Draghi has such a way with pasta that I snuck in an order of gnocchi with wild boar ($22) as an appetizer. The contrast of uncannily light pasta squares and chunks of intense red meat made this, too, a memorable dish. My favorite entrée , though sadly no longer available, was mormora ($26), a European sea-bass filet described by our server as "a white fish, but like a bluefish, or sort of on the way to a bluefish, maybe like a mackerel." So what's a white fish that's compared to two dark-meat fishes? Mormora turns out to be a Mediterranean sea bass somewhere between a redfish and striped bass — a very good somewhere to be. The chef served it on fennel, a few dots of "anise hyssop pesto," and some fingerling potatoes.
Porbeagle ($21) is a widespread but uncommon shark. Here the small steak was similar to dense swordfish, with peppers and onions on top and greens and butter beans underneath. Duckling ($27) is described as coming "two ways," but you really get three, since the rare breast and slow-roasted leg are accompanied by Savoy cabbage stuffed with chopped duck meat and nutmeg. For a seriously carnivorous meal, the veal loin ($26) is closer to roast beef than the old idea of penned, lily-white veal. Thick slices come with parsnips and winter vegetables.
The wine list is all Italian and features smaller producers. Bottles start in the $30s. Italian whites are up and down, but Sardinian vermentino, here the 2007 Santaudi "Villa Souris" ($8/glass), is piney with some effervescence, like a chenin blanc; it's wonderful with food. A 2005 La Vostra Chianti ($8) was light and fully mature, but the star of the reds by the glass was a 2006 Dolcetto d'Alba from the Roagna winery ($10), which was as full and somber as a young Barolo. Dolcetto is supposed to be the lightest of the three red grapes of Piedmont, but nobody told Roagna.
And no one told Draghi that Italian desserts aren't usually fabulous. His chocolate gianduja ($10) is rich mousse in a chocolate-candy shell. His gelati ($7), evidently house-made, were available in a slightly bitter dark-chocolate flavor with nutty overtones and a hazelnut with a perfect-pitch evocation of the nuts. Sorbetti ($7) flavors were lemon and mango, which never fail. And poached pears in wine ($7) were true to the fruit. As a final complimentary treat, the chef popped out of the kitchen with wintergreen-infused chocolate truffles. Cappuccino ($4.50) and decaf coffee ($2) were fresh and rich.
The space, which used to be Dedo, is just off Stuart Street in the Theater District, yet is quiet as any street in Bay Village. The inside is pale yellow, with art-deco details and abstract paintings, as one might see in Italy. The music is old soul. Service was excellent, despite a lack of bread refills and our server's struggle to describe mormora. The atmosphere is developing, but Erbaluce is going to attract foodies, because Draghi finally has a room that doesn't undersell or distract from his cuisine.
Draghi's food builds sauces from vegetables and their essences, rather than butter, olive oil, or cream. So even with a rich dessert, one will be able to continue with a night out on the town after eating here. Amid many fine restaurants near the Theater District, this is one of the most distinctive.
Robert Nadeau can be reached at RobtNadeau@aol.com.
