A Slice of Sicily

At Drago in Santa Monica, Celestino Drago pays homage to his Sicilian heritage with a handful of distinctive dishes from the gorgeous--and notorious--island off the southern tip of Italy’s “boot.” At L’Arancino, his new West Hollywood restaurant, the entire menu celebrates la cucina Siciliana: the cooking of Sicily.

The name L’Arancino means “little orange,” and oranges are one of the design motifs. The decor is spare and modern: white wainscoting and sunny yellow walls, curvaceous leather booths and banquettes upholstered in olive and tan. Two contemporary paintings of oranges add notes of color and box-shaped lamps with transparent wood shades cast a warm, orangy glow.

You can start with panella, a thick cake of golden fried chickpea batter. With a little lemon squeezed over, this popular Palermo street food is earthy and delicious. There’s also a wonderful citrus-drenched octopus salad lively with the crunch of celery, and a smoked swordfish carpaccio garnished with blood oranges and fennel. And a soul-satisfying soup of dried fava bean and wild fennel.

Pasta alla Norma--ridged rigatoni tossed with slices of baked ricotta, tomato and soft rich eggplant--is very appealing, too. But on a first visit the classic bucatini with fresh sardines, wild fennel, golden raisins and pine nuts made a poor argument for one of the glories of Sicilian cuisine. And the fish couscous in the style of Trapani, off the northwestern coast of the island, is a big disappointment, too. The broth is watery and the large pieces of fish, green-lipped mussels and tired shrimp set on top seem more for effect than for taste. This doesn’t resemble the fresh and vibrant dish I remember from Sicily last spring. And smearing a veal chop with Sicilian pesto (pounded almonds and mint leaves) does not a great--or even very interesting--dish make. Sad to say, even the cassata seems pallid and over-refined in L’Arancino’s interpretation.

Come on, I wanted to plead, don’t be so hesitant: Give us the real stuff--per favore. But then I want to say that to any number of Italian chefs in this town who seem afraid to cook the way they’d cook for themselves. I’m certain there’s a passionate audience out there for exactly that.

BE THERE

L’Arancino, 8908 Beverly Blvd., West Hollywood; (310) 858-5777. Open daily for dinner; for lunch Monday through Friday. Valet parking. Antipasti, $5.50 to $16; pastas, $9 to $15; main courses, $17 to $23.