Anyplace serving New Orleans style cuisine is a place I need to be. During my first UBER ride in Jackson from the airport, my driver mentioned that a New Orleans seafood restaurant recently opened in Jackson. He also mentioned that he was born and raised in NOLA and moved to Jackson with his wife at the time about 20 years ago.  During our conversation, he also mentioned that he has visited the restaurant in NOLA while he lived there and since their opening in Jackson, has been there at least once a week. I decided at the moment that I needed to visit there immediately. Luckily for me, it was only a few minutes away from my training location so I got a ride there after work.

Drago’s Seafood Restaurant is a family-owned restaurant that has been in existence since 1969 and is Home of the Original Charbroiled Oysters. They set out to offer delicious seafood and a good time to guests for a reasonable price.  They have locations in New Orleans and Metairie in Louisiana and now Jackson, Mississippi and none of the locations take reservations. However, they can accommodate private parties. The Jackson restaurant is located at 1005 East County Line Road, Jackson, MS 39211. http://www.dragosrestaurant.com/

I went there pretty early in the evening so the place was relatively empty. I was seated at a table near the bar but in front of the oyster bar area where the charbroiled oysters are prepared.  The hostess and the server were quite accommodating and made sure I was comfortable. I started off with a sweet tea ($2.50) and lemon. Since I’m in the South, this is the time for the Sweet Tea experience. I looked over the menu trying to figure out how to plan out my meal since I needed to work out and I did not want to be super full.

The night before, I went to a Mexican restaurant near my hotel called Sombra Mexican Kitchen with my training crew for a hosted happy hour. I left there full and tipsy which did not make for an easy workout. This is another spot I would recommend out in Madison, MS. Since it was paid for, I only had the appetizers and drinks but the Berry Margarita was amazing. The cheese dip and nachos were also delicious as well as the salsa and chips. I highly recommend that you take a visit there. https://sombramexicankitchen.com/

Back to Drago’s. After determining that 6 oysters would be a tease, I decided to order a dozen oysters ($19.95) and a cup of the seafood gumbo ($7.95). That would not be too heavy in my stomach and I could exercise with ease. I order their Seared Tuna and Avocado salad ($19.95) for a post workout meal. The waiter nodded in approval with my order and said she would recommend everything I ordered. There was a Chicken and Andouille sausage gumbo that I could have tried but the mentioned that the Roux is a lot darker and that broth is a bit salter and recommended that I stick with the seafood.

While I waited for the oysters, the seafood gumbo came out. It was not a thick broth at all and the broth was different than what I am accustom to but it was delicious. There were definitely pieces of seafood in the cup as well as a piece of a crab leg. I appreciated that and made the cup worth the price. While I was in Creole heaven, I started to see flames coming from the oyster bar. The chef was manning the flames and preparing the oysters. It was impressive how dangerous of a task that looked like but he was making it work.

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When my oysters arrived, I knew from that moment I had made a great decision. I had charbroiled oysters while in NOLA at the Oceana Grill and really enjoyed them. However, Drago’s is better. There was a strong char flavor in the oysters that was just divine and took the flavors to the next level. The oysters were served with bread and there was a lot of butter and seasonings to sop up and enjoy. The oysters were not overly seasoned and the cheese was an added saltiness. This was the perfect combination of flavors that really made this dish stand out. When I went back to my hotel later, I was thinking about how good they were and plotting how to get some more before I left Jackson. I ended up stopping there on the way to the airport to satisfy my craving.

After my workout, I had Seared Tuna and Avocado salad that included sliced tuna (very rare) drizzled with Cajun Aioli, served over avocado, tomato, and mixed greens tossed in a soy vinaigrette. This salad was amazing, the Cajun aioli was flavorful but I did not really include it in my salad.  The soy vinaigrette was enough dressing and the aioli was rather thick and were unnecessary calories after my good workout. They did a wonderful job with the flavors and the freshness of the vegetables and I would definitely order this again. I ended up ordering this for the plane as well before I left Jackson. The salad also inspired me to recreate my version at home. Stay tuned for how that turns out.

Overall, I had an incredible dining experience at Drago’s. When I get back to Jackson or NOLA, I will definitely make this a part of my trip. Everything I had there was incredible. My total came to $54.88 and after a 20% tip was $64.88. I highly recommend you make this a part of your next Southern trip experience. The following is my Seven Mac Score for the restaurant:

Please look out for my next post as I share more of my week in Jackson, Mississippi in my Jackson, Mississippi Food Diaries! Also, you can find me on Instagram @finediningdiva and twitter @moderndaybeauty. Also, if you would like to follow my blog to receive notification when a new blog is posted, please send your email to finediningdiva@gmail.com.

And remember: It’s a BIG world and we are going to eat our way through it!