Drago Centro - Los Angeles, California

Address: 525 S Flower St, Los Angeles, CA 90071

Items Ordered (DineLA menu):

• tagliolini pasta, seafood ragout, spicy marinara
• buffalo mozarella, tomatoes, basil, balsamic crumble
• diver scallops, garlic risotto cake, watercress, zabayon
• sausage stuffed quail, shaved fennel, garlic aioli
• vanilla panna cotta, black mission figs, rosemary puff pastry
• chocolate and olive oil terrine, salted caramel gelato, almonds

I was unbelievably excited to finally try Drago Centro during DineLA last week. Last minute reservations on a Saturday night were easy to come by, the valet parking was free, and the restaurant decor was absolutely gorgeous. So many things going right for Drago already! The wine pairing during DineLA was $22 for all 3 courses, but they also have reasonably priced carafes of which I selected a lone Sangiovese. Probably my favorite dish of the evening was the seafood pasta. Seasoning was spot on, shrimps were bursty, and the calamari had a nice bite. Just from this pasta starter, I can tell their pasta dishes are probably the stars of the menu. The plating of the buffalo mozarella was so artistic, and I loved running the mozza/basil/tomato combo through the balsamic dots. As for the mains, the scallops were huge and plump, and the garlic risotto cake while deep fried managed to taste light and buttery at the same time. I did enjoy my crispy skinned quail, but stuffed with sausage, it was just a little too heavy for my tastebuds. It wasn't a badly executed dish, but having shared 3 plates of food by this time, my friend and I were already too stuffed to stuff ourselves with any sausage-stuffed quail. Miraculously though, my friend and I managed to find a 3rd stomach for dessert, and we were not disappointed. I wish I had a better picture of the panna cotta, because it was also beautifully plated. It's probably the best version of this dessert I've ever had. The rosemary crisps played really well against the sweet panna cotta. Unfortunately, the chocolate and olive oil terrine was a little mushy, and the salted caramel gelato had melted by the time the plate was delivered. I will let that slide though b/c it was DineLA weekend, and while our server was extremely busy, he still managed to be courteous the whole meal. I really loved the whole dining experience at Drago Centro, and I will surely return for a nice lunch, dinner, hot date, birthday, Wednesday, you name it.

--y