If your taste runs to preservative-free, home-cooked fare and you enjoy a friendly, banter-filled neighborhood café atmosphere where the proprietor genuinely cares about the well-being of her customers, then make a beeline to PB Central Café, located at 4452 Ingraham St., near Hornblend. Open for breakfast and lunch daily since June, managing partner Sandra Cugusi, who staffs the restaurant herself five days a week, is on a mission to bring a flavorful yet wholesome “back to basics” menu to her café in the heart of Pacific Beach. The Rome-born Cugusi came to the United States 14 years ago not speaking the language yet now speaks idiomatic, unaccented English that any native speaker would envy. She realizes that “healthy” translates to “boring” or “bland” for many people when it relates to food. Cugusi emphasizes quality, healthfulness and good value. She selects her vendors based on the quality of their products, choosing only ripe fruits and vegetables. Boar’s Head supplies her meats and cheeses, while Bread & Cie and the French Pastry Shop in Bird Rock, along with other local bakeries, provide her breads, muffins and bagels. Her American coffee comes from Diedrich, for whom she ran coffee shops in Denver, and her Lavazza espresso is flown in from Rome along with special Italian desserts, cannoli, frolle (Italian cookies) and tiramisu. She makes everything she possibly can herself and prides herself on her homemade pesto, hummus, black olive tapenade, tuna salad, marinades and vinaigrette. She uses these to assemble favorite recipes, which she’s developed during her career working in American restaurants in Florida, Colorado and San Diego. Good value is also important to her and she strives to keep prices reasonable and affordable. “Everything is done like you’d do at home. If I don’t eat it, it’s not good enough for my customers. I made the menu so that there’s something for everyone and everything sounds good,” Cugusi said. Among those offerings are breakfast sandwiches — served all day — along with Italian frittatas, fruit bowls, smoothies, frosties, salads and a wide array of sandwiches served on baguettes or focaccia or wrapped in spinach tortillas. Don’t look for your usual sodas here, even though Cugusi knows she’s passing up a cash cow. She doesn’t believe in serving junk food or drinks but instead offers “fruit blasts” and smoothies, fresh juices, tropical iced tea, an assortment of hot teas and a full coffee bar. Her customers love both her friendliness and the quality of her food. During a random sampling on a weekday afternoon, every customer who stopped by reported becoming a regular as soon as they had tasted her food. While taking orders and whipping them out from the kitchen, Cugusi exchanges banter with some customers and inquires knowledgeably after others’ health, travels and families. Each one volunteered compliments about both Cugusi and her café. James Thomas, a trainer at nearby City Boxing, explained that he comes in for a bagel with avocado and tomato at least twice a week. “For some reason I’ve become addicted to it. It tastes better here. I’m glad she’s here. Otherwise we’d go to the fast food places and eat junk,” he said. Declining to give his last name, Kevin, who lives nearby, ribbed Cugusi while lauding her food and admitting he comes in almost every day. “The food is the best I’ve ever had in my life. You get someone here who’s a master at blending foods, uses only fresh products. The price is reasonable for the quality you’ve received. I come here and get a delicious meal that’s healthy and filling and feel satisfied. The food is delicious,” he said. His favorite is the chicken wrap, which is made with marinated roasted chicken. Cugusi also offers rotating specials, including “The Bomb,” a grilled breakfast sandwich made with eggs, sausage, ham, bacon and three cheeses. “If someone comes in and wants something and I have the ingredients I’ll make it. It doesn’t matter if it’s not on the menu,” she said. PB resident Liz Oshant noticed the new neighborhood café and gave it a try. Now she and her Noah’s Natural Pet Market partner Mary Jansky, a trained nutritionist and self-described foodie, and their entire staff stop by for lunch at least weekly. “(Cugusi) has a flair for cooking something a little different, with a touch of gourmet. The breakfast is so reasonable and they remember us. They also have a frequent buyer card,” Oshant said. Customers can dine inside or out on the umbrella-shaded patio or place an order for take-out. PB Central Café, located at 4452 Ingraham St., is open 7 a.m. to 5 p.m. weekdays and until 4 p.m. weekends during winter and an hour later in summer. Call (858) 272-7222 for information and current hours.