Vacation post + new nicknames (aka Where is the Real Italian-American Cooking in San Diego?)

Ok, first order of business: NYUGirl says Boy and the Dad need better nicknames. I think she's right! So let's try:

TruckBoy for Boy

and

Accounting Boy Wonder (ABW) for the Dad [am trying to be romantic and reclaim some of the nicknames of our younger, pre-TruckBoy years]

Ok, now back to our regularly scheduled food writing! We are on vacation on the East Coast, and eating our hearts' content's worth of pizza, diner food, and deli. We will need new clothes when we get back. TruckBoy has been mostly very good in restaurants (diners often have great truck views onto highways) and we have enjoyed ourselves.

However, our experiences have given rise to an important question: WHERE IS THE GOOD ITALIAN-AMERICAN FOOD IN SAN DIEGO? I'm not talking bad Americanized Italian food (a la Olive Garden or Old Spaghetti Factory). I mean serious 2nd generation Italian-American cooking. We can go into any number of modest family-friendly restaurants here where they knock our socks off with delicately flavored sauces (just the right amount of basil and the ripest tomatoes), fresh handmade mozzarella, homemade pasta, great bread, etc. San Diego has either "regional" Tuscan-style Italian (Piatti's); fake fancy places like the Gaslamp Italian places; or places in Little Italy that just plain are not that good. The only places I can think of that even come close: Solunto's bakery in Little Italy has some homestyle favorites that are at least somewhat inspired (grandma-style square pizza, serious cookies); and of course Bongiorno's. Even though that's "just" pizza, Mike Bongiorno is turning out serious flavors on his pies (especially when he's there baking them himself). But as ABW asked, "Where are all the Italian cooks in San Diego?" Did they move West and forget how to cook? Did they need to dumb their flavors down for San Diego audiences (who either expected refined/expensive/fancy food or cheap/bad/"family" food like at Papachino's)? Or are there just not enough Italian-American patrons to keep them honest, by not even bothering to show up if the food isn't better than they can make at home?

I don't know, but I'm hoping I'm wrong. East-Coast-raised readers: is there a place we don't know about? Do tell!