Viva Vino Los Angeles at Enoteca Drago
2010 Michele Chiarlo Gavi
I checked out Viva Vino Los Angeles a couple of months ago. Restaurant Week was part of the festival and featured tasting menus with optional wine pairings. Naturally, we got the wine pairing with this dinner at Enoteca Drago. I had never been to Enoteca Drago before. Usually, I’m found at Drago Centro in Downtown Los Angeles but I decided to check out the Beverly Hills restaurant.
Panzanella
We started with Panzanella, a wonderful combination of mozarella, cucumber, olives, tomatoes, croutons and sherry vinaigrette. The day had been warm so this was a nice, light course. It was paired with the 2010 Michele Chiarlo Gavi.
2009 Moris Vermentino
Next we had the 2009 Moris Vermentino. Enoteca Drago was very accommodating and patient as we went food paparazzi on the wine bottles.
agnolotti
With the Vermantino, we had the braised veal agnolotti with a lemon sage glace and parmasean. When it comes to agnolotti or ravioli, I like them all. I love dumplings, even Italian ones.
red wine
We had a red wine with this course. It was supposed to be an Italian wine but for some reason it was a California wine. The sommelier was out or else we would have inquired what happened.
branzino pizzaiola
The tasting menu was $45 and I couldn’t believe how much food we were getting and when the branzino pizzaiola showed up, I wanted to cry. We each had a whole fish. It was really well done with roasted tomato, capber berries, olives and fresh oregano. I thouht about eating the rest the next day. This really was a great deal as the branzino is normally $32. Adding another $15 to get the wine pairing was amazing.
warm chocolate cake
But it wasn’t over yet. We still had dessert and the three of us ordered different desserts to share. I wanted the warm chocolate cake with pistachio sauce and chocolate thyme ice cream.
panna cotta
Our server suggested the panna cotta with mixed seasonal berries and raspberry sauce.
strawberry short cake
I don’t generally like short cake but Enoteca Drago’s was amazing. We loved all our desserts. I would really like to go back to try more of the regular menu but I’ll have to wait for another year for Viva Vino Los Angeles to come around again. I’m particularly interested in the Italian wine tastings and not just the restaurant week aspect of the festival.
410 N Canon Dr., Beverly Hills, CA 90210 — (310) 786-8236
© The Minty 2012