THIS RESTAURANT IS CLOSED Limbo

THIS RESTAURANT IS CLOSED Limbo Restaurant Review:

Limbo helped raise the bar for downtown chic in Boston. The restaurant moved into dark and moody digs in the urban area of the moment, the Ladder District (named after the rung-like shape of the streets as viewed on a map). Since then, Limbo actually rivals the nearby fusion resto MANTRA for area supremacy in the entertainment It crowd. A Brazilian architect has given Limbo a spare-sleek look in which candlelight, woods, and ceramics seem to flow together in beautiful tandem with the clientele---it’s hard to decide which looks better. With cocktails, jazz, and lounging it’s a please-all proposition. Of most interest here? Surprisingly, the food. For now it is the only place to catch the cooking of Charles Draghi, the gregarious and talented ex-chef of Marcuccio’s in the North End. His is a cuisine that riffs on the rustic flavors and austere sophistication of Northern Italian cooking with cocksure, contemporary techniques. With roasting, vegetable oils, water sauces and quick sautés, Draghi appropriately gives trattoria cooking a jazzy once-over. As with all things mod, it can be jarring and eye-opening, lovable and loathable all at once.