Dennis Williams wanted to bring a different type of dining experience to the Northern San Joaquin Valley.The result is Ernie’s Food & Spirits. The intimate luxury boutique restaurant on North Main Street in Manteca adjacent to Casino Real is a dining venue one might expect to find in San Francisco. It has an extensive wine list with more than 200 selections as well as a lounge featuring high end liquor.The atmosphere - a soothing yet masculine design complete with booths and tables - is designed to complement the food that has an emphasis not just on quality but presentation as a whole.“I wanted to create a dining experience that will draw people from a 50-mile radius to Manteca,” Williams said.In doing so, though, he is avoiding being trendy.The lunch and dinner menu builds on the “meat and potatoes” sensibility of the Northern San Joaquin Valley with a big emphasis on quality without sacrificing portions.In similar restaurants you might find in San Francisco not only are the prices higher but the portions are smaller.