One of my favorite restaurants in New Orleans is Drago's in the Hilton hotel. It is owned by Drago and Klara Cvitanovich who opened it in 1969. They decided to specialize in serving seafood and by all accounts have done a successful job at it over the last half decade. Their signature dish is char broiled oysters prepared on the grill. Drizzled with butter and lemon juice they are cooked on the half shell and sprinkled with Parmesan cheese and pepper and are amazing. Over 900 dozen of these succulent bivalves are served daily.
But on my most recent visit to The Big Easy I must admit that I was a little disappointed. First, since I was dining solo, I was placed at a small table, pushed off to the side of the dining room up against a wall with no view or ambiance. My fossilized waitress gave me the printed menu and pointed out all the most expensive items on the list, attempting to steer me toward them in hopes of a larger tip. But I steadfastly ordered the oysters and a salad, to her dismay.
When they arrived I looked down at them in amazement. They were minuscule, barely larger than marbles, unlike the behemoth bivalves I had consumed 6 months earlier. I wondered if they could differ in size so greatly from one season to another. I had ordered a half dozen but could have easily downed twice that, given their size. The only thing large about my order was the price.
I'm beginning to wonder if Drago's reputation is beginning to outdistance their menu.
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