Opera Night - Sunday, October 26th

OPERA NIGHT
Sunday, October 26
5:30 p.m.

Great voices, great food and great fun is yours when you attend Sotto Sopra's Opera Night. Enjoy a 6 course gourmet Italian meal interspersed with live Opera performances of your favorite arias.

OUR PERFORMERS

Ms. Kathleen Dougherty, Soprano
Ms. Diane Abel, Soprano
Mr. Paul McIlvaine, Tenor
Ms Alice Mikolajewski, Piano

MENU

1st Course:
Roasted Figs and Gorgonzola Cheese
with prosciutto di Parma

2nd Course:
Creamy Mushroom Soup
with pine nut gratin

3rd Course:
Tomato-Saffron Risotto
with Grilled Swordfish

4th Course:
Lemon Sorbetto

5th Course:
Braised Veal Cheek
over goat cheese polenta

6th Course:
Pumpkin Soufflé
with vanilla ice cream and balsamic reduction

Cost per person
$57
(excludes beverages, tax and gratuity)

For Reservations or Inquiries call Monika Pawlak at 410 625 0534 or 443-850-9523

Future Opera Nights: November 23 and December 14 ~ Save the Dates

Chef's 3 Course Tasting Menu for October

Wednesday Night

Chef's 3-Course Tasting Menu

Wednesdays, October 1, 8, 15, 22 & 30

Open Seating - Reservations Requested

$38.00 per person (excludes beverages, tax and gratuity)

How quickly time flies by and here is fall. Executive Chef Bill Crouse has created a new tasting menu for October embracing the foods of the season. We will still be offering the Sotto Sopra Dinner menu for those who might have other preferences.

MENU

1st Course: choice of one
Roasted Red Beets and Gorgonzola Salad

House-made Porchetta
with shaved Parmesan cheese, toasted Tuscan bread and D.O.P. olive oil

Roasted Pear Salad
with pecans and Champagne vinaigrette

Fried Calamari
with garlic aioli and spicy tomato coulis

2nd Course: choice of one
Honey-Lavender Crusted Salmon
with chive studded mashed potatoes and roasted broccoli

Spinach Ravioli
sautéed in butter and sage with fresh tomato sauce

Bucatini all' Amatriciana
bucatini pasta with bacon, onions, crushed red pepper and fresh tomato sauce

Veal Piccata
pounded veal with shallots, capers, and parsley in lemon and white wine, horseradish mashed potatoes and sautéed vegetables

Chicken Involtini
chicken breast rolled with smoked bacon and Brie cheese lightly roasted with porcini mushrooms and asparagus over potato gratin

3rd Course: choice of one
Apple Strudel
Gianduja Pot de Crème
Vanilla Panna Cotta

Cost per person

$38

(excludes beverages, tax and gratiuty )

Contact Monika Pawlak at 410 625 0534 to make your reservation for the Chef's Tasting Dinner

no other promotions or discounts are applicable

First Thursday Wine Tasting with Michael Mohammadi

The Wines of Tuscany

Michael Mohammadi

Thursday, October 2nd
5:30 p.m. to 7:00 p.m.

Join us on Thursday, October 2nd for a lively and enlightening wine tasting of Tuscan Wines. Michael Mohammadi of www.foodandwineblog.com will be your tour guide through 6 wines of this region.

Cost per person is $25 (plus tax and tip)

Don't let the fun end there, stay for dinner and receive 1/2 off any of the wines you enjoyed during the tasting.

Reservations are required - call Monika Pawlak at 410 625 0534 or email ciao@sottosopra.us

no other promotions or discounts are applicable to this event

Cooking Class - Sunday, October 12th

COOKING CLASS
Sunday, October 12th
1 p.m. to 4 p.m.
limited spaces
$65.00 per person

Join executive chef Bill Crouse in the Sotto Sopra kitchen for our fabulous cooking class. Enjoy a great afternoon behind the scenes of one of the city's best restaurant, see Italian recipes demonstrated and sit-down and enjoy the finished recipes with wine.

The class is demonstration with optional hands-on for those who wish to participate.

Guaranteed Reservations Required - Call Monika Pawlak at 410 625 0534 or email at pawlak_monika@hotmail.com

Wednesday Night Chef's Tasting Menu - September

Wednesday Nights

3 Course Chef's Tasting Dinner

September Menu

$38 per person

(excludes beverages, tax and gratuity)

Wednesdays: September 3rd, 10th, 17th and 24th
5:30 to 9:00 p.m. ~ open reservations

Chef Bill Crouse invites you to come into to Sotto Sopra any Wednesday evening and enjoy his 3 course tasting menu. Chef changes the tasting menu monthly and highlight various dishes from our dinner menu. We will be offering our seasonal dinner menu as well as the chef's 3 course tasting menu.

1st Course – Choice of

Fried Calamari

Roasted Red Beet Salad
with Gorgonzola cheese and tarragon vinaigrette

Caesar Salad

Soup of the Day

2nd Course – Choice of

Roasted Game Hen
with sausage and lemon stuffing over goat cheese polenta and roasted juices

Seared Halibut
with basil studded mashed potatoes and a chili butter sauce

Spinach Ravoli

Straccetti Pasta
house-made random cut pasta in a wild mushroom and veal stock sauce

Veal Involtini
with sweet potato mash and olivata sauce

3rd Course – Choice of

Tiramisu

Cheesecake

Gelato

Cost is $38 per person -excludes beverages, tax and gratuity

Reservations are highly suggested - call 410 625 0534 and let us know you are coming for the chef's tasting menu

*no other promotions or discounts can apply

Dinner with Daniela - Tuesday, October 14th

Dinner with Daniela

A Rustic Home-Styled Sardinian Meal

Tuesday, October 14th

open reservations ~ 5:30 p.m.

Join us the 2nd Tuesday of every month when Daniela Useli creates one of her wonderful and delicious, rustic Italian “Sardinian” Dinners.

For those of you who want something more contemporary you can order off Sotto Sopra's Menu.

Read Daniela's story in July 30th's Baltimore Sun or click HERE

Menu

Antipasto

Crespelle alla crema di asparagi
Delicate crispy dough filled with a flavorful asparagus cream, besciamella e Swiss cheese

Il Primo ~ La Pasta

Culingioni de patatas
Traditional Sardinian hand-made ravioli stuffed with a potato filling flavored with fresh mint leaves, pecorino cheese, Italian parsley, onions, and garlic, served in a freshly home-made flavorful tomato sauce

Il Secondo ~ La Carne

Bracioline alla Napoletana
Delicious and tender beef rolls stuffed with smoked bacon, pine nuts, raisins parsley, and garlic slowly cooked in white dry wine and tomato sauce, served with a side of steamed baby broccoli flavored with cumin.

Il Dolce

Tiramisu
Traditional Italian dessert, made with soft ladyfinger cookies, dipped in a fresh coffee and sweet Marsala wine, covered with a “mascarpone cheese and Zabaione cream”

Cost per person

$38.00

(excludes beverages, tax and gratuity)

no other promotions or discounts apply to this dinner

October's Italian Language Dinner Club

Italian Language and Culture Dinner Club

Sotto Sopra's
Italian Language & Culture Dinner Club

Monday, October 20th 7:00 p.m.
Reservations Required ~ Limited Seating

If you are an Italophile, a lover of all things Italian then this dinner is a must do. Come practice your Italian language skills, share your Italian travel stories and more. Chef Crouse will create fabulous Italian dishes, family style for all to enjoy. Seating is communal.

We are open to suggestions for future gatherings of the Italian Language and Culture Club - please send them to ciao@sottosopra.us

Speaking Italian is part of the fun though optional.

Cost per person: $55.00
all inclusive
(price includes food, wine, non-alcoholic beverages, tax and gratuity)

~Family Style Service ~ Communal Dining~

The Italian Language and Culture Club usually meets the 3rd Monday of every month

FOR RESERVATIONS: Call Monika Pawlak-Bosio at 410 625 0534 or email pawlak_monika@hotmail.com

Not on the Italian Language Club E-mail List - send an email to ciao@sottosopra.us

Ultimate Gift for Your Inner-Chef

What's it like to work in a restaurant kitchen? That question can be answered with Sotto Sopra Restaurant's Chef-for-the-Day Program under the tutelage of Executive Chef Bill Crouse. For $100 you will work hard through the day and after evening service, enjoy a good meal.

If Executive Chef Bill Crouse of Sotto Sopra has been asked once, he has been asked a hundred times about life in a restaurant kitchen by clientele, many of whom are talented home cooks. Proof of this fascination can be found in the success of television's reality kitchen programming: Top Chef, Hell's Kitchen and 2009 entrée into the kitchen reality programming, Chopping Block with the ultimate kitchen tyrant, Chef Marco Pierre White. Chef Crouse has started his own chef reality program at Sotto Sopra Restaurant with Chef-for-the-Day allowing a patron to come work in the restaurant kitchen for a full day. Chef-for-the-Day starts early, is expected to be on their feet all day, maneuver narrow stairwells, work through evening service and will wrap their day in the kitchen with dinner.

Prior to coming into Sotto Sopra's kitchen, Chef Crouse assesses the Chef-for-the-Day's skill level and also offers up an additional challenge of creating a menu promoting them as the Chef-for-the-Day at the restaurant.

Here is what Jackie Knipp had to say about her and her daughter, Megan's experience of working in the kitchen and preparing a prefix menu for friends and Sotto Sopra's guests:

"Megan and I had an amazing experience at Sotto Sopra. It was a true Italian gathering - great food, wine and fellowship in a friendly atmosphere. Everyone who came said that they had so much fun. Many had never been to the restaurant before. They loved the friendly atmosphere and excellent food. I always recommend Sotto Sopra because it is authentic Italian and not the Americanized Italian. It reminds me so much of restaurants we visited in Italy."

For more information on becoming Chef-for-the-Day or buying a Chef-for-the-Day gift certificate for a friend or family member please call Monika Pawlak-Bosio at 410 625 0534.

Uova al Pomodoro - Tomato & Eggs

Uova al Pomodoro
Tomato Eggs

Here is another way to use late summer’s tomato bounty

2 Tablespoons Olive oil
2 each Very ripe tomatoes – cut in 8ths
Kosher or sea salt & pepper to taste
4 large Eggs

Heat a small frying pan (approximately 10 inches) over medium head and add the olive oil. Add the tomatoes, salt and pepper and cook for approximately 10 minutes. Break in the eggs into the pan, careful not to break the yolks. Add another pinch of salt and peppers. Keep over the heat until the whites have set. Serve hot.

Serves 2

September Cooking Class

Chef Bill Crouse Opens His Kitchen

Cooking Class
Sunday, September 14, 2008
Rustic Italian Dishes
$65 per person

1 p.m. to 4 p.m.

Join executive chef Bill Crouse in the Sotto Sopra Kitchen for our first cooking class of the season featuring rustic Italian cooking.

The class is demonstration with optional hands-on for those who wish to participate. After class is completed everyone sits down and enjoys the food prepared in class along with wine.

Classes are limited in size and require guaranteed reservations at 410 625 0534.

Cancellation Policy: You can cancel you reservation up to 48 hours prior to the cooking class without penalty. Those canceling less than 48 hours before class will be billed on their credit card if we are unable to fill the opening with people on the wait list.