Celestino Drago

The Wednesday Edition: A Roundup of Newspaper Food Stories

What's the country reading today food-wise? Here's a roundup of some of the food-related stories from other newspapers, many of which print their food sections mid-week. And remember, even if you don't actually buy papers these days (or not; this paper is free), it's where most of your content comes ... More >>

Los Angeles Food & Wine Festival: The Wine Part of the Equation

The second annual Los Angeles Food & Wine Festival concluded Sunday, a slickly produced, three-day debauch mostly held in and around the capacious digs of L.A. Live and its Marriott property -- though neither conference room nor rooftop exhibition tent could adequately contain the assemblage of whit ... More >>

L.A. Food & Wine Festival: Rosé, Ribs, and Summer Heat

After a weekend filled with many bottles of rosé and short rib sliders, the second annual Los Angeles Food & Wine Festival wrapped up Sunday afternoon at L.A. Live after four days of chef-driven tastings, demos, samplings and other events that featured some of the top culinary talents in the countr ... More >>

A February Roundup of Restaurant Openings and Closings

The elderly browse the obits for long-lost friends; foodists check the blogs for restaurant passings. This week, sushi fiends flooded a Studio City strip mall for Nozawa's last days. After only two years, Elements Kitchen in Pasadena bid its patrons farewell. "Thank you all for the wonderful memorie ... More >>

Drago Santa Monica Closes Drago Centro Pasta Class

Anne FishbeinAgnolotti-making at Drago Centro​Celestino Drago recently announced that Drago, the Santa Monica restaurant he opened 21 years ago, will close Jan. 31. "It was kind of a tough decision because it's like my baby," the Sicilian chef and restaurateur told the L.A. Times. "The resta ... More >>

Where To Eat Out on Christmas in Los Angeles: 5 Categories, 25 Ways to Eat Out on the Holiday

J. RitzHoliday tree cheer at the Hungry Cat Hollywood.​ With all due respect to hearty home-cooked Christmas meals centered around major hunks of proteins, tamales and starchy vegetables, it's not all that difficult to find interesting ways to eat out on December 25th in Los Angeles. Alright, ... More >>

Drago Centro: 99 Essential Restaurants 2011

$8 Cocktails Tonight at Drago Centro

If you're not too full from scarfing $5 pastrami sandwiches at Oinkster today, consider heading to Drago Centro tonight. Celestino Drago's downtown LA outpost has consistently put out some of the city's best seasonal cocktails (like the fetchingly named January Jones, a frothy hot toddy made with Ap ... More >>

Celestino Drago Teaches Kids to Cook FREE EATalian Kids Meals A Recipe

J. RitzChef Drago demonstrates a different kind of guitar. ​The bar for field trips and group lunches has been set very high for a class of third graders at Larchmont Charter West school in West Hollywood. As one of the many events sponsored by the Club EATalian campaign, the class was treate ... More >>

Valentine's Day Round-Up, Part 1: Prix-Fixe Menus

Flickr/Bakerella​ These days, every time we walk into a supermarket, pharmacy or even drive past certain intersections of town, we're faced with an explosion of red and pink, well, everything: "Be My Valentine" cards, heart-shaped boxes of chocolate, fake long-stem roses, and endless tins of ... More >>

Win This Now: Truffles $100 Gift Certificate to Drago Centro

Starting today, Celestino Drago's downtown outpost of haute Italian cuisine, Drago Centro, is hosting a week-long Twitter contest with one daily winner receiving a custom truffle tower created by pastry chef Jashmine Corpuz. To enter, tweet @DragoCentro (in 140 characters or less) the truffle fla ... More >>

Top 10 Restaurants in Buildings Designed by Significant Los Angeles Architects

J. RitzThe eastern portion of Morgan, Walls & Clements' Chapman Market on 6th Street.​ We'd love to linger over a classic breakfast combo and endless cups of coffee at John Lautner's 1949 Googie Coffee Shop, since it was the actual place whose name defined a genre. And then enjoy the cannello ... More >>

Eat This Now: Maccheroni Tartuffo at Oliverio

C. BishopOliverio's Maccheroni Tartuffo​ We know, we know: truffled macaroni and cheese is so passé. It was the braised short rib of L.A. restaurants before the braised short rib actually came along. Throw a stone in any direction and you'll find a poorly-executed truffled macaroni and chees ... More >>

Hunting Pheasant

Celestino Drago's your man for the fancy fowl

Ask Mr. Gold: Hunting Pheasant, or Celestino Drago's Your Man for the Fancy Fowl

Anne FishbeinMr. Gold, with dim sum menu​Dear Mr. Gold: Where do you suggest we go for a meal of pheasant? In the Los Angeles area, please. --The Melczers Dear Mr. and Mrs. Melczer: It's odd -- several decades ago, pheasant was the ultimate in luxury meats, probably because of its connotatio ... More >>

Downtown Surprise

At the intersection of Bratwurst and Dunkelweizen

Food Celebration Dinner: Giraud, Manzke, Drago, Nugent & Ramos Fight Hunger For You

Lee Oneness Foundation​Sure, you can stalk Walter Manzke at Le Saint Amour, or trail Alain Giraud around the Santa Monica Wednesday market for details on his new restaurant project, but why not leave all that to Eater (or TMZ) and enjoy the chefs in their natural habitat, like in a restaurant. ... More >>

Ask Mr. Gold: Downtown Surprise, or At the intersection of Bratwurst and Dunkelweizen

Anne FishbeinMr. Gold, with dim sum menu​Dear Mr. Gold: I'm hoping you can recommend a place to hold a surprise party. I'm finding this a bit hard to accomplish - I live in Ohio and I don't know L.A. that well. I'm considering Bottega Louie and Church & State. There will be about 20 of us and ... More >>

It is the Water: Focaccia

D. GonzalezTomato focaccia from Dolce Forno​ Developed centuries ago in Rome and still found in most supermarket bread aisles, focaccia is not rare. What is rare, however, is freshly made focaccia that has a thin crisp crust while maintaining a soft airy interior. The kind that can be eaten ... More >>

Dinner & A Movie At Drago Centro

​The happy ritual of dinner and a movie, especially in this town, can be a lot more fun than Ben Hur at a drive-in, the questionable first date landscape of this writer's parents. Now, instead of Charlton Heston and sub-par hamburgers, you can eat sweet corn agnolotti with pancetta and lemon b ... More >>

Eat and Run at Drago Centro: Braised Oxtails Can Be Fast Food Too

I guess it all depends on how you define the term "fast food." You can get a burger in a bag, or you can get very good food, but more quickly. Thus Drago Centro, Celestino Drago's swank downtown restaurant, has introduced an "eat & run" prix fixe menu, which offers three courses for $25 in under th ... More >>

23rd Annual Great Chefs of L.A.: Hot Ticket, Hot Chefs, Hot Weather

This past Sunday on a unseasonably sultry afternoon in Studio City, over 800 foodies gathered to enjoy the fall/winter fixings from some of our city's hottest chefs at the 23rd Annual Great Chefs of L.A., a benefit hosted by comedian George Lopez which raised $150,000 for the National Kidney Foundat ... More >>

Drago Centro Wine Giveaway: Will Tweet For Wine

Do these bottles look good to you? Guess some wines via Twitter, and you can drink one for free at Drago Centro, Celestino Drago's swank downtown restaurant. All this week, Drago Centro sommelier Michael Shearin (Bouchon, Craftsteak, Restaurant Guy Savoy) is hosting a blind tasting on Twitter: once ... More >>

Splitsville On A Sesame Seed Bun: Hole In The Wall Burger Joint

Shortly after Bill Dertouzos opened Flatbush & J, a food biz that caters (literally) to the film industry, he needed reinforcements. A partner he could trust, someone who knew his strengths and weaknesses and could balance his laid back style (and the accounting books). So in 2004, he called Susan M ... More >>

End of Week Agenda: A Brimming, Ripe, Juicy Calendar

Mid-May is a busy time for food events around the L.A. area, y'all. To wit: California Strawberry FestivalBerrylicious funOnly about an hour drive north gets you to the California Strawberry Festival in Oxnard. The big, juicy, seasonal fun goes from 10 a.m. to 6:30 p.m. Saturday and Sunday; general ... More >>

Celestino Drago's New City Cuisine: Gravity of Centro

A Perino's for 2010 and beyond, plus the most glamorous view in L.A.

Drago Centro: Celestino's Grand Gesture, Downtown's Big Opening

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Because Atkins Is So Five-Minutes-Ago

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From A.O.C. to Zankou

Beverly Hills

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Post-Puck Generation

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White Space

The possibilities and pleasures of pasta

A Real Drago

Great Sicilian food in West Hollywood