I’m on my way back to Prego Ristorante again this week.
I’ve had one of many meals there for almost three decades. But I’ve dined there a lot more often in the past 13 years because of the superbly crafted food of Executive Chef Ugo Allesina, my pick for Chef of the Year for 2013.
You must get to know the food of this genial Italian-born chef if you are looking for a really classic Italian experience.
Prego opened in 1985, and its presence when more good restaurants were just emerging in Orange County added to its allure.
It quickly became known for pulling in a cross section of diners, with power brokers and deal makers figuring heavily into the mix.
The agents of growth and vitality who were driving the sophisticated coming of age for the county—our celebrity crowd—hung out at Prego at lunch and dinner. The habitués are still sitting at their favorite tables.
The food has always been good, but when this chef took over the kitchen in 2000, his connection to customers was widely noted. It is a two-way street of mutual respect between the chef and diners. We love Ugo’s charming personality and excitement when he talks about how he constructs the dishes for the menu.
The restaurant went through a few changes of ownership by corporate restaurant groups over the years. Chef Ugo can probably take the most credit for keeping a good customer base for the first 10 years of his tenure, despite company honchos peeking out from under the big umbrella and gearing operations to their rules.
Better Times
Everything got a whole lot better when a private couple, Tony and Ruth Bedi, bought Prego a few years ago. They wanted the warmth and very soul of Italy to permeate every element. Ugo says they wanted him to be free to put his heart into the food as never before, and they made him a partner.
I can tell you that he’s putting a big exclamation point on flavor and cultural integrity. His cuisine strikes the perfect balance between traditional authenticity and innovative preparations. We who sit at the tables are the lucky recipients.
Ugo was born and raised in the region of Piemonte, which has always been one of the most important regions for urbane Italian fare.
I found out only recently where he was from, and since Patrick and I have experienced a lot of Piemonte on our international jaunts, we had fun comparing our observations as tourists and his in-depth culture from his childhood.
Additionally, I was raised with an abundance of Italian and French immigrants in the Midwest, and when I started teaching cooking classes, it was the home cooking of those two countries that launched this long career.
The chef garnered some high-end experience at prestigious hotels in Italy before we got to enjoy his food. He was brought to the United States in 1990 by the owners of Ristorante Mezzaluna, a well-known restaurant in Manhattan, N.Y. Those owners subsequently opened Mezzaluna in Corona del Mar and brought in Chef Ugo as executive chef. He stayed there for six years, then worked in Beverly Hills and Santa Monica before finding his home at Prego.
His days in hotels taught him discipline in the kitchen, but it has been his experience in the U.S. that allowed him to utilize his personality to communicate with guests—many come to Prego not only for the food but also for a tableside visit from the chef.
Most people know that the unthinkable happened to Prego a year ago. It was partially destroyed by a fire, and smoke and water damage took their toll, as well. Ruth and Tony had no choice but to stay positive and hope the rebuild-renovation didn’t take too long.
They decided to put more than required toward polishing up the restaurant. The interior was redone and updated, and it emerged with a brand-new show of casual elegance.
Ambience
Today, Prego’s ambiance blends the warmth and rustic charm of Italy with the vibrancy of a cosmopolitan restaurant. Arches and columns, gleaming copper, polished hardwood floors and cherry wood furnishings indulge our desires for relaxation. The exhibition kitchen allows diners to view the culinary crew creating dishes.
The menu emphasizes regional Italian cuisine, and everything in Chef Ugo’s kitchen is made from scratch. The pasta machine works hard to keep us happy, with fresh strands and tubes on which we find a variety of his sauces. Authentic pizza is baked in a wood-fired oven. Fresh fish entrées join spit-roasted meats and fowl.
Have a glass of wine with the antipasto crudo platter as a first course. I’m a slowpoke at ordering because I enjoy reading menus, so I can linger and let the stress fall away before having to make the rest of my eating decisions.
This tasty antipasto showcases the chef’s handcrafted, eponymous allesina salami, bresaola (air-dried beef), prosciutto di Parma, speck (Tyrolean ham) and giardiniera (the chef’s freshly pickled vegetables). Polipo salad (octopus, potatoes, bell pepper, celery, olive oil and lemon) is another one of my favorite appetizers.
As your entrée, think of gnocchi cibréo as little potato dumplings rather than pasta, with chicken, radicchio, pancetta and creamy garlic parmesan sauce. Delicious. A risotto—perhaps with fresh asparagus and chicken—satisfies. Veal caloppine; pasta tossed with sausage and mushrooms; wide pappardelle pasta with scallops and asparagus and mushrooms; and lobster ravioli are classics that have risen to the occasion on my latest forays.
Italians are serious about having a nice wine with meals. At Prego there’s an extensive list of wines from Italy and California that will please even the most discriminating wine connoisseur. And the bar is a full-fledged affair, so you can indulge in libations of any sort.
I was having a meal two days after Prego reopened last fall, and I keep introducing folks to Chef Ugo’s intense flavors of Northern Italy. Drop by and settle in for a lovely dining experience. Anticipate having an interesting conversation with Chef Ugo, the very deserving Chef of the Year, as part of the whole adventure.
