It’s no small accomplishment to take over a space long occupied by an iconic restaurant and then make the new establishment succeed. That was the task facing new owner Vincent Deshayes and his stepson Francois when they took over the much loved Buona Vita, which closed in May. They reopened it as Casa Vincenzo in June — an amazingly fast turnaround, with a chef they brought in from France, to cook a more modern version of the Italian food long served at Buona Vita.

And despite the fact that you’ll hear a lot more French than Italian at Casa Vincenzo, this is clearly chow from The Boot — and very good it is too. And yes, it is a little surprising that they didn’t flip the Italian menu for a French one — after all, they own a bistro near Montparnasse in Paris called Le Petit Degaurre. But then, it doesn’t take much research to nail the fact that here in the South Bay and in Southern California in general, Italian cooking trumps French pretty much every time. Think of how Love & Salt easily replaced Café Pierre in Manhattan Beach.