A chef and a city get the restaurant they want in Lucky’s Roadside.

Chef Michael Whalen already had an interesting month going when a Waste Management truck came through his bedroom wall. Backwards. At 5:30. In the morning.

Whalen is suddenly the man charged with getting Lucky’s Roadside (899-5825) restaurant up and running, food – and drink-wise – the same Lucky’s that is the most anticipated addition Seaside has seen in a decade, and local legend/lightning rod Bill Lee’s eighth restaurant project in the area.

Which means that, after coming in less than two weeks before this weekend’s opening at 1901 Fremont in the old City Diner spot, he was already looking at plenty going on: training his team and building out a revamped menu and stocking inventory and completing the wine list and generally keeping the wheels from falling off.

Despite the cumulative plate being plenty full, the wheels are staying on, even impressively so.

Opening night fresh service staff teamed with imports from the suddenly shuttered Bahama Billy’s, one of Lee’s most successful restaurants in its heyday, providing quality attention belying the newness of the restaurant. Lee and his better half Teresa Raine-Lee worked the room and expedited things like the veteran hospitality pros they are. Not coincidentally, Lucky’s enjoys a nice social vibe longtime Lee followers will find familiar.

On the food front, you wouldn’t have known many of the items on the menu had only been worked through within the last few days. I will definitely order things like the baked pork-beef meatballs ($9), sizeable Szechuan green beans ($8) and super crispy sand dabs ($12), a welcome holdover from past Lee projects, again.

The next night offered more of the welcoming vibe and steady energy. Seaside now has the casual restaurant with communal personality it was sorely missing. And a non-chain actually open past 9pm.

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Back in P.G. on that destructive dawn, the Waste Management driver forgot to put it in park when he disembarked. Whalen says the driver gamely jumped in to stop it, but instead of slamming the brakes, hit the gas, sending the vehicle careening into the home in reverse.

Fortunately it missed Whalen and his wife. And fortunately it hasn’t dulled his enthusiasm for the project at hand. (He’s staying in a P.G. bed-and-breakfast down the street for the time being, leaving his cat to stand guard in the drafty house.)

It’s a substantial enthusiasm.

He’s so into cooking he led the most ambitious and successful pop-up in the area (The Underground Supper Club) out of little more than self-taught cooking skills and an abiding desire to do it. His foodie powers also brought him to me as an occasional contributor to the Weekly food section. After work at Pebble Beach Food & Wine (on the horizon April 10-13), the former optical engineer and professional sailor worked side by side with Peter Armellano at Michelin-starred Plumed Horse in Saratoga, the closest starred spot to Monterey.

Lee tracked him down to aid founding chef/sous chef Mark Jones with the hefty workload of opening, house crashes notwithstanding.

Whalen calls the resulting blend of his refined skills and Lee’s casual desires an approachable menu with a chef-inspired spark. In other words, stylish pizzas and pastas and salmon and ribs, much of it sizzled hot in the new wood-fired oven. Starters like the meatballs and beans and caramel bacon popcorn ($8), tempura prawns ($13) and Parmesan onion rings ($8). Salads like the balanced Lucky’s ($12), with a salty-sweet-earthy and textured mix of greens, roasted corn, dried cranberries, goat cheese and housemade candied pecans. Pastas like the papparadelle ($16), a hearty pile of thick and savory noodles loaded with slow-roasted chicken, oven-dried tomatoes, sauteed red bell pepper, portobello mushrooms and a kick from chili flakes. Twelve-inch thin-crust pizzas like the butternut squash ($14) with asiago, sage and caramelized onion; the smoked salmon ($15) with red onions, capers, spinach and creme fraiche; and the fast-disappearing wild mushroom ($14) with truffle oil we tried Saturday.

The mains include items like Parmesan-crusted chicken with buttered mashed potatoes and sauteed kale ($19); oven-roasted quail with mushroom stuffing and chestnut gravy ($20); seared sea scallops with chorizo and butternut squash ($25); baby back ribs with mashed sweet potatos ($18/half, $25/full); and a marinated skirt steak with bacon-cheddar mashed potatoes and broccolini. There’s also a worthy burger and fries ($11).

The head-turning highlight from the desserts was the smoking cherry bomb ($9), chocolate-dipped cherry ice cream lollipops over an explosive pool of dry ice. (For a full photo slideshow, including the smoking bomb, visit the food blog, www.mcweekly.com/edible.)

Happy hour goes 4-5:30pm daily with draft beers from the seven taps and house wines from a solid-but-limited list for $5 and small plates at $6.

One diner wasn’t alone in basking in the urban energy of Saturday night, saying, “It’s such a nice surprise to have this place here and open!”

Like her, I stopped by two nights in a row. Like her – and Whalen – I’m a local feeling lucky to have Lucky’s.

Surprises, especially when they’re not at 5:30am, can be very good.

QUICKBITES

• Bahama Billy’s is done, gone in the dead of night according to inside sources, taking much of their gear as they went. For a perpetual list of recent openings, closures and updates, subscribe to the foodie newsletter at www.mcweekly.com/subscribe.

• Lugano Swiss Bistro (626-3779) has dipped itself in a modest remodel. The “facelift” dinner concert ($6 with dinner) to celebrate features a Frank Sinatra tribute with John Michael and Tom Lawson 6:30-9pm Saturday, Feb. 22.

• Johnny De Vivo is in as new chef at Poppy Hills, which debuts a totally revamped golf course and kitchen April 4. Much more on the blog.

• Salinas standby Tico’s Tacos has an outpost coming to Cannery Row, across from Bubba Gump, opening 1pm this Friday, Feb. 21.

• The very cool – and desperately needed – creative artist market pop-up/fashion show Community Palette happens 4-9pm Friday, Feb. 21, at OAS Design’s space above Cannery Row, across from El Torito. Check CP out on Facebook.

• Last week I wrote it will be illuminating to watch P.G. insurance broker David Olsen’s foray into craft brewing. He partnered with Hermitage to do Andromeda IPA, starring rare hops from Australia. After the batch proved too one-dimensional, he’s shelved the debut party until his brew matches his standards.

• Sue Ann of Yoga by Skye won tickets to Monterey County Symphony by submitting her most symphonic food on the Weekly Facebook page: the calamari eggplant Parmigiano at Massaro & Santos (649-6700).

• National Margarita Day is Feb. 22. Abalonetti Bar and Grill (373-1851) celebrates with two-for-one margaritas.

• Peet’s Coffee & Tea (641-9029) now has fresh daily foodstuffs like applewood smoked ham sandwich ($6.95) and super greens and kale salad ($6.95).

• Wharf Marketplace (649-1116) introduces Taste It Thursday! ($12) Feb. 27 with Jeff Blair and Blair Estate wines: small bites, tasting of three small batch beauties, no reservations needed.

• Francis Bacon: “Wise [people] make more opportunities than they find.”