Anchor ads are not supported on this page.

4S Ranch Allied Gardens Alpine Baja Balboa Park Bankers Hill Barrio Logan Bay Ho Bay Park Black Mountain Ranch Blossom Valley Bonita Bonsall Borrego Springs Boulevard Campo Cardiff-by-the-Sea Carlsbad Carmel Mountain Carmel Valley Chollas View Chula Vista City College City Heights Clairemont College Area Coronado CSU San Marcos Cuyamaca College Del Cerro Del Mar Descanso Downtown San Diego Eastlake East Village El Cajon Emerald Hills Encanto Encinitas Escondido Fallbrook Fletcher Hills Golden Hill Grant Hill Grantville Grossmont College Guatay Harbor Island Hillcrest Imperial Beach Imperial Valley Jacumba Jamacha-Lomita Jamul Julian Kearny Mesa Kensington La Jolla Lakeside La Mesa Lemon Grove Leucadia Liberty Station Lincoln Acres Lincoln Park Linda Vista Little Italy Logan Heights Mesa College Midway District MiraCosta College Miramar Miramar College Mira Mesa Mission Beach Mission Hills Mission Valley Mountain View Mount Hope Mount Laguna National City Nestor Normal Heights North Park Oak Park Ocean Beach Oceanside Old Town Otay Mesa Pacific Beach Pala Palomar College Palomar Mountain Paradise Hills Pauma Valley Pine Valley Point Loma Point Loma Nazarene Potrero Poway Rainbow Ramona Rancho Bernardo Rancho Penasquitos Rancho San Diego Rancho Santa Fe Rolando San Carlos San Marcos San Onofre Santa Ysabel Santee San Ysidro Scripps Ranch SDSU Serra Mesa Shelltown Shelter Island Sherman Heights Skyline Solana Beach Sorrento Valley Southcrest South Park Southwestern College Spring Valley Stockton Talmadge Temecula Tierrasanta Tijuana UCSD University City University Heights USD Valencia Park Valley Center Vista Warner Springs

Happy lasagna

Italy in the heart of Carlsbad

Intense sauce, melty cheese, chunky meat. Mary loved it.
Intense sauce, melty cheese, chunky meat. Mary loved it.
Place

Fresco

264 Carlsbad Village Drive, Carlsbad

My friend Mary suggested we meet at Fresco Trattoria in Carlsbad, and I agreed. My husband doesn’t like to spend money on pasta. After working in the grocery industry for 40 years, he claims that a $12 plate of pasta should only cost $2.50 to prepare. He also reminds me how little it cost us in Italy.

Fresco: the fish is fresh daily, and the pasta is made on premises

So I hadn’t been to Fresco’s in years, and I forgot how beautiful the dining room is. The owner, Leone D'Arcangelo, hails from Sperlonga, Italy, a beachfront town midway between Naples and Rome.

Sponsored
Sponsored
The water is bottled in Tuscany. Not even kidding.

Both Mary and I were very hungry, but we decided to bypass the antipasti and go right to the main course. Our server told us that their fish is fresh daily, and the pasta is made on the premises. He also told us that their water is bottled in Tuscany, which I found a little over-the-top. I’ve had the water in Tuscany, and it didn’t leave any impression on me.

The owner, Leone D'Arcangelo, hails from Sperlonga, Italy

Mary decided to go old school and ordered Fresco’s signature lasagna with meat sauce. I ordered the Ravioli di Zucca, pasta filled with butternut squash. I ordered wine, and Mary had them make her a fancy gin and tonic.

The room was busy for a Monday night, and people conversed with the servers at length at booths and small tables underneath wall murals. A fountain gurgled in the middle of the room.

When the food arrived, Mary smiled at the sight of the lasagna. She hadn’t seemed so happy in weeks. I tried a little. The sauce was intensely flavored, the cheeses melted into creaminess, the meat was just chunky enough, and the noodles were perfectly cooked.

I looked at my own plate and took a bite. The ravioli was filled with butternut squash, ricotta, and parmesan cheese finished in Grand Marnier sauce was obviously made fresh. It was warm and tender, pillowy light, slightly sweet, and with a hint of nutmeg and other spice. The sauce was so delicious that I wanted to drink it.

I would love to take my husband to Fresco, but at $18 a dish he wouldn’t enjoy it.

Here's something you might be interested in.
Submit a free classified
or view all
Previous article

Tiny Home Central isn’t solving the San Diego housing crisis

But it does hope to help fill in the gaps
Intense sauce, melty cheese, chunky meat. Mary loved it.
Intense sauce, melty cheese, chunky meat. Mary loved it.
Place

Fresco

264 Carlsbad Village Drive, Carlsbad

My friend Mary suggested we meet at Fresco Trattoria in Carlsbad, and I agreed. My husband doesn’t like to spend money on pasta. After working in the grocery industry for 40 years, he claims that a $12 plate of pasta should only cost $2.50 to prepare. He also reminds me how little it cost us in Italy.

Fresco: the fish is fresh daily, and the pasta is made on premises

So I hadn’t been to Fresco’s in years, and I forgot how beautiful the dining room is. The owner, Leone D'Arcangelo, hails from Sperlonga, Italy, a beachfront town midway between Naples and Rome.

Sponsored
Sponsored
The water is bottled in Tuscany. Not even kidding.

Both Mary and I were very hungry, but we decided to bypass the antipasti and go right to the main course. Our server told us that their fish is fresh daily, and the pasta is made on the premises. He also told us that their water is bottled in Tuscany, which I found a little over-the-top. I’ve had the water in Tuscany, and it didn’t leave any impression on me.

The owner, Leone D'Arcangelo, hails from Sperlonga, Italy

Mary decided to go old school and ordered Fresco’s signature lasagna with meat sauce. I ordered the Ravioli di Zucca, pasta filled with butternut squash. I ordered wine, and Mary had them make her a fancy gin and tonic.

The room was busy for a Monday night, and people conversed with the servers at length at booths and small tables underneath wall murals. A fountain gurgled in the middle of the room.

When the food arrived, Mary smiled at the sight of the lasagna. She hadn’t seemed so happy in weeks. I tried a little. The sauce was intensely flavored, the cheeses melted into creaminess, the meat was just chunky enough, and the noodles were perfectly cooked.

I looked at my own plate and took a bite. The ravioli was filled with butternut squash, ricotta, and parmesan cheese finished in Grand Marnier sauce was obviously made fresh. It was warm and tender, pillowy light, slightly sweet, and with a hint of nutmeg and other spice. The sauce was so delicious that I wanted to drink it.

I would love to take my husband to Fresco, but at $18 a dish he wouldn’t enjoy it.

Comments
Sponsored
Here's something you might be interested in.
Submit a free classified
or view all
Previous article

Gonzo Report: Stinkfoot Orchestra conjures Zappa at Winstons

His music is a blend of technical excellence and not-so-subtle humor
Next Article

Tyler Farr, Blue Water Film Festival, Mustache Bash

Events March 21-March 23, 2024
Comments
Ask a Hipster — Advice you didn't know you needed Big Screen — Movie commentary Blurt — Music's inside track Booze News — San Diego spirits Classical Music — Immortal beauty Classifieds — Free and easy Cover Stories — Front-page features Drinks All Around — Bartenders' drink recipes Excerpts — Literary and spiritual excerpts Feast! — Food & drink reviews Feature Stories — Local news & stories Fishing Report — What’s getting hooked from ship and shore From the Archives — Spotlight on the past Golden Dreams — Talk of the town The Gonzo Report — Making the musical scene, or at least reporting from it Letters — Our inbox Movies@Home — Local movie buffs share favorites Movie Reviews — Our critics' picks and pans Musician Interviews — Up close with local artists Neighborhood News from Stringers — Hyperlocal news News Ticker — News & politics Obermeyer — San Diego politics illustrated Outdoors — Weekly changes in flora and fauna Overheard in San Diego — Eavesdropping illustrated Poetry — The old and the new Reader Travel — Travel section built by travelers Reading — The hunt for intellectuals Roam-O-Rama — SoCal's best hiking/biking trails San Diego Beer — Inside San Diego suds SD on the QT — Almost factual news Sheep and Goats — Places of worship Special Issues — The best of Street Style — San Diego streets have style Surf Diego — Real stories from those braving the waves Theater — On stage in San Diego this week Tin Fork — Silver spoon alternative Under the Radar — Matt Potter's undercover work Unforgettable — Long-ago San Diego Unreal Estate — San Diego's priciest pads Your Week — Daily event picks
4S Ranch Allied Gardens Alpine Baja Balboa Park Bankers Hill Barrio Logan Bay Ho Bay Park Black Mountain Ranch Blossom Valley Bonita Bonsall Borrego Springs Boulevard Campo Cardiff-by-the-Sea Carlsbad Carmel Mountain Carmel Valley Chollas View Chula Vista City College City Heights Clairemont College Area Coronado CSU San Marcos Cuyamaca College Del Cerro Del Mar Descanso Downtown San Diego Eastlake East Village El Cajon Emerald Hills Encanto Encinitas Escondido Fallbrook Fletcher Hills Golden Hill Grant Hill Grantville Grossmont College Guatay Harbor Island Hillcrest Imperial Beach Imperial Valley Jacumba Jamacha-Lomita Jamul Julian Kearny Mesa Kensington La Jolla Lakeside La Mesa Lemon Grove Leucadia Liberty Station Lincoln Acres Lincoln Park Linda Vista Little Italy Logan Heights Mesa College Midway District MiraCosta College Miramar Miramar College Mira Mesa Mission Beach Mission Hills Mission Valley Mountain View Mount Hope Mount Laguna National City Nestor Normal Heights North Park Oak Park Ocean Beach Oceanside Old Town Otay Mesa Pacific Beach Pala Palomar College Palomar Mountain Paradise Hills Pauma Valley Pine Valley Point Loma Point Loma Nazarene Potrero Poway Rainbow Ramona Rancho Bernardo Rancho Penasquitos Rancho San Diego Rancho Santa Fe Rolando San Carlos San Marcos San Onofre Santa Ysabel Santee San Ysidro Scripps Ranch SDSU Serra Mesa Shelltown Shelter Island Sherman Heights Skyline Solana Beach Sorrento Valley Southcrest South Park Southwestern College Spring Valley Stockton Talmadge Temecula Tierrasanta Tijuana UCSD University City University Heights USD Valencia Park Valley Center Vista Warner Springs
Close

Anchor ads are not supported on this page.