At La Dolce Vita, it's all about the sauce.

Photo by Randy Tunnell. Flames of Passion: Chef Sadot Diaz fires up a fabulous creation at La Dolce Vita''s new Pacific Grove location.

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can grill a steak, you can fillet a flounder, you can whip up your egg whites all you want, but the proof of a great chef lies in the sauce. That''s crucial in any dish, but particularly true when it comes to pasta. Fettucini, fusilli, penne and linguini should serve as little more than al dente foils for the piece de resistance--the sauce delicately coating every nook and cranny.

And when it comes to great sauce, La Dolce Vita''s chef Sadot Diaz--a former sous-chef at Fandango''s--has certainly got the goods.

I''d been eyeing La Dolce Vita since the place opened a year ago at the Restaurant-Formerly-Known-As-Melac''s, a prime location at the corner of 19th and Lighthouse. There have been other restaurants in that spot, but Melac''s is the most sorely missed--by me, anyway. Argeo Bergamasco, a former manager at Carmel''s La Dolce Vita, on San Carlos, had been saving his money and finally bought out his bosses two years ago. In December 2001, he opened a second branch of the restaurant in PG as a gift for his daughter, Liana Reeves, and her husband Sean.

Sean Reeves, who''d worked alongside his father-in-law as a waiter at the Carmel location, took over the front of the house in the family''s new PG venture. Diaz was brought in as chef, and the line-up was complete. (Bergamasco sold the Carmel branch last month, although it continues under new ownership.)

I went for an early dinner one recent Thursday, and was ushered to a corner table near the fireplace. Low lights and candles on the table created a warm ambience heightened by the interior''s coral and green tones. It was not yet 6pm, and just two other tables were filled; by 7:30, the place was about half full.

Jersey Girl, my dining companion, doesn''t drink, so I was left on my own to choose from the wine list. A nice selection of California wines, mostly in the $20 to $40 range, was complemented by a longer list of Italians, ranging from $25 to $186 a bottle. I chose a glass of 1999 Silver Oak Cabernet Sauvignon, which at $10.50 is steeper than one would usually pay for a glass of red hereabouts--but it was worth it. Another nice touch to the wine list is the extensive selection of half-bottles--more than 30. Sean explains that his wife doesn''t drink, so when they go out for dinner he finds himself frustrated by the usual limited choice of half-bottles.

The dinner menu leans heavily towards Northern Italian specialties, with a few southern favorites thrown in, mostly in the form of ten different pizza entrees ($9.25 to $12.45). For appetizers, we chose Gamberetti a Modo Mia (gulf prawns in olive oil, sun-dried tomatoes, parsley, and garlic lemon zest, $8.45) and a half-order of Ravioli alla Rachele (homemade crab ravioli in a champagne cream sauce, $9). Both dishes practically made us swoon--the sauces were that good. The large, plump shrimp were smothered in a spicy, chunky sauce made extra-piquant by a generous helping of chewy sun-dried tomatoes. And the sauce on the ravioli was simply exquisite. My non-drinking companion correctly ascertained the chef had used Marsala instead of champagne that night--a happy substitution. We had to request extra bread to sop it all up.

Unwilling to pass on directly to our entrees without sampling another pasta, we consulted with Sean, who spent the evening going from table to table, making sure everything was just so with his guests. Jersey Girl was in the mood for spaghetti with clams, garlic and sun-dried tomato, but Sean steered us towards a half-order of Spaghetti Zucchini e Pecorino (spaghetti with olive oil, garlic, fresh zucchini and Pecorino cheese, $5). He said it was lighter, and would refresh our tastebuds for the next course--he was right. The spaghetti had clearly been tossed with the merest sprinkling of olive oil, garlic and cheese, so its strands were lightly covered; then chunks of perfectly sauteed, still crunchy zucchini were mixed in at the last minute. Delectable, with a delicate treatment not found often enough in local Italian restaurants.

For the main course, I had the night''s fish special: butterflied boneless rainbow trout, pan-seared and served with a Piccata sauce (white wine, garlic, lemon and capers) ($22). My companion chose her favorite dish from the Carmel La Dolce Vita: Chicken Marsala ($17.25). The entrees come with a side of spaghetti in fresh tomato sauce, but Sean is happy to substitute any other pasta or risotto from the menu, so I had the spaghetti and Jersey Girl went for the risotto. Omigoodness, was that risotto fine--chewy grains of rice with just the right amount of butter and oil holding it together.

My trout was prepared very well, although its gentle flavor was somewhat lost in the evening''s cacophony of exuberant sauces. Sean says it''s not his favorite fish dish on the menu, but I''d insisted, rejecting his suggestion of Bassa di Capri, a light Hawaiian fish, grilled and then pan-seared in organic sage honey. It''s a traditional dish from Capri, he says, although he gets his honey from Napa.

The hit of the evening had to be the Chicken Marsala. One entire, exceedingly plump breast, split in two, was slathered with a rich, brown sauce redolent with Marsala and brimming with fresh, chewy porcini mushrooms. Once you''ve tasted fresh porcini in a sauce like this, the dried stuff just won''t do it for you anymore.

Were we derelict in our reviewing duties when we declined dessert? Perhaps, but the limited selection--tiramisu, flan or cheesecake--just didn''t sound that appealing. And how could anything compete with what we''d just eaten? It was a nearly perfect meal, immensely satisfying. I might suggest that the Reeves consider a prix fixe option, however; they''d attract more locals out for a casual, last-minute meal during the week.