Gold Dig #61

Drago Centro is an Italian restaurant located downtown in City National Plaza. On Jonathan Gold’s 101 Best Restaurants list, he calls it one of “the most commanding restaurants downtown”. The large, glassed-in dining room has a high arched ceiling, an impressive tower of wines behind the bar, and a great view of the plaza.

The Dish

Drago Centro does elevated, innovative takes on classic Italian dishes including seafood, meat, risotto, and the pasta which chef/owner Celestino Drago is most known for.

Insalata di Mele

This was a mixed greens and arugula salad with pink lady apples, candied walnuts, and bacon, dressed with a champagne vinaigrette. Great combo of ingredients with a really nice dressing that was light but full of flavor. Good way to start the meal.

Spaghetti

The spaghetti had a spicy tomato and garlic sauce, basil, and burrata. It was deceptively simple. It looked like a pretty basic spaghetti, but was the perfectly executed version of this common dish. The creamy burrata really put it over the top. My friend’s son said it was the best spaghetti he’s ever had!

Tagliatelle

The black squid ink tagliatelle came in a lobster bisque sauce, topped with lobster and chive. I loved everything about this dish – from the stunning pop of orange lobster color against the black of the pasta, to the sweetness of the lobster, to the perfect chew of the pasta… and why haven’t I had rich lobster bisque on pasta before!?

Fazzoletto

This handkerchief pasta came in an arugula pesto with jumbo lump crab and a roasted lemon. The wide strips of pasta were perfect delicate vehicles for the silky sweet crab and bright sauce flavors. Use the roasted lemon – it’s not just decorative!

Risotto ai Frutti di Mare

The risotto came with calamari, spot prawn, and asparagus, cooked in a saffron broth. I was slightly disappointed with this dish. The flavor was good, but the rice felt undercooked – it was still a bit tough and seemed like it hadn’t had enough time to cook down into the creamy meld of flavors that is what I usually adore about risotto.

Capesante

The scallops were incredible, perfectly browned and incredibly tender. And the side of roasted cauliflower, fregola, pickled raisins, and pine nuts was tasty in its own right. What a fantastic dish.

Semifreddo

The orange praline semifreddo came with a pistachio financier, orange caramel, and candied almonds. I liked the nuttiness against the citrus, and could even have gone for a stronger pistachio flavor.

Bomboloni

These mini donuts were served with dots of lemon curd and ricotta-vanilla whip, surrounding a lavender crisp and honey-lavender gelato center. The donuts were nice, but I almost felt as though the curd and gelato were the stars of the show.

Torta Della Nonna

This was a lemon cream tart with vanilla cream and fresh berries. On its own the tart seemed unremarkable, but then when you assembled a bite that included a little tart, berry, and cream all together, it transformed into a really wonderful dessert.

Almond Cookies

They also brought us a plate of almond cookies, which I was almost too full to try. But I decided I should at least have a nibble of one, and I was so glad I did, as they were packed with fantastic almond flavor and turned out to be my favorite of all the desserts. A great wrap-up to a really wonderful meal.