Sotto Restaurant

       On a recent brisk Saturday evening, me and few close friends ventured to check out Sotto.  This is a hip, not trying too hard to be hip, new spot in the unassuming Beverly-Pico District.  This place looks like it was meant for Abbot Kinney, but fell out of the sky away from the hipsters, into the lap of more mature foodie crowd.  Walking in, I was first struck how much the place reminded me of New York, with its half-hidden restaurants, tucked away behind the street underneath 10 floors of brick and mortar. Those little New York gems have no sign, and barely a clue of the bustling action. And if it weren't for the busy valet shared with Picca, you'd have no idea Sotto existed.  Unlike most restaurants in LA, to walk into Sotto your go down few steps below street level, descending into the bowels of wood fire scented den. The noise level is nice, but not aggressive, and the music plays in the background, making this a great place to splurge on a bottle or for drinking between courses, and not rush through a meal. The low lighting and exposed wood Edison decor du jour lead to me believe we'd be having rustic Italian, heavy on the garlic and basil.  I was surprised by the surgically executed dishes which could have easily been served with a wisp of truffle at Bouchon, Le Cirque, or Per Se with half the portion size and three times the price.

   Walking in, I was first impressed by Sotto's open kitchen.  Restaurants underestimate how much diners like to a) Smell what's going on, b) Know there's no microwaving behind curtain #2, and c) Put eyes to whose actually cooking their food, preferably someone who looks like a chef these days, with a few well-placed tattoos and heavy rimmed black glasses.  I was a little disappointed that the kitchen seemed a bit unorganized, with post-its hanging everywhere and mismatched containers, but for a cramped kitchen these guys are clearly hustling.

    The only place I saw Sotto really failing was its cocktails.  With imaginative names, none really hit the spot, and all seemed a bit too adventurous and disjointed from the well-executed kitchen.  Standing on its own, the cocktail list would probably be great at a hotel bar, but  I for one don't know how you pair a drink like "Smart and Fennel", an interesting mix of gin, orange marmalade and  "fennel-scented egg"  with anything edible.  All the cocktails seem heavy on the bitters and Campari, which is great if you don't want to taste the booze and want to get liquored up, but absolutely wrong for priming your pallet.  I'd stick to the wines, and save to cocktails for a birthday or post dinner.  It would have been nice to see a well-executed martini on the list, maybe hipstered up with a little fennel if the bartender felt compelled.

     Sotto does three things well.  Very well.  Kobe Bryant in the fourth quarter well.  Pasta.  Pizza. And what it calls Small and Medium dishes.  The squid ink fusilli is the stuff wine makers dream of.  A complex mix of delicately pungent Bottarga, mint, and pistachios clearly designed with a robust red in mind.  Now, if you don't know what Bottarga is, and want to fantasize it's a salty cheese from northern Italy made by a supermodel Ferrari driving couple, then don't read on.  This stuff is usually stinky, made from swordfish or mullet eggs, dried and pressed into weird fishy power bar type stick.  Think anchovy, but not as fishy.  This stuff is its trendy more expensive cousin.  I'm glad Sotto didn't put dried fish eggs in the description, because I bet my guests would have spit this stuff out quicker than the pizza bubbling in the 700 degree over. But Sotto is too smart for that, and the description reads Bottarga, like a fancy Italian designer purse.  This dish is slightly chewy, elegantly black, and perfectly balanced.  This pasta dish is unlike anything you can find in LA.  It has a wonderful saltiness and depth, just a hint of mint, and a rich sauce which seems to have incredibly fused with black fusilli. This is the completely opposite evil twin of Madeo's Spaghetti Bolognese.

     The pizzas are similarly divine. You can't go wrong. The Campagnola with fennel and potato is perfect mix of textures and bubbly crust.  The wood oven isn't too smokey and there is no part of the crust that sacrificed to a black char.  They are using good quality ingredients at this place - and you can taste the difference - well chosen olive oil, good coarse salt, and fresh herbs. They also understand simple is better.  The light touch of nutty olive oil finishing this pizza really brings it to the next level.  Again, this is another dish you'd ruin with one of those silly cocktails, but with a cold Peroni or one of the many well selected Italian whites, this pizza is easily a top 3 in LA.   And if pizza isn't your thing, they make house made bread, grilled and served with a rich burrata.

    You could make a meal of the Small and Medium dishes - The Panelle are light and airy fried chick pea fritters, dusted heavily with grated ragusano, which releases a its flavor when it hits the hot Panelle.  It’s a Sicilian cheese that's milder than pecorino, but not as pliant as fontina.  Think of this dish like a nutty salty cheesey beignet, freshened up with a spritz of lemon.  Trust me, order two or three of these things.  They are fried perfectly, not greasy.  This is something I'd expect from Mezze, not an Italian restaurant.  This dish is a testament to the Mediterranean influence you find all over Italy, but all to rarely in the uptight northern Italian kitchens pretending to be a Soprano hang out you find in most of LA or New York.  The Tomato-braised octopus with preserved lemon and tomato braised chickpeas is something I'd expect to find in Amalfi, not LA.  Again, this dish is balanced and well executed and has a Greek inspired feel. I just wish the Octopus was twice as big.  This thing had a nice smokey salty crust, and super moist meat cooked right, definitely not tough.  Aesthetically, the sight of the curled up octopus reminds of something a Roman G-D might have eaten.

    The large dishes are pretty good, but not excellent.  It’s like the kitchen is bored and going through the motions.  But when a kitchen knows how to execute, even the boring stuff can be impressive.  The braised short rib is a bit rich, but tender and meaty.  They aren't trying to hide behind the quality of the meat here, and unlike most braised short ribs, our piece wasn't overly fatty or under cooked.  On its own with a few roasted veggies, this would be an impressive meal.  All in all though, you are better off splitting the large dishes with a few friends, than trying to have one of these things on your own.

     When you finish your meal, with the food being so good, it’s hard to leave room for dessert. I found the dessert menu sparse. Even so, the Cannoli Siciliani is hands down the best cannoli I've ever had.  It's not your traditional burrito sized cannoli, over stuffed with sugary gook.  The crust is a little thicker, almost like a home-made elephant ear, lightly fried, and with a real crunch, not a light crisp.  The ricotta filling is spot on - not too sweet - with a hint of orange smiling at you behind the pistachios. The richness of this thing stands up to the jet fuel cocktails.  The Panna Cotta is also fantastic, but if you are real chocolate lover, it’s not going to hit the spot.

     Which comes to how you should visit Sotto...While this is an impressive date spot, it has this chill communal feel.  With just two people, you can't order enough dishes to take advantage of this place.  But with four...double dates, bring em on.  Groups of friends.  Score. Big groups of eight or ten - I'd stay away.  If we'd been eight people I might have stabbed a few friends to get to those Panelle.

-Post by guest writer Michael