There’s no shortage of fantastic Italian restaurants in Los Angeles, but what sets Rossoblu apart is its hyper focus on just one region in Italy.
“We’ve tried to be an homage to the food I grew up eating,” says chef Steve Samson, who owns the restaurant with his wife Dina. “My mom was from Bologna, so our food is a love letter to that experience of me going there growing up and the traditions of the region.”
All of that translates to dishes from the Italian city and the Emilia-Romagna region it’s located in, like handmade tagliatelle with beef and pork ragu, tortellini in brodo, and chicken al mattone—all served in a beautiful, sweeping space in the old wholesale produce market.
This regional spotlight is what propelled the restaurant to land a spot on the late Los Angeles Times critic Jonathan Gold’s coveted 101 best restaurants list, be named by Robb Report as one of the 10 best new restaurants in America a year after it opened in 2017, and nab a MICHELIN Bib Gourmand.
We recently caught up with Steve to talk about why the restaurant remains a hotspot, the Bolognese dish that will never leave the menu, and more.
Read on for why Rossoblu is a must-visit Italian destination in LA, and make a booking on OpenTable.
What do you think Rossoblu’s X factor is?
Steve Samson: It’s always been important for us to not just be an ode to Bologna, but the restaurant also had to make sense as a modern LA restaurant even though the food wasn’t. This was key as we designed the restaurant. We’re in the original wholesale produce center, so our mural had to have pieces of both the traditional and the modern. [Rossoblu won Eater LA’s most gorgeous restaurant of the year the year it opened.]
What’s the one dish you’ll never remove from the menu?
The minestra nel sacco, which combines a housemade brodo with pasta made from eggs, Parmesan cheese, a little bit of flour, and butter. It’s kind of like a Bolognese matzo ball soup. It’s the only recipe on the menu that’s 100% my mom’s and has been on there since day one. We lost her about two years ago, so sometimes it makes me a little sad, but I also feel really happy and proud that she has a legacy.
What’s the underdog of the menu?
I’m really proud of the fact that we make our own sausages, although we don’t sell a ton of them. When I would go up to the mountains where my mom and grandfather were born, my nonna would cook polenta over an open fire, and my nonno would grill pork chops and sausages. We make the sausage from pork shoulders and bellies with just some garlic, white wine, salt, and pepper. In Bologna, they split the sausage in half and grill it, which is how we do it.
What is the hidden gem on the drink list?
We make a great negroni. I also love the Lambruscos on our list because that wine is so traditional in Bologna and is really the only well-known wine from the region. I feel like it’s made a comeback in recent years, although a lot of people still don’t know about it.
What’s your favorite product at the restaurant for people to try at home?
We have pasta classes, where we show people how to roll out pasta with our rolling pin. We actually sell the rolling pins and the boards. It has to be a special type of wood and can’t be cured.
Who’s your longest regular?
There are people who have followed us ever since the Sotto days [the couple’s now-shuttered pizza-focused restaurant], and even before, from when I was a chef at Valentino, and before that Posto in the Valley. I’ve been around a long time, so I don’t want to single out just one person. We do have an ‘ambassador list’ of anyone who’s dined with us at least 25 times. The list is constantly growing, and we’re so thankful for the people who come often.
Who’s your longest serving staff member?
One of our dishwashers, Lauriano, has been with us since the second year of Sotto. When our twins were born, their nanny later had her own twins. Her son William started cooking with us at Sotto and is now our lead line cook here at Rossoblu.
What’s the best seat in the house?
It really depends on what you want. A lot of people like table 18, which is all the way down the wall by the loading dock but by the inside of the restaurant. If cheffy people come in, I’ll often seat them at table 22. It’s right by the spot where I expedite [liaising between the kitchen and the waitstaff], so they can see all the action. And the seats on our patio are really special. When we opened, we wanted the restaurant to have an indoor-outdoor feel.
When is the best time to find a reservation?
We love people who like to dine really early or later, like 5 pm and 8:30 pm or 9 pm. Pretty much everyone wants a 7 pm reservation, but if you’re willing to come earlier or later you can usually get a table.
What’s your favorite award you’ve won?
We won a MICHELIN Bib Gourmand, which is designed to highlight restaurants that are very delicious but affordable. Since we cook food that’s based on memories and has a soulfulness, that was special to me.
Karen Palmer is a pizza- and pasta-obsessed food writer based in Los Angeles. She is the former editorial director of Tasting Table, and her work has appeared in Eater, Food & Wine, Travel + Leisure, and many other publications. Follow her on Instagram at @karenlpalmer.
