Atlanta Magazine - December 1999

Fun with Food: A Tasting of Olive Oil

Much of what you have heard about olive oil is absolutely true. It is the most digestible of all edible fats; it's good for your skin and for your nails; and provided that you pick the right bottle, it has a heady, gamy flavor redolent of sunshine, stony ground and newly crushed olives. The best grade of olive oil, extra virgin, is the product of the first pressing, a purely mechanical process that yields a thick, golden (sometimes slightly greenish) oil, which will be bottled untreated and often unfiltered. It has an extremely low acidity and, like a fine wine, it has unique and recognizable characteristics (color, mouthfeel, taste) that vary from region to region and producer to producer. No one in his right mind cooks with extra virgin olive oil. Sotto Sotto in Inman Park offers a tasting of up to six different olive oils from small Italian consortiums in regions such as Tuscany, Liguria, Umbria and Apulia. Chef Riccardo Ullio knows the importance of maximum freshness and only orders the product of a late harvest, squeezed toward the end of the year. Like a professional taster, he shakes a few spoons of oil in a little lidded cup roughly the size of an egg cup. He lets the oil war up and drinks directly from the receptacle. In the restaurant, the oils are poured into individual shallow bowls and can be tasted with bread, a spoon or even the tip of one's finger. The complex and intense flavors are a lot of fun to compare, and each and every oil is a taste of nature captured in a few drops.

Atlanta Magazine - June 1999

Christine Lauterbach

Sensationally Simple

The success of Riccardo Ullio's Inman park restaurant Sotto Sotto can be traced to two basic elements: good taste and hard work.Unlike most restaurants, especially Atlanta's oft overly complicated and largely unauthentic Italian ones, Sotto Sotto has the gift of simplicity. Instead of fixating on what the American public may or may not accept in terms of genuine regional specialties, owner and chef Riccardo Ullio has done what comes naturally to him: serving fresh Italian food direct from the Italian countryside in a trim, contemporary restaurant with an urban edge. The restaurant whose name means "hush hush" is hardly a secret any longer; it's a sensation.

Though Ullio moved from Milan to the United States at the age of 12 and completed most of his education in the Atlanta area, receiving a degree in environmental engineering from Georgia Tech, he has remained obviously and passionately an Italian. His knack for capturing the essential taste of his home country became apparent to us when, as an unproven chef with a restaurant in the works (Pasta da Pulcinella, which was about to open), he served his now famous sausage and Granny Smith apple tortelloni with brown butter and sage at an olive oil tasting we attended.

Who was that marvelous young man we remembered asking, intrigued with the way he broke ranks with the prevalent taste. Ullio distinguished himself at Pulcinella, left after a dispute with his partner, and went on to refine his craft at Pricci and Coco Pazzo. While riding a bike through Inman Park, he cased a trio of decrepit storefronts and approached the landlord. His training as an engineer came in handy in devising a sophisticated and efficient game plan. The result: a perfect balance of understated elegant décor and a lean soigné menu.

Hand-rolled pasta, properly cooked risotto and a few judicious dishes (most of which use a modern wood oven) are available in distinctive configurations without frou frou. Ullio's kitchen excels at such preparations as tortelli di Michelangelo, "a faithful reproduction of the artist's favorite ravioli recipe," made with ground veal, lamb, chicken and parmigiano reggiano, fresh tagliatelle with porcini mushrooms, spaghetti carbonara with pancetta and egg yolk, and risotto with frutti di mare. "I don't garnish!" is the motto of a young chef who wished to spend his time cooking.

A tasting of estate-bottled Italian olive oils (the new harvest just came in) is an excellent way to understand the passion and integrity that prevail in the restaurant. A charming antipasto with a display of silky prosciutto, dry-cured salami, aged cheeses, marinated olives and mushrooms is the next logical stop. Seared sea scallops with warm truffled beans and wilted arugula, mussels simply steamed with lemon, parsley and black pepper, a salad dressed with extra virgin olive oil and balsamic vinegar make fine appetizers as well.

The entrees are bursting with simple energy. A wood-roasted fish (striped bass, pompano, silk snapper, a fierce-looking scorpion fish) presented whole over roasted potatoes and spinach a filleted tableside, then gently seasoned with a mixture of olive oil and lemon by a waiter who looks like Fabio's smarter brother will make you want to call your travel agent and book a trip to Rome. You may also feast on crisp baby chicken over Tuscan white beans or a sliced hanger steak with wilted arugula, rosemary, olive oil and garlic potatoes.

While most Italians wouldn't look further for dessert than biscotti dipped in vin santo (both are excellent), we definitely appreciate Sotto Sotto's mascarpone cup, it's quirky chocolate soup flavored with hazelnut, and its delicate panna cotta (an eggless custard) drizzled with caramel. There is no snobbery to the wine list ("In my country we drink wine like Coca-Cola, " explains Ullio), and the selection, which includes several excellent Chianti and a few California wines, is a good match for the food.

As described by the owner, the feel of Sotto Sotto is "like a rickety old villa with a modern kitchen." The restaurant, like its food, is Italian without fanfare, more a matter of stylish design than of folklore. The modern chairs, the barstools, the blue-bottomed water glasses and the cool white china all come from Italy. Several layers of color have been sandblasted off the original plaster wall, with enough left to create a contrast between old and new. Everything else is white or wood and easy on the eye. The space is so open and friendly that the restaurant seems much bigger than its actual square footage.

Sotto Sotto looks onto the street through attractive large windows. Its serious kitchen is visible to passersby and diners alike. The message: there are no secrets, only good taste and hard work. Ultimately, the success of the restaurant is a badge of sophistication for a city that is finally ready to welcome the concept of high-end dining without the trappings of luxury.