Rossoblu

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Charcuterie board at Rossoblu

Photo: courtesy Ed Anderson/Rossoblu

When chef Steve Samson opened Sotto in Los Angeles, he knew he was breaking his mother’s heart. The restaurant’s menu, all the way down to the wine, was devoted to the cuisine of Southern Italy, eschewing the traditions of his Northern Italian mother. But at his newest restaurant, Rossoblu, he’s brought the dishes of her native Bologna to Downtown L.A. Inside what used to be the city’s oldest produce market, Samson serves exceptional pasta dishes like Nonna’s Tagliatele al Ragu Bolognese, where he coats ribbons of fresh, house-made pasta with a sauce of beef and pork. Pair that with a board of excellent salumi, Santa Barbara spot prawns grilled over an open flame, and a glass of Lambrusco and you’d be convinced a meal this delicious would get him back in his mother’s good graces.