Good news for those traumatized when a chock-full counter at the Noodle Bar (392-0210) delays their pho fix: A nephew of the family behind the tiny coffee-bar style kitchen is putting together Chopstix just a little ways up that side of the Fremont block in Seaside. (I can’t be the only Nostradamus who predicted an expansion was inevitable after a few visits to the original spot.)

Only Mikey Nguyen, who I found atop a ladder last week running wire inside the freshly painted place, which has a tea bar materializing near the far wall and some purple two-tone colors going, insists it’s not an expansion. The young restaurateur takes pains to say the phos, dry noodles, self-serve frozen yogurt and boba teas constitute something different than Noodle Bar, something that the Peninsula hasn’t seen, and something that appeals to all ages (with sofas and wireless for the lounge crowd too).

Nguyen adds that his aunt and uncle haven’t beefed him for competing within a few hundred feet, and that he’s aiming to open next month.

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I encountered a pair of permutations on paradise in a Salinas grocery aisle last month. The first: a triple cream soft ripened Domaine du Vallage from Les Fromager de Chevillon – which is a mouthful to say, so I stick to the shorthand for the crazy creamy stuff (damn good). Each mouth that got a morsel (or 12) moaningly agreed.

Tractor beam number two: A Teleme high-moisture jack cheese that spanks the pillowy pants off the finest mozzarella on the shelf. Fried in a touch of olive oil – on the recommendation of appropriately named foodie-marketing mogul Bobby Fried – it was elevating. There are no words for these curds.

They’re among the tiers of big wheels and wide wedges Michael Burke, who opened Carmel’s Cheese Shop, has tucked in Star Market’s (422-3961) new spectacular specialty cheese section – cue the Pecorino Tartufo with black truffles and white truffle oil from Tuscany or the Organzola by Rogue River Dairy.

You pay for quality – the Domaine and Teleme were $15.95 and $13.95 a pound, respectively – but a half pound of each is enough to start an six-person party with panache, especially when paired with a nice wine from Victor Kong’s superlative selection. (P.S.: his pairing advice is aces.) Values appear at other price points too – note the aged 5-year-old super sharp Wisconsin cheddar or the Dutch gouda from grass fed free rangers ($5.95 each).

If cheese is a religion (I believe), the region’s officially got another taste temple.

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A simple eight-letter formula for a delicious, oceanic and affordable afternoon: Wharf Two. Troubled by news that Monterey stalwart Gino Pennisi had to scale his Royal Seafood shop (655-8326) hours way back, I was pleasantly surprised to hear his people pick up on a Wednesday. A boat had come in and the place had a bunch of good deals, including some tender petrale sole that proved very basil-citrus-sauce friendly at a great price point. New dad Pennisi says they’re open about half the time on Wednesday afternoons (call ahead) and reliably ready to peddle freshness Thursday and Friday. (I still call ahead because they can close early… put the number in the iPhone already.)

Just down the dock, Sand Bar & Grill (373-2818) has a hallelujah happy hour: 4-6pm weekdays, good drafts like English Ales Fat Lip are $3, well drinks are $4, apps like calamari, sand dabs and steamed mussels run $4.95-$5.95 and a big basket of fries or garlic bread or tempura-style onion rings are a say-what? $1.95. That translated to two rounds and some rings for less than $18. And they’ve got nice plays – $3.95 artichokes, $7.95 half-pound burger (or sand dabs) with fries, $7.95 half rack of baby backs – at the bar during any NFL or Sharks game.

Do Wharf Two.

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Fried and dipped, marinated or in marinara, with tentacles, in rings or soaked in ink sauce, squid love is a birthright for those born by the Original Bay Area. One of the better local iterations of said cephalopod is still a semi-secret steal of a deal found once a week at Randy’s Sandwich Shop (375-9161), the cash-only shoebox-sized spot near the Hyatt and DLI. The once-a-week treat weighs in at a prodigious 1 pound 3 ounces, costs just $5 and sells out as early as 11:30am. The key: the same guys behind the best breakfast sandwich value in town thump the steaks till tender and don’t skimp on the tartar. Request a touch of tomato and onion to complete the fresh picture.

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The Portuguese Crab Feed – maybe the most messy, fun and flavorful mass food experience in the county – is back Saturday, Dec. 5, at the hall of the same ethnicity in Monterey (like someone once said, “If you don’t know, you better axe somebody”). Thing will sell out soon, $55, 372-1913… Monterey Restaurant Week has faded in the rearview mirror, and the next one’s a ways down the highway, but at least one eatery isn’t braking. Andre’s Bouchee (626-7880) found it so successful its team is doing a three-course $35 prix fixe Sunday through Thursday with new menus every two weeks… Got the hotline for all great tastings at Zeph’s One Stop wrong last week. Call 757-3947 for Dec. 17’s Champagne tasting… Ya me voy.