Those who insist that Italian food isn’t as good outside of New York City and San Francisco are all wrong. With an ever-growing number of noteworthy pasta kitchens in San Diego, there is Davanti Enoteca, which recently made the list for “America’s 20 best Italian restaurants” by the well-respected culinary blog, TheDailyMeal.com. The Little Italy restaurant, owned by Chicago restaurateur Scott Harris, shares the honors with places like Mario Batali’s Babbo in New York’s Greenwich Village and Osteria Mozza in Los Angeles. A panel of national food judges cited Davanti for its rustic ambiance, in-house wine shop and dishes such as the “fiendishly delicious” truffled egg toast. 1655 India St., 619-237-9606.