Sotto (under)

 Roughly two weeks ago my fellow schoolmate, Michael and I, were looking for a nice meal for a price that is reasonable for two kids in the tenth grade. I always crave Italian food, but there are so many to choose from, but we decided on the decadent Sotto located on Pico Blvd directly across the street from the Ralph's. I have had Sotto before, but I have only taken it out, so it was in a way a new experience for both Michael and I. Mike and I looked to share most of the dishes because we were not looking to spend fifty dollars a person. Accordingly, we split our appetizer which was cooked octopus mixed in with a garbanzo bean purée. We also ordered their homemade bread with a side of burrata cheese. Though I enjoyed both of the appetizers, I felt as thought the chickpea purée was a bit bland for my tongue, but besides that minor infraction I felt as though the dishes were quite satisfactory. The service at Sotto was very quick and generous, but it was a little to quick, in the sense that we did not have enough time in between meals to digest and take a few moments to relax. Moving on to the main dishes, we began the second half of the dining experience with a one of a kind burrata pizza, which was cooked to perfection and also had a thick crust which I prefer. An Italian meal would not be complete without a pasta, so we ordered the house favorite, which was a Casarecce pasta topped with lamb ragu. I always say that dessert is a different stomach, but on this occasion I just could not eat anything else, so I simply ordered a cappuccino, which never seems to disappoint me. Though I enjoyed the meal as a whole, I subtracted points from my rating due to the rapid service and the lack of flavor in the chickpea purée. Accordingly, I gave Sotto a 7.1/10 on the Conch scale and I would highly recommend Sotto those who crave Italian.