Waterloo & City - All Aboard for the Best Happy Hour for Foodies on the Westside (CLOSED)

Waterloo & City is an unexpected name for a British gastropub, which has come to mean - to this blogger at least - an express train to the best Happy Hour for foodies on the Westside.

An instant classic that recently joined the ranks of 'affordable gourmet' stationed in the bourgeoning foodie mecca that is Culver City, the place is named after a a railway line in the London Underground (aka "the Tube") - that only services two train stations "Waterloo", and "City" (for London City) - which, according to the website, is where Executive Chef Brendan Collins' initiated his youthful adventures.

Waterloo & City's website also explains that it is a traditional British gastropub, which means "it has the relaxed, easy atmosphere of an English pub while serving extraordinary gastronomic cuisine."  This for me translates into gourmet 'for the people', incredible food without the pretentiousness - a concept that I love. 

Waterloo & City has taken a former greasy spoon diner located just a mile or so south of the emerging dining scene of downtown Culver City, and transformed it to a sophisticated yet laid back venue, creating an inviting space with a wide open layout that maximizes natural light and allows diners to enjoy the almost always gorgeous SoCal weather.

I personally love the hammered copper counter at the bar, which I have already made myself at home at on multiple occasions, for their abfab Happy Hour that runs DAILY from 5pm – 7pm (yes, that includes weekends!!!).

A selection of refreshing pubtails are offered at $6 during Happy Hour, which are regularly $10-$12.  I'm partial to The Westside - a mojito-inspired drink made with gin, watermelon, mint, and lemonade.  My friend, who recently returned from a trip to Italy with a newfound love for Aperol - was delighted to find that Waterloo & City is one of the few places that serve the liquor in L.A., in the form of Aperol Spritz - a pubtail consisting of Aperol, sparkling wine, club soda, and orange. Wine and beer of the day are also available for $5 or $4, respectively.  You can also order well drinks for $5 during Happy Hour.

The drinks are a good deal, but that for me is not what pulls me in to Happy Hour time after time - it's the amazing small plates and gourmet pizzas at just $6-$9 each (all but the cheese plate, which is $12 for eight cheeses).  Here are a few of the dishes that, at mere thought, have a Pavlovian effect on me.

Chicken Liver and Foie Gras Mousse
($7 at Happy Hour)

The Chicken Liver and Foie Gras Mousse, at just $7 - is an incredible deal.  The same dish at dinner would be $12.  Its smooth, creamy rich texture is offset by a sprinkling of coarse truffle and sea salt, and a trio of crunchy and sour sides (cornichon, pickled pearl onion, giant caper).  The slab is perfect - my only suggestion for this plate is to offer more bread, as 3-4 pieces is simply not enough for the amount of mousse, unless you intend to pile on an enormous mound to each slice.  Also, though it appears that the bread is fresh (there is a large amount of loaves sitting open in the serving area behind the bar - that don't look pre-packaged) - it tasted a bit too crusty.  Given the quality of the mousse, I would have expected the bread to taste at least at the caliber of La Brea Bakery bread.

Moroccan Spiced Lamb, Manchego cheese, Ras El Hanout
($9 at Happy Hour, $13 regularly)

The pizzas on offer are also amazing, with portions big enough to serve as meals in themselves.  Types of pizza change from time to time, but my favorites have been the unique Moroccan spiced lamb meatballs, manchego cheese, with ras el hanout (and an amazing sauce tasting of layers of spices I can't even begin to name), and the hynoptic wild mushroom with smoked mozzarella and truffle oil.  A steal at just $9 Happy Hour pricing ($13 regularly)!

Waterloo & City also offers tons of blackboard specials - both for drinks and food.  A recent highlight for me includes a jar of Hudson Valley Foie Gras Port Gelee and Armagnac Prunes, and Toasted Brioche.  One of these blackboards sit over the opening to the kitchen, another reason I love sitting at the bar - it's strangely mesmerizing to see the muted bustling in the kitchen, and the owners have showed that they pay attention to every detail - all the kitchen staff are wearing bowler hats, which gives the visual an idyllic, charming sort of '20s look and feel and adds a bit of whimsy to the dining experience.

Beyond Happy Hour, Waterloo & City also has a great dinner menu, with prices that are also fairly reasonable - though it is not as across-the-board consistently incredible as the Happy Hour menu. 

I was excited on a recent trip to see Steak Tartare on the list - served with truffle pork pate, quail yolk, and toast at just $13 for half portion, $18 for full.  Though the pieces felt a bit mashed together and overall just a tad too oily for my taste (I have yet to find a place to top the steak tartare at Petrossian, which is handcut, with a ribbon of caviar woven through) - it was a great deal for the price, and the quail yolk, which is hard to come by, was a nice (and tasty) touch.

Waterloo & City is also known for its charcuterie and terrines. 

As I was with my 'Foodie Mentor', another adventurous soul, for dinner one night -  we decided to try the terrine of pig trotters and sweetbreads, with salsa verde ($11).   It was divine, though the flavor and texture of the sweetbreads could have been highlighted a little more - it was a little lost in the overall terrine, in my opinion.   We also ordered up the "Commoner" chef's charcuterie plate ($17 - referenced as "Cured Meats Selection, Cornichons, Pickled Onions" on menu) - which came with prosciutto, salami etc. which all were amazing. 

Not entirely sure how we found room for additional dishes after the meat feast - but I did want to try the main menu - and my eyes immediately went to the Hand Rolled Tubes, Lobster, Fried Pork Belly, and Asparagus (small portion $14, full portion $20) since it was basically a mix of my favorite shellfish, favorite cut of meat, one of my favorite vegetables, and pasta!  Despite my high hopes for this dish, unfortunately the sum of the ingredients did not transcend its parts - it didn't feel like the various components came together in a cohesive way.  Frying the pork belly in batter ended up being sort of overkill - part of the beauty of pork belly is the lusciousness of the fat and the balance of that with the substance of flavorful meat.  Putting batter around the whole thing overwhelms the textures and flavors of the pork belly so that you really only register the fried shell, before biting into the meat and fat which then feels like an unstructured, greasy mess.  The pasta also felt just slightly overdone. 

'Foodie Mentor' wisely chose the Summer Truffle Capellini in Brown Butter and Parmesan (small portion $12, full portion $18) and thoroughly enjoyed the dish.  It was rich in flavor, but light and frothy in texture.

Regrettably, I haven't been able to find room yet to sample the desserts - but the menu looks very tempting, with Sticky Toffee Pudding and Panna Cotta among the highlights.  Maybe next time!

I have recommended this place to a wide range of friends and should call out here, based on a few of their feedback, that with the current slate of customers at Waterloo & City, that it is not for a rowdy crowd (I LOVE it all the more for this, but wanted to note for those looking to have a very lively Happy Hour where people mix and mingle to a throbbing soundtrack, or are looking for a typical pub scene, not to expect it here).  At the moment, the crowd skews towards the more mature - while you will see a smattering of late twenties and thirty-somethings at the bar and in the dining area, they are there usually as couples or small groups of friends/girlfriends, and outnumbered by those in older demos.  This may be due to the place being relatively new, and located in a more residential area where a family diner used to be - but I expect that as more people begin to discover this neighborhood gem (along with the addition of "The Wreck Room" complete with billiards, arcade game and darts) that you will start to see more of a mixed crowd. 

That said, Waterloo & City's Happy Hour is fantastic for the more sophisticated but laid back, people looking for good food and drinks at a great price, in an upscale but inviting space - perfect for foodies like me, and definitely my idea of the best Happy Hour on the Westside.   

On a 7 point scale:

Flavor - 6 bites
Presentation - 5 bites
Originality - 5.5 bites
Ambience - 6 stars
Service - 6 stars
Overall experience - 6 bites
Price - $$ (2 bite marks)
Probability of return visit - 100%

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Waterloo and City
12517 W. Washington Boulevard
Los Angeles, CA 90066
Ph: 310.391.4222
Website: waterlooandcity.com
Twitter: twitter.com/waterlooandcity
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Paradise Cove - Heavenly *Private* Beach Dining

Paradise Cove is possibly one of the best kept secrets in L.A.  Hidden away off the PCH (Pacific Coast Highway, for non-locals :)) in Malibu, less than 20 miles west of downtown Santa Monica - Paradise Cove offers a family-owned restaurant and bar ON THE SAND, on their own private beach far away from the unwashed masses and wide-eyed, slow-paced tourists that clog up its more famous neighbors down the coast.

I first became aware of this place through an acquaintance who makes the drive up the PCH regularly in the summer, to hit hot surf spot Zuma Beach / Point Dume.  He made a comment on the drive up that he'd seen the sign for Paradise Cove many times, and always wondered what it is - so, we decided to explore on our way back, after dinner at Neptune's Net further north.  The place turned out to be almost surreal - with tables and daybeds set up on the sand, next to bluffs falling away to the ocean and the hot summer night tempered by cool breezes from the water just steps away.  And twinkling lights amongst palm trees adding to the charm of the whole space.  You could almost pretend you were in Hawaii or some other tropical vacation destination.  On that particular occasion, more than a year ago - we only stopped for drinks - but I remembered loving the feel of the place so much that I had made a mental note to put this in my '10 Best Date Spots in LA' file. 


A year and many other distracting dining experiences 'in the city' later, my 'Designer' friend happened to want to spend Labor Day at the Getty Villa (also in Malibu - well, technically Pacific Palisades, but close enough) - and that there is a ginormous seafood platter to be had for $19.95 "at some place called Paradise Cove Beach Cafe" - we quickly put the two together to make it a Malibu day trip adventure. 

I had forgotten that parking is only $3 for 4 hours with validation from restaurant/bar after minimum purchase of $20 ($25 if over 4 hours or without validation) - and the lot is attached to the restaurant and beach, so it was super convenient, and put us in a happy mood right from the start!

We had arrived an hour before our reservation time, as we finished with the Getty Villa much earlier than anticipated.  The hostess was friendly and said she would try to accommodate us, though it might be a 20 minute wait if we wanted to sit outside.  The interior of the restaurant is kitschy cool, with lots of celebrity and nautical themed pictures in frames all over the walls, and of course, the inevitable nautical decor and island theme at the bar.  On the other hand...there was seating outside.  On the sand.  Tough decisions is why we get paid the big bucks (not!) - so we grabbed hold of the lobster-shaped pager, and headed for the outdoor walk-up bar - determining quickly to pass the time with giant Pineapple Mojitos ($12 each).  

Though advised not to take the drinks onto the open beach, and to stay within the roped area - the venue was thoughtful enough to provide some seating for those of us who were just looking for a place to kick back until our table was ready for dinner.  We dutifully found the yellow umbrellas denoting the designated area - and was happy to see that the tables were still on the sand, though further back and closer to the parking lot - and plopped down to enjoy our drinks and peruse the menu.

Every table around us seemed to have a giant martini glass filled with a mountain of Crispy Calamari ($15.95) as a centerpiece.  It looked amazing, but far too much food for us if we wanted to save room for the giant iced seafood platters we'd read so much about!

 

So, with superhuman self restraint, we held ourselves to just the drinks while enjoying the fresh air, ocean breeze, and people watching.  And the crowd is very amusing to watch - running the gamut from local looking families, to college student couples, to girlfriends chatting over drinks and appetizers, to large and rowdy groups (the large table next to us clearly enjoyed the beach bar very much, and sang happy birthday to the girl at the head of the table throughout the night) and Jersey Shore types (of the MTV variety).  I loved every minute we spent at Paradise Cove, but, the more serious-minded may not - we found it amusing that there was a guest at the bar who was so 'happy' with her various mojitos, that security traversed the restaurant to ensure the very expressive girl had someone to drive her home.

Though there is a huge potential in the location and setting for a romantic dining experience - perhaps due to the very reasonable food and parking prices, accompanied by the ultra casual atmosphere and lure of a private beach, Paradise Cove attracts a broad demo.  This place could be great for a first date, if your date is into a more laid back vibe - and you don't mind a little bit of unpredictability - your experience could depend on the day, where you get seated and which guests are around. 

It ended up being more than a half hour wait until we got seated at our table for dinner, but when the Iced Seafood Platter ($19.95 per person) arrived, the sound of drool hitting table drowned out the ocean waves and all thoughts of the lengthy wait.  The platter served up, on a bed of ice in a giant ceramic bowl - 2 oysters, 2 crab legs, smoked salmon, 4 peeled shrimp, marinated calamari and scallop ceviche.  Though not the freshest seafood I've ever tasted (it's hard to top sashimi breakfast at Tsukiji market) - it was really, really good for the price.  The oysters, though not as plump as I'd like, tasted of clean, deep ocean and left me wanting more.  The calamari was also delicious, at a perfect consistency - not too tough/chewy - with its light, refreshing marinade that tasted like Italian dressing.  My only minor complaints were the smoked salmon, which was a little salty, and tasted like it came out of one of those vacuum sealed plastic packages you can buy at the grocery store. And the crab legs were tasty, but the shells were so soggy that they were impossible to actually crack - we ended up using our forks to pull pieces out of the shell from the ends.  'Designer' enjoyed the oysters, but had the same comments on the salmon and crab.

Though listed technically under appetizers, the platter was big enough to have for a meal in itself!  We both left stuffed to the gills...but not before each ordering a bowl of New England Clam Chowder ($10) to take with us.  The extensive menu also offered lots of mouth-watering surf and turf options, including mahi-mahi as well as oysters by the half dozen - reasons to come back another time.  For those who don't eat seafood (blasphemy!) - the Beach Cafe also offers burgers and fries.

All in all, the only unfortunate thing about the experience was that we were there at the very end of summer, and by the time we finished it was already getting cold - even with heat lamps turned on around us.  So we didn't stay to enjoy the beach and the intoxicatingly charming space.  But next summer - note to self - Paradise Cove will be my second home!

Update April 2011:

Armed with an OpenTable Spotlight deal ($25 for $50) that was set to expire 4/13, Designer and I had two massive bowls of clam chowder (lots of fresh clams in every spoonful, love it! Though didn't love the cracker balls that were pre-dunked into the soup, which tasted a bit stale) and two giant iced seafood platters. Armed with an OpenTable Spotlight deal ($25 for $50) that was set to expire 4/13, Designer and I had two massive bowls of clam chowder (lots of fresh clams in every spoonful, love it! Though didn't love the cracker balls that were pre-dunked into the soup, which tasted a bit stale) and two giant iced seafood platters. 

This time the seafood platters did not have oysters (and oysters in general are no longer seen on the menu), but instead offered a few mussels marinated in what tasted like Italian dressing. The crab legs were much fresher, the shells were actually still firm.  The smoked salmon still wasn't anything to write home about, but hey, we were getting essentially one of the platters and a glass of OJ for free with the OpenTable Spotlight deal so we weren't going to complain.  Designer took the salmon home to mix with cream cheese for breakfast.

I also filled up on the Ice Cream Cocolada, served in a coconut shell - that made me feel even more like I was on vacation!

Although not a true foodie destination (I don't go home and dream of the food, but I do dream of the ambience / experience!), Paradise Cove is still definitely worth the drive out for drinks or just to chill on the beach and pretend, for just one afternoon or hot summer night, that you are in some tropical place far away from the daily grind in LA.

 

On a 7 point scale:

Flavor - 5.5 bites

Presentation - 5.5 bites
Originality - 5 bites
Ambience - 6 stars
Service - 5 stars
Overall experience - 5.5 bites
Price - $$ (2 bite marks)
Probability of return visit - 100%

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Paradise Cove Beach Cafe
28128 Pacific Coast Highway, Malibu, CA 90265
Ph: 310.457.2503
Website: paradisecovemalibu.com
Twitter: twitter.com/paradisecove
OpenTable: Look for reservations
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Taste on Melrose on a Sunday Morning

In recent weeks, Groupon has become my new BFF.  If you haven't signed up yet - do it now.  You get daily emails with 50% deals at hotspots around your city, for "the best things to eat, see, do and buy"!

How does this relate to the latest 1MB post, you ask?  Well on a beautiful Sunday morning in LA, I decided to use my $50 Groupon on brunch for two, at a place I've only ever visited (and loved) for dinner - Taste on Melrose.

It was much livelier at brunch than at dinnertime - the cozy space, which reminds me of a converted bungalow with a large stoop and patio - was completely packed - and we were seated at one of the last open tables in a front corner of the covered patio.  It was a gorgeous, sunny SoCal day and the perfect weather for patio seating - so we were off to a great start!  So on to the food...

The menu is quite a bit different than the one for dinner - my favorite truffle risotto (so fragrant and intoxicating that I practically inhaled the dish, plate inclusive, every time I had it) was noticeably missing.

Luckily though, both brunch and lunch menus are offered around the time we arrived - 1pm.  The truffle hog in me quickly spotted an apt-looking replacement - a White Truffle Oil and Mushroom Mac and Cheese ($8.50).

Though from the appetizer section of the lunch menu, this dish arrived in a giant ramekin which looked big enough to be a meal for a smallish person!  We ended up splitting this appetizer - the truffle fragrance was just as evenly infused throughout the pasta shells as it is in my beloved risotto, but the mac and cheese fell short of expectations for several reasons: the conchiglie shells were not the right shape for this dish - they slid around uncomfortably in your mouth and did not provide a smooth surface for the cheese and indulgent truffle flavors to deposit themselves for maximum enjoyment - and to make matters worse, the shells were overcooked.  The layer of cheese that blanketed the top of the pasta was way too thick and greasy, while the cheese that held the pasta shells together had a consistency that was a bit too 'thin' and again, too greasy.  The whole thing ended up being overly rich and unsatisfying at the same time.

Not sure how many people order an appetizer and an 'entree' for brunch - but I couldn't pass up the Crab Cake Benedict - at least, in concept:  the dish was to offer up poached eggs on a toasted brioche and crab cake, with hollandaise sauce and a side of rosemary garlic potatoes ($15.25). 

Perhaps I set my expectations too high, based on my experiences at Taste for dinner meals - but the Crab Cake Benedict definitely disappointed on several levels:  in my view, as a rule, the central focus of any benedict dish should be the combination of a smooth, creamy poached egg, with a warm, crispy toast underneath - embraced in a rich hollandaise sauce that pulls all the elements together.  Any additional ingredients should be used to enhance the experience of the mix, and should not overwhelm it.  Taste breaks this rule, and not to great effect.  From the start, all the proportions were off - the crab cake and brioche were the same size - two towers each with one thick crab patty on top of a thick round of bread.  Sitting atop each tower was an egg that looked sadly dwarfed by comparisan - you normally only see 'Large' or 'Extra Large' eggs at the grocery store, and to me these eggs looked like they would be size 'Small' - they could almost pass for garnishes rather than the central show piece.

The crab cakes were pretty dry and bland, while the brioche fared no better in those areas.  They could have really used the help of the creaminess of the egg and hollandaise sauce, but unfortunately there wasn't enough of either to go around.

I get that in general people don't want strong, pungent tastes in the morning / for brunch - but that doesn't mean dishes served during this time should be absent of flavors!  Even the rosemary garlic potatoes were bland.

My friend ordered the Taste Cobb Frittata with shredded chicken breast, applewood smoked bacon, avocado, tomatoes, gorgonzola cheese, green onion, gorgonzola dressing and rosemary garlic potatoes ($11.25).  She thought it was good enough, but unimpressive.

The real saving grace of the meal was that our total came to $48.21 - the waiter actually noted that we had just over a dollar something left in the Groupon that we could have used - considering that we only paid $25 for the $50 meal, it was a great time!

The other highlight of the day - a tip for those looking for something to do after brunch - there is usually a Farmer's Market just down the street at Melrose Place (Melrose Place and Melrose Avenue, 10am-2 pm http://www.ccfm.com/).  It's just about a block and a half away from Taste - and a great way to walk off your meal.  On this particular day, the Farmer's Market happened to have been taken over by a Wedding Channel event - brides-to-be gathered to check out displays from local vendors offering everything from catering to favors to accessories.  When we arrived, mistakenly thinking we were headed to the Farmer's Market - a friendly security guard kindly let us sneak into the event to check it out since it was the tail end of the event.  Though neither of us were anywhere close to needing bridal services in the near future, we had a great time checking out all that's on offer - sampling hor d'oeuvres from the Patina tent, macaroons from a wedding planner stall, and fruit drinks from Izze!  We had our own crazy little version of the wedding crasher experience - it was pretty awesome!  Anyways, on a regular day at the Farmer's Market - you could have some less mischievous fun checking out organic produce and supporting local growers! :)

On a 7 point scale:

Flavor - 3 bites
Presentation - 3 bites
Originality - 2 bites
Ambience - 3 stars
Service - 3 stars

Overall experience - 3 bites
Price - $$ (2 bite marks)
Probability of return visit - 80%

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Taste on Melrose
8454 Melrose Avenue, West Hollywood, CA 90069
Ph: 323.852.6888
Website: ilovetaste.com
Twitter: twitter.com/ilovetaste
OpenTable: Look for reservations
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Enoteca Drago - A Beverly Hills Anomaly

The concept of leaving any decent restaurant in Beverly Hills, stuffed, seems in itself an impossibility (at least, when working with a subsistence budget like mine!) - but such was my experience this Saturday evening.

Nestled in a quiet, cozy space on Canon Dr., next to its larger, bustling and more prominently situated sister restaurant Il Pastaio, Enoteca Drago is an unassuming place that is refreshingly free of pretension given its neighborhood.

Though the dining room decor felt a little staid, with tapestry-fabric lined and cherry wood paneled padded seats along the walls and matching cherry wood chairs, we felt we were off to a good experience when we were greeted by a warm, friendly server - who rattled off a long and appetizing list of specials, and gave us just the right amount of time to peruse the a la carte menu.  We soon noticed though that they were rotating a team of servers to our table, and my friend 'Lindyhopper' was mistakenly delivered a diet soda when she had asked for regular.  Minor detail which they promptly corrected by bringing her a replacement.

Among our small party of three, Lindyhopper was the only one who had previously dined at Enoteca Drago.  She adorably gushed over the Lasagna Bolognese - proclaiming it "the best lasagna she's ever had".  My friend 'Bicycletta' followed suit.  Choosing to ignore the fact that my level of food snobbery is increasing at a rate inversely proportional to my limited lines of credit - as is my waist line to my limited levels of physical activity - I elected to pig out on three fancier sounding dishes:

Burrata ($13) Creamy Mozzarella, Green Lentil, Roasted Beets & Asparagus

The word 'burrata' triggered memories of the divine appetizer I had (and still dream of) at Osteria Mozza - so I thought I'd give this salad a try.  The consistency and taste of the cheese unfortunately did not measure up to the absolute sublime that was the appetizer I had at O.M. (not sure that anything ever will!) - but I give the dish high marks for an interesting combination of tastes and creamy/crunchy textures, and value (the portion size was gargantuan - I could have filled up on the salad alone).  Areas for improvement, besides the quality of the burrata, were the amount of lentils (there was so much of it on the plate, I was getting tired of chewing on them just several minutes in - if they had removed about half of the lentils, and it would have been perfect), and presentation (not sure what kind of beets they used, but they were a dull, washed out greyish-brown color which was not so appetizing; the stockpiling of lentils also affected the presentation - the whole composition just seemed slapped together - with a ball of burrata slapped callously onto a pile of greens and browns).

Polenta & Funghi ($13) Grilled Polenta with Wild Mushrooms, Gorgonzola and Lardo
 

As simple a dish as polenta is, apparently it is extremely difficult to get the consistency and taste right - I know because I've let my excitement soar on several occasions upon seeing the rare item on LA menus, only to be sorely disappointed upon first taste.  Often, the polenta is made too thin and watery, or too dense and rubbery (like what I would imagine a patty made of a hybrid of of styrofoam and rubber would taste and feel like), and either too salty (one-note) or too bland.  The only place where I have experienced a perfect polenta, is at BLT Steak - they made an amazing rosemary polenta - which unfortunately made an appearance as a special, only once on the menu.  I have been craving it ever since and they have never brought it back in the dozens of times I had returned to the place since.
 
Being ever the (naive) optimist - I keep giving polenta a chance at new venues to see if I can find another good one.  I would say the Polenta and Funghi starter at Enoteca Drago is very good, but falls shy of greatness. 

Polenta is also known as 'grits' in the US - aptly named as, well, the texture should taste - gritty - in a good way.

Tagliolini ($18) Crab, Rock Shrimp and Lobster Sauce

I was torn between Bottarga ($16) Spaghetti with Cured Tuna Roe, Bread Crumbs, Parsley & Extra Virgin Olive Oil...and Raviolini ai Funghi ($18) Mushroom Filled, Foie Grass and Truffle Sauce, and the tagliolini.  Though there were quite a few ingredients in this dish, the taste was one-note.  Pasta sort of melded together in a pile by saffron colored lobster sauce.
 

Lasagna Bolognese ($16) Meat Sauce with Parmesan Cheese



I tried a few bites of Lindyhopper's lasagna - and it was fairly good - layers of spinach pasta sheets topped by crunchy crumbs of parmesan.  NOT slathered with sauce and dense slops of cheese as is typical with lesser Italian food venues.  I did like that the ratio of sauce and cheese to pasta sheets was just right, and each bite did not sink like a brick going down.

Vanilla Bean Panna Cotta with blackberries and strawberries

We were so full after the rich meal, that we decided just to share one dessert.  The panna cotta was smooth and creamy - though just ever slightly too stiff.  The fruit also didn't exactly taste Farmer's Market fresh.  But I'm a huge dessert person so I may just be overly picky here!

All in all, a nice night out - a filling, relatively tasty meal in a pleasant setting - not much more a budget-conscious foodie can ask for, at least within this neighborhood.
 
On a 7 point scale:
Flavor - 4.5 bites
Presentation - 4.5 bites
Originality - 4 bites
Ambience - 4 stars
Service - 5 stars

Overall experience - 4.5 bites
Price - $$ (2 bite marks - good deal)
Probability of return visit - 80%
 
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Enoteca Drago
410 North Canon Dr., Beverly Hills, CA 90210-4820
Ph: 310.786.8236
Website: celestinodrago.com
Twitter: twitter.com/enotecadragobh
OpenTable: Look for reservations
 
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