Sotto
Housemade Bread with Olive Oil, Olives, Lardo, Burrata
Grilled Pork Meatballs – Snap Peas, Pecorino, Bitter Greens
Crispy Octopus – Salame Piccante, Fingerlings, Garlic Broth, Fior di Latte
Margherita – Tomato, Mozzarella, Basil, EVOO
Selvatico – White ‘nduja Sausage, Ricotta, Basil, Wild Fennel
Ricotta Gnocchi – Tomato, Basil, Fiore Sardo
Chitarra – Squid in its Ink, Bottarga, Sicillian Pistachios, Chilies, Breadcrumbs
Bittersweet Chocolate Crostata – Hazelnuts, Salted Rosemary Caramel
Cannoli Siciliani – Ricotta, Orange Marmalade, Pistachios, Chocolate
Olive Oil Cake – Sweet Ricotta, Grapes, Almonds
Co-owned by Zach Pollack and Steve Samson with a basement location beneath Peruvian bastion Picca, Sotto had long been on my Los Angeles culinary radar and having heard rumor that the tasting menu at Maude was prone to leaving those with large appetites longing for more a 9:00pm meetup with two friends was planned, the Friday night crush still packing the house on our arrival but the four-top near the bar ready exactly on time with smiling service proving more than capable of handling the crowd.
Technically a Neapolitan restaurant focused on the wood-burning oven, but no less a craft cocktail space with regional ‘shared small plates’ meant to bolster the atmosphere – and, no doubt, the bottom line – the scene at Picca is of the low-lit but lively variety and with all sorts of pretty people sipping adult beverages while conversing over music the phrase “noisy” has oft been uttered of the overall experience, though certainly not as much as it has been of Pizzeria Mozza or several Venice hotspots that border on unbearably loud.
Taking into account the restaurant’s signatures while also focusing on personal favorites and items felt most sharable amongst a group of our size, it was eventually on seven savories that our order settled and requesting that items be coursed out in three rounds it was admittedly somewhat surprising that both waitress and kitchen were happy to comply, the crispy bread and accoutrements well worth the cost as both burrata as well as rosemary tinged lardo were spreadable perfection while tender octopus was unfortunately a bit overwhelmed by spicy salami, the charred meatballs offering a far better bite as bold notes of smoke overlaid a creamy center rich in porky sapor.
Progressing next to pizzas, in the opinion of one friend the best in the City of Angels, critics of Sotto have frequently cited the overabundance of blister as some sort of flaw, but beginning first with a classic Margherita before tasting a white pie melding creamy ricotta to spicy Calabrian sausage I’d be hard pressed to argue with my pal, the lightly leavened and leopard-spotted crust crisp on the outside with just enough stretch to support the ingredients without being fork-and-knife sloppy or ‘wet.’
Rounding out savories with a duo of pastas, the gnocchi a bit too dense due to an overabundance of cheese in both the dumplings and the sauce, a truly memorable bite was found in hand-cut spaghetti blackened by ink with no shortage of texture, heat, or brine and progressing thereafter to a ‘one of each’ dessert order it was perhaps the surprise of the evening just how good each $7 option turned out to be – the signature crostata rich enough that sharing is almost mandatory while filled to order cannoli and toothsome cake topped in sweet ricotta were rustic yet elegant, as good as any from a ‘celebrity chef’ kitchen offering smaller portions at a significantly higher cost.
http://www.sottorestaurant.com/
