Sotto Sopra serves rustic Italian food lovingly and passionately labored over by Executive Chef and owner Riccardo Bosio (pictured with MCCN's Associate Editor Monica Johnson and Marketing Consultant Simone Baptiste).The restaurant is a sentimental tribute to the lower (Sotto) and upper (Sopra) regions of his homeland in Bergamo, Italy. It's exciting times at Sotto Sopra, with Bosio just recently returning to the kitchen. He is nothing, if not inspired. Sitting down to talk to Chef Bosio is a treat; his passion encapsulated in his response to me when I asked him to pick one dish that represents Sotto Sopra. Calm, yet almost indignant, Bosio says, "They all represent Sotto Sopra." Hmmmh...this is going to be interesting!

Chef Bosio is a colorful character as seen in his bright orange pants. He has a lot to say. He is very opinionated and shares his thoughts freely. Food and eating is not something random for him; he's looking for your reaction, and he's confident you should love it. Food is important to him, and he shares that there is a lot of mediocrity in cooking, even in Baltimore. Bosio explains, "To me food is a serious thing..." He adds, "To me nobody should get into cooking that is not serious about cooking."

Want to get under his skin? Look over his beautifully prepared menu and then order a caesar salad. Don't do that! There are all kinds of popular "Italian" chain restaurants for that sort of thing. When you go to Sotto Sopra, come ready for your taste buds to be challenged, titillated and exasperated. Yes, exasperated from trying to figure out "what's in this?"

As Executive Chef for Sotto Sopra, he has more than earned his stripes. The Bergamo, Italy native started working as a cook at a mere 14-years old, graduating from the prestigious Instituto Professionale Alberghiera di State in San Pelligrino Terme at 16-years old. From there it's been all around the world working at five star restaurants, on a private yacht, on the Star Princess Cruise Ship, even being the private chef to the Italian ambassador.

At 37, he has reclaimed the Executive Chef role and is more passionate than ever. If your vision of Italian food is lots of tomato sauce and heavy on the cheese, that's not what Chef Bosio is serving up. In fact, the innovative menu, is enough to make one wonder if they have ever really tasted Italian food before. My visit entailed a sampling of many different dishes. We started with the Ippoglosso ceviche conpalatine croccanti, which is a halibut ceviche with jalapeno peppers on a homemade chip. The halibut is highly recommended by Bosio for this time of year. He explains that the taste would be a lot different, not as fresh later on in the year. The ceviche packs a tangy and fresh pop to awaken the senses. Next was La Polenta di Riccardo, an impressive sight with a delicate fried polenta topped with poached egg, razor thin shaved fennel prosciutto di Parma and parmigiano. It was quite an effort to get everything into one bite, but the result was a surprisingly light and mild offering. Though fried, the polenta was soft and incredibly flavorful with a solid yet creamy texture.

Back to the halibut, this time in the pasta dish called Gigli con salsiccia e halibut spazzato. Chef Bosio emphasizes the importance of using good ingredients. It's evident that the olive oil he candidly admits to splurging on is not really a splurge but a necessity in order to acheive optimal taste. The gigli pasta is homemade and the subtle taste of the olive oil combined with the tomatoes, leeks, and broken pieces of halibut and sausage bits was, again, light and lovely. Chef Bosio says of the Italian culture, "We're very passionate and precise." The rolled back eyes and the mmmmh's and aaah's were confirmation of a dish done precisely right.

Last but certainly not least, Chef Bosio brought out pure ectasy on a plate. A little recipe he came up with after eating a pack of orange-flavored Milano cookies. Thank God for orange-flavored Milano cookies!!!! The dessert was as pleasing to the eye as anything you could see at the Baltimore Museum of Art, but even better because you could eat it.  The work of art Chef Bosio served up was a semifreddo with cherries on the bottom, served on top of a bed of chocolate sauce with orange zest — simply amazing (pictured at the top of the page). I can honestly say it would be a shame if I only tasted this dessert once  in my lifetime — a real shame!

You can check in with Sotto Sopra through their website, blog, and Facebook Fan page. The restaurant presents a monthly Opera Night with an interactive performance plus a six-course meal. They also offer a Famer's Market Cooking Class. Follow this link for more information about upcoming events at Sotto Sopra.

Atmosphere: Relaxed but Elegant

Attire: Casually dressy

Article by Monica Johnson