

• Mondays 2-for-1 at Refuge (620-7360) rinses the indulgence of the week gone by. Finnish spa, spaceship steam room, plunge pools and huge hot tubs.

•Rainer Maria Rilke: “And now we welcome the new year, full of things that have never been.”