Over the years, I’ve often driven past Genovese’s Italian Kitchen, at the extreme western edge of Main Street, just before it turns into Huntington Drive — taking a fairly obscure short cut from the Valley into the city that saves me the rigors of the freeways. Since I usually have a destination in mind, I’ve noticed its existence…and then plunged into the moiling traffic stew that is our life here in sunny SoCal.

And then, I found a reason to go to Genovese’s — a veritable culinary fireworks display, impossible to not notice. It was the announcement that Genovese’s, which has been around since 1980, has a pair of new owners. They’re the restaurant power couple of chefs, Hugo Molina and his wife, Arcia Alvarado. And that made major bells go off. Hugo is best known as the chef who put the Parkway Grill on the restaurant map, followed by an assortment of good local restaurants, including Tutti Mangia in Claremont and Seta in Whittier.