Sotto

*Post by Mark.

Sotto has barely been open a month, and I'm already greedily plotting my 2nd (and 3rd, and 4th...) return visits. Filling the former Test Kitchen space on Pico a few blocks south of Beverly Hills, the restaurant is easy to miss in the unmarked basement of a big red building (below). But the food is can't miss. Steve Samson and Zack Pollack were most recently spotted manning the wood-burning oven at David Meyers' Pizzeria Ortica in Costa Mesa, and now they've brought their notable talents to Beverlywood.

The decor has gotten a pleasant little makeover (below) since its Test Kitchen days. The vibe remains classy, yet casual. A wall of wine overlooks the restaurant and nearly makes you forget that the restaurant provides an ambitious, market-driven cocktail menu. And the food menu? Zack and Steve have crafted an array of pastas, entrees and pizzas that have expanded my understanding of what Italian cuisine can be. 

To start, a course of homemade bread with lardo pestato melting over top. The rustic bread is crispy and complex on its own, but the warm and moist interior invites the delicious puree of lardo to soak up inside all of its nooks and crannies. It's an almost sexual experience. It was that good, and we hadn't even started the meal yet. 

And it only got better. The unanimous favorite dish of the entire table was the crispy pork belly porcetto (below) served with a green tomato mostarda. I've been tiring of the same old approach to pork belly, but Sotto's take really knocked this one out of the park. The crispy exterior is hard - you almost need a butchering knife to hack through it - but so crunchy and wonderful in contrast to the moist belly meat inside. Not only is it totally worth the extra cutting effort, but is paired fetchingly with the thick mostarda, of which some bold citrusy flavors of lemon peel took center-stage. 

For a pasta dish, we forged towards the casarecce pasta (below) with braised lamb ragu, egg and a little Pecorino finish. There was some discussion at our table on whether or not the Pecorino was slightly overpowering, but we found the dish overall enjoyable. Like everything on the menu, the S-shaped pasta is made in-house and the lamb was melt-in-your-mouth tender.

I've heard a lot about Zack and Steve's pizzas at Ortica, but moved to Los Angeles too late to ever try them. Needless to say I've been anticipating the arrival of Sotto for some time now and was giddy and hopeful that there wood-fired pies might help raise the bar for the otherwise mediocre pizza scene in L.A. We got the Campagnola (below), ripe with sunchokes, fennel, mozzarella, marjoram and (you can never have enough) lardo. You can even add egg, anchovy or arugula to the pizza for $2, so what the hell... throw an egg on there, too. The $15,000 oven is certainly worth it. The pies have that beautiful char you expect from a proper Neapolitan pizza, and the flavor of the crust is almost there. It's my understanding that these ovens only get better with use, so I'm looking forward to my next pizza down the line. Maybe the sausage pie with brocolli di ciccio and chilies? 

We shared two desserts (the menu boasts only three) and continued to be impressed. The general theme for Sotto's unique selections seems to be their surprising herbaceous qualities. The crumbly bittersweet chocolate crostata (below) comes topped with hazelnuts and a gooey layer of salted caramel. But none of us expected the use of rosemary amidst the saltiness of the caramel. I love when a restaurant gives you the unexpected; bewilderment soon gives way to approval, approval soon gives way to complete indulgence. The crostata was not the first thing we tried on this evening to elicit that special feeling. 

We also went for the sheep's milk yogurt panna cotta (below) which not only featured honey and almond amaretti, but.... you guessed it, more herbs! The addition of thyme was another eye-opening treat that soon had us scrapping the bottom of the jar for one last creamy taste. 

I'll be back, and soon. I definitely want to check out their fennel-crusted pork chop and work my way through the pizza menu, but most of all, I can't stop thinking about that bread with lardo. A few weeks in and Sotto is already (wood-)firing on all cylinders. What's even better? As of today, Sotto is now serving their Italian cuisine for lunch, including a sandwich version of the pork belly porcetto! Now that the bars been raised, I think some other Italian restaurants have got some 'splaining to do.