48 June 7, 2012
Dining & Entertainment Guide
Enoteca Drago Tantalizing Italian Fare BY JILL WEINLEIN
T
here are different types of Italian restaurants. The most formal type is a Ristorante. Less formal dining venues are Trattorias and Osterias. Celestino Drago has opened one of each in Southern California. His Enoteca Drago is a neighborhood wine bar and restaurant in Beverly Hills serving small plates and wonderful wines at reasonable prices. For those who fondly enjoyed Drago’s restaurant in Santa Monica, this Enoteca is similar. New Chef de Cuisine, Garrett Mukogawa, has filled the menu with a mosaic of brilliant Italian dishes. Mukogawa prepares contemporary dishes with an Asian and French flair that will tantalize your palette. We started with a caprccio di bue with thinly sliced filet of beef, decorated with a peppery sweet
and tangy arugula lettuce with Dijon dressing and shaved parmesan. The arugula adds a delightful pizzazz to this dish. Another great appetizer fitting to split is the Bomba. It’s a homemade pizza crust filled with mozzarella, caramelized onions and elegant black truffles. Chef Mukogawa places a crust over the pie to create a calzone type of pizza. When our server, Veronica, pierced the top, a potpourri of heavenly aromas escaped. Most of the pizzas are traditional with a twist, like one with Yukon potatoes, parmesan and rosemary. Another is decorated with smoked salmon, capers and pickled onions. For pasta dishes, we tried Celestino’s classic Drago dish, pappardelle with roasted pheasant and morel mushrooms. Pappardelle is
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derived from the word pappare, which means to gobble up. The tender pheasant and honeycomblike mushrooms were adorned with a delicate butter sauce. Still wanting more, we ordered photo by Jill Weinlein a Milanese spe- Thinly sliced filet of beef dressed with a peppery sweet cialty, osso buco. and tangy arugula gives the carpaccio salad a zingy flavor. It’s served on a bed of rich gorgonzola risotto with arrived with a sweet and crisp roseblack trumpet mushrooms. The mary tuile sprinkled with sea salt. It was blissful. Last to arrive were tender veal fell off the bone. Lastly, we ordered the risotto two delicate apple criêpes with a Nero with black squid ink, clams, scoop of buttermilk sorbet and mussels and shrimp. One of my topped with a few pinches of sugfriends was a bit leery about order- ary streusel. The pastry chef, Mario ing this dish. When it arrived, I put Ortiz, is an expert at I Dolci a small serving on her plate and (desserts). We left Enoteca Drago with big watched her enjoy her first bite. Soon she was helping herself to smiles. $$ Lunch is served Mon. through Sat. 11:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. seconds. As we all sipped a round of cap- Dinner, 4 to 11 p.m. On Sun. Enoteca puccinos, we shared two desserts. Drago is open 4 p.m. to 10 p.m. 410 The Budino di butterscotch e caffe N. Canon Dr. (310)786-8236.
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Over 300 Tequilas Including Antonio’s Famous Tequila Resposado! ! Full Bar • Fine Mexican Cuisine !
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Mexican Restaurant 7470 Melrose Ave. • Los Angeles 323-658-9060
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