DeathbedFood® Food Stories by Diane Wagner

Diane Wagner's Blog | So good you could die happy at best bite!

  • HOME
  • VIDEO
  • CHEFS
  • HUMOR
  • RECIPES
  • ABOUT

DeathbedFood @ Sotto Restaurant in LA

July 17, 2011 by Diane Wagner

Sotto’s Lamb Ragu Makes My DBF List

I found a new DeathbedFood while dining at Sotto Restaurant in LA last week.

My new DeathbedFood?  Their “Casarecce” Pasta which is braised lamb ragu with egg and pecorino cheese.  It’s a gourmet mac & cheese … comfort food with depth of flavor unlike no other.  While I still love Bandera‘s mac & cheese, Sotto’s may have taken over that top spot.

Sotto has had lots of positive buzz.  This review by Los Angeles Magazine caught my eye – with Patric Kuh saying: Sotto embodies the elegant simplicity of southern Italian cooking, sticking almost exclusively “below the knee” in the boot of Italy.

Even though I had high expectations, I was blown away.  Chefs Steve Samson and Zach Pollack are obviously at the top of their game with Sotto.

Chef’s Samson & Pollack (as seen in LA Mag review)

So, what makes Sotto such a great experience?  I’d say several key aspects, all working well together – the food, ambiance, service and pricing.

The Food – In addition to the Lamb Ragu, we had the grilled pork meatballs which may have been the most unique I’ve ever had … I suspect the pecorino cheese may be its secret?  I don’t think I can go to Sotto without ordering these each time! We also tried the special pizza of the night which was vegetarian.  The cheese they used made it melt in your mouth … truly a mesmerizing dish.  Sotto’s food is obviously authentic.  As LA Weekly’s Squid Ink and Eater LA detailed, they even went to Naples to get the materials for their wood burning pizza oven which was built by Stefano Ferrara, a third-generation Neapolitan oven-builder who also built the oven used in Mario Batali’s Eataly in New York.

The Ambiance – Sotto has a “Hell’s Kitchen”, New York vibe.  As Patric Kuh mentioned in his LA Mag review, it’s one of the few restaurants in LA where you have to step down into it to enter (my favorite in that category is Madeo on Beverly).  Once inside, its lighting and combination of high communal tables with low traditional ones remind me of Gjelina in Venice.  The crowd provided nice energy but it wasn’t so noisy that it became distracting.

The Service – Our waiter was attentive yet not intrusive.  Educated about each item we asked about, including the nuances of each ingredient.

The Prices – Reasonable for the phenomenal quality of the food.  My DBF Fusilli was $16 and worth every cent.

Overall, I can’t wait to go back for that Lamb Ragu, the pork meatballs and more …

Visit them at 3575 West Pico Blvd. or on Facebook.com/sottoLA or Twitter: @SottoLA.

Filed Under: Beverly Hills, LA, Restaurants Tagged With: @SottoLA, Bandera, Beverly Hills, Eataly, Eater LA, Facebook, Gjelina, Hell's Kitchen, Hillstone Restaurant Group, Italian, LA Weekly, Los Angeles, Los Angeles Magazine, Madeo, Mario Batali, Naples, New York, patric kuh, restaurants, Sotto, Squid Ink, Stefano Ferrara, Steve Samson, Twitter, Venice, Zach Pollack

Follow Me on Twitter

🍴Di Wagner 🍷Follow

🍴Di Wagner 🍷
Retweet on Twitter🍴Di Wagner 🍷 Retweeted

Twitter has been so much better these last two weeks. If only they had done it sooner.

Reply on Twitter 1353537799966781441Retweet on Twitter 135353779996678144117Like on Twitter 1353537799966781441179Twitter 1353537799966781441

NEW! Beer or Wine. That is the question answered by the 'Beyond My Day Job' podcast! LISTEN to find out which I prefer and why. https://deathbedfood.com/beer-vs-wine/
#beer #wine #foodblog #foodblogger #podcast
@AutosRCool

Reply on Twitter 1353158437337616385Retweet on Twitter 1353158437337616385Like on Twitter 13531584373376163851Twitter 1353158437337616385

NEW! Beer or Wine. That is the question answered by the 'Beyond My Day Job' podcast! LISTEN to find out which I prefer and why. https://deathbedfood.com/beer-vs-wine/
#beer #wine #foodblog #foodblogger #podcast @AutosRCool

Reply on Twitter 1353137921491038208Retweet on Twitter 1353137921491038208Like on Twitter 13531379214910382082Twitter 1353137921491038208

LISTEN to 'The Foodie' episode from the 'Beyond My Day Job' podcast. LEARN how I met Jose Andres!
{from the archives} https://deathbedfood.com/lonnie-miller/
#foodies @chefjoseandres #podcast #foodblog #beyondmydayjob @AutosRCool

Reply on Twitter 1353064648585560064Retweet on Twitter 1353064648585560064Like on Twitter 1353064648585560064Twitter 1353064648585560064

Celebrate #NationalPieDay by making Betty Crocker's 50-year-old Apple Pie! Recipe on my blog ➡️ https://deathbedfood.com/betty-crocker-pie/
#foodblogger #foodblog #recipe #baking #bettycrocker #DeathbedFood #pie

Reply on Twitter 1353036119298854912Retweet on Twitter 1353036119298854912Like on Twitter 13530361192988549121Twitter 1353036119298854912
Load More...

Search

Tag Cloud

andrew zimmern Anthony Bourdain art Baking Beverly Hills Bon Appetit Bouchon Bakery Bouchon Bakery Beverly Hills chef jose andres cooking DeathbedFood Desserts documentaries farina kingsley food bloggers food events food humor foodies food news food safety humor Jonathan Gold jose andres LA LA restaurants LA Weekly Los Angeles los angeles restaurants news new york restaurants new york times ramon resa RAMON RISING ramon rising documentary recipe recipes restaurants rip anthony bourdain rip bourdain Santa Monica Thomas Keller travel channel Twitter video wine

Copyright © 2020 DeathbedFood® | Food & Wine Stories by Diane Wagner | Twitter: @DeathbedFood | Insta: @DeathbedFoodByDiane | FB: @DeathbedFoodByDi