Actively bad. $35 shaking beef, shrimp dishes that are more onion than shrimp, no heatâplace is one of the mist pure tourist traps in SF.
this place looks really interesting, looking forward to checking it outâŚbut only after I hit up FELIX again
Thanks!
foâsho
Went to Felix last night, it was amazing. I think Rossobluâs gonna be awesome. canât wait.
this lil piggie got spit roasted and this lil piggie ate it for fucking dinner
dry aged prime beef cruda - summer truffle, parmigiano reggiano, aged balsamic, mother-in-lawâs tongue crackers
The beef was fine, but the summer âtrufflesâ had zero aroma and zero flavor, I think my paper shredder could have made something with more flavor and cheaper too.
tortellini in brodo - pork, chicken, mortadella, prosciutto di parma, parmigiano reggiano, beef and chicken broth
Pasta had a great chew but unfortunately the filling was drier than a camelâs fart. Broth was fine.
tagliolini - seppie, english peas, summer onions, tomato
Taking my first bite, the pasta was thin with not much chew and the sauce was too acidic. But eating it with the sweet english peas really balanced out the whole dish, really good. I just wish there was more cuttlefish.
grilled santa barbara spot prawns - roe, bread crumbs, parsley, romagnola olive oil
The prawn was perfectly cooked with a great char from the grill, delicious.
spit roasted suckling pig - salsa rose
Highlight of the night, one of the best pork dishes Iâve had in awhile. Super crispy skin and the meat was so tender bill withers wrote a song about it. My cut came with about 6 ribs, skin, loin, and some belly meat.
blood orange sorbetto
toto
Thanks for the report back @PorkyBelly. Sounds rather mixed, but then again we (and our friends) have always found hits and misses at Sotto as well, so itâs not surprising. Their pastas donât seem to be the highlight here.
Yeah, unfortunately not everything was a hit but the grilled items made up for it. It was their opening night and I think theyâre still in the âsoftâ opening stage so i donât want to be too hard on them. I hope theyâll have something on the pasta menu as good as the chicken liver rigatoni at sotto.
Youâre hilarious.
That tagliolini looks much prettier than it tastes I guess (up-close it does look a little weak). But I knew it wasnât possible for the prawns to look that good but not taste like it.
Glad you clarified @Chowseeker1999s comment about Sottoâs pasta. The chicken liver rigatoni has been on my list for a while.
Good seeking!
sucking pig looks bomb
that pig looks ridiculous. how much was that dish?
I have reservations for next weekend. Hopefully they iron out some of the misses.
it was $28 bucks, which i think is a bargain for the quantity and quality. ask for some crispy skin.
oh, and thereâs a stupid 20% mandatory service charge added to your bill.
Whoa.
But thatâs the tip too isnât it?
Our visit was⌠disappointing.
We got some Minestra Nel Sacco courtesy of some other poor table, which was fine. Broth was a smidge too salty, but tasty dish overall.
The charcuterie was very good. Not quite Chi Spacca good, but still great. The cheese that came with it was also exceptionally interesting.
We also got 2 pastas: the tagliatelle (boring, I know - but my dining partner wanted it and it came highly recommended by the server) and the cappellacci. The tagliatelle seemed to be suffering from some shortcut in cooking; it feels like they relied on it being thin enough that the could cut down on the cooking time to approximate âal denteâ but something went wrong somewhere. The ragu was also pretty boring. Unfortunately this was head and shoulders above the cappellacci, which was just bad. It was far too soft, and veered extremely salty and extremely sour by turns depending on how coated each piece was with the rest of the ingredients.
Unfortunately the were out of the suckling pig (really?) and the price had shot up to $54 (did the quantity stay the same? who knows?), so we settled for some market fish (today, a red sea bream). This was better by comparison but still felt lacking. It was an extremely basic preparation - which could have been fine, had it been executed perfectly. Sadly it was executed at a level I could replicate in my own kitchen, which isnât bad, but is also not something I go to high-end Italian restaurants for, especially when it comes to seafood.
The side of potatoes was decent.
I may come back for the pig at some point, but Iâll probably wait a while.
Whoâs minding Sotto in the meantime? Maybe itâs time for me to find outâŚ
Seeing @PorkyBellyâs mixed experience, we werenât planning on going so soon, but we had a friend who we promised to hang out with in DTLA and figured we might as well try it.
Located in City Market South, a new real estate development project renovating the old and trying to usher in a new era of hamsters, Rossoblu is Chef Steve Samsonâs (Sotto) new restaurant, supposedly a homage to his familyâs roots in Northern Italy and his new flagship.
Thereâs not much else going on in the area, except a Cognoscenti Coffee around the corner, which means plenty of free parking for the time being.
The interior is interesting, some inviting seating, with wild modern pop art on the wall.
The wood-burning grill showed some potential, and had us excited to see what kind of meat-based dishes might come out of it.
The soundtrack was a mix of '80âs and '90âs pop, but with no sound dampening it was LOUD the whole evening, even at 60% capacity.
Whole Lettuce and Herb Salad (Anchovy Dressing, Grana, Bread Crumbs):
This tasted pretty good, fresh, farmers market Lettuce, the Anchovy Dressing adding a nice bit of brininess, and the Grana hard-style Cheese gave it enough funk and a bit of needed fat to the dish.
Salumi Board (Housemade Felino, Sotto Cenere, Coppa Testa + Imported Mortadella, Prosciutto di Parma):
This was the highlight of the evening! Everyone loved the Housemade Salumi, with the Felino, Coppa being beautifully porky and just having a bright meaty funk.
The imported Mortadella from Emilia Romagna was my next favorite, very clean, lean flavors.
It was served with Squacquerone and Piadina and Cresentine Fitte breads:
Really enjoyed the Squacquerone Soft Cheese.
Spring Vegetable Salad (Farro Verde, Lemon, Romagnola Olive Oil):
This was a disappointing Salad. I love Farro and I was excited to try this, but the Salad simply tasted musty(!). Thereâs fresh English Peas and Asparagus and the Farro, and yet the Salad as a whole was muted and the flavors didnât work. Avoid.
Nonnaâs Tagliatelle al Ragu Bolognese (Beef, Pork, Not Too Much Tomato Sauce):
I was really looking forward to this, but hearing @PorkyBellyâs mediocre Pasta experience I wasnât sure. And?
First, Chef Samson makes an Egg-based Pasta, with no Semolina Flour, so itâs the soft type of Fresh Pasta, not the type for those looking for some texture, bite or chew (no al dente here).
And the Tagliatelle is just very soft and flabby. I like Egg-based Fresh Pasta as well (see Pasta Sisters), but the Pasta quality was really weak here.
To add insult to injury the Bolognese (which our server said was the âprideâ of the kitchen because it represented Northern Italy and Rossoblu âour signatureâ) was very salty. I liked the combination of Beef and Pork, but it tasted mainly like a Salty Meat Sauce.
The Bolognese from Pasta Sisters, Cento Pasta Bar, Bulgarini and Felix were far superior. @Novelli and all pasta lovers, avoid.
Risotto (English Peas, Fava Bean, Asparagus):
The Arborio Rice had some bite to it (not fully cooked to soft), and I love fresh English Peas⌠sadly, this, too was very salty!
Even with fresh English Peas (natural sweetness) and fresh Asparagus in it, the amount of sodium in here overpowered all ingredients and you tasted mainly salt! Disappointing.
Spit Roasted Suckling Pig:
I was so looking forward to this⌠it looked gorgeous! And the crackling Pork Skin was fabulous!
Which was all that was good about it: The Pork itself was really salty and one note. Everyone at the table agreed. It tasted fresh and was moist and juicy, but way oversalted!
We noticed the 2 tables around us ate only part of their Suckling Pig and had the server take away the rest of the dish (didnât even box it up), so Iâm guessing it was this entire batch on this evening.
The other odd thing we noticed was that we saw Chef Sampson come out and personally greet 2 other tables (friends perhaps?). Then when the Suckling Pig came out for their tables it was like 2 - 3 times the size of our portion (and the table next to us). Perhaps it was just him being nice to friends, but it felt a bit off / weird.
Charred Broccolleti (Anchovy, Bread Crumbs):
I guess itâs our fault, since the menu explicitly stated âcharred,â but they werenât kidding. These Broccolleti were half burnt on nearly all stalks! The bitterness added something to the dish, but I donât like my veggies burnt.
Milk-Braised Pork Shoulder:
Finally a dish that broke the streak of mediocre-to-bad dishes. Their Milk-Braised Pork Shoulder was tender, creamy, and shockingly, not over-salted. It was just the right amount of salinity, mainly a creaminess to the Milk-based Sauce, and the slow roasted Pork Shoulder.
Delicious! Definitely the 2nd best thing we had this evening.
Chocolate Torta (Manjari Mousse, Roasted Cherries):
Very good. Deep chocolatey Cake, loved the Manjari Mousse (smooth, creamy), and the Roasted Cherries added a nice fruity sweetness counterpoint.
Service was haphazard, with wrong dishes delivered to our table and our neighbors repeatedly throughout the evening. We had to waive to get any busboy or server to refill drinks throughout the evening or clear plates.
Rossoblu is just in its opening week, but so far itâs been rather underwhelming: From the mediocre Pasta and Risotto, to the oversalting issues in most dishes we had(!), to the musty Spring Salad (sad), to the oversalted Suckling Pig (with wonderful crackling skin), it was a very disappointing evening.
The Housemade Salumi Board was the highlight, with some wonderful items offered there, along with the Milk Braised Pork Shoulder. If they can get their salting issues under control (and perhaps have Suckling Pig more like @PorkyBellyâs visit instead of ours), then that would be another must order.
But as it is, with weak Pastas, average Salads, and burnt Cooked Vegetables, and oversalting issues, thereâs not enough for us to return. I was so underwhelmed, I felt no desire to return for a long time, hence this post (instead of 2 or 3 visits). Iâm pulling for them to improve, but even if they do, their Pastas are overcooked and the Sauces just donât inspire. So youâre left with Meat-based Italian dishes.
At which point, Iâd rather go to Chi Spacca.
Rossoblu
1124 San Julian St.
Los Angeles, CA 90015
Thanks for the reports guys. But ouch! I may push my visit out a few weeks.
wow, bummer about the suckling pig, it looked so good. @T3t got me curious about the price now, did they really double the price to $54 from $28 overnight?!?
when i got my bill they tried charging me 50 something bucks (canât remember the exact price) for my pig. i let my server know it was $28 on the menu and he fixed it but said something about a âcomputer glitch.â now iâm wondering if they printed the menu with the wrong price and tried to cover up for it.
Hi @PorkyBelly,
Yah the portion difference alone was shocking, so I wonder if portion & price are variable (if so, itâs awful). There was one table next to us who literally got 200% of the size of suckling pig that we got, and another table near us that got about 300% (not a joke) of the size of suckling pig. I donât know how much they were charged for that, but itâs crazy.