Sosta Argentinian Kitchen
291 Rundle Street
Adelaide South Australia 5000
e sosta@internode.on.net
w www.sostaargentiniankitchen.com
t +61 8 8232 6799
f +61 8 8232 6899
open Monday to Friday lunch from 12 noon, dinner seven days from 5.30pm, kitchen open late Friday and Saturday
FOOD A lot of people might think the life of a restaurant reviewer is filled with fabulous food and great wines, but the truth is for every great meal there are many really terrible meals. Sometimes it is possible to feel so disillusioned about the state of food in Adelaide that it makes me very, very grumpy (alright, even grumpier than usual!). So my boss and I are wandering along Rundle Street (east) reading menus as we go looking for lunch. Most are the generic Adelaide menus written by the single hand of the Adelaide android menu writer……boring! The closer we get the East Terrace there is the tantalising aroma of real wood smoke. Like the Pied Piper of Hamelin we are lured to the door of Sosta, knowing with great confidence here is a ’real’ wood grill.
A real wood grill is a sign of obsession, it takes effort and it takes skill. This I know from personal experience when confronted for the first time with a real wood grill in the workplace when opening the Rocks restaurant at the Glenelg Ramada Plaza Pier in 03. On busy nights that wood–fired grill was my nightmare and to be truthful I never really mastered it. The wood grill chef has my utter respect because manning the wood–fired grill on a busy night is about fifty times more difficult than panning meat. We, (especially me) were so hopeless we sought the help of the father of wood grills in Adelaide, Noberto Spagnolo currently chef owner of Buenos Aires Brasserie on Hutt Street. Most of Adelaide’s steak houses use gas fired grills and the difference is taste between the two is blindingly obvious.
Although Italian, chef co–owner Vincenzo Aiossa is obsessed with the South American kitchen, the whopping big portions of perfectly aged beef without a drip of blood in their holding trays, there are Italian traces throughout his cooking that blessedly start with the bread. A rich dense low yeast, slow proved ciabatta that is crusty and soft–centered. The boss has eaten a couple of great big thick slices and looking greedily at scoffing more. They do charge, but $5 for half a loaf of really good bread in a restaurant that is not at all expensive is quite a bargain.
To say that the portion sizes at Sosta are excessive is telling the truth and if you are from the Eastern States be warned tapas at Sosta are not a couple of mouthfuls but more the size of a generous entrée. The boss and I like letting the restaurant take control, it throws all responsibility back on the establishment, so with the guidance of co–owner Phillip Tropeano we agree to four dishes from their tapas, their smallest steak Bife de Lomo, tender fillet steak marinated and charcoal grilled – 350g and potatoes. From the tapas Calamares Fritos $15.90 (because deep–frying is a test) and Chorizo Riojana spicy sausage with onion, sultanas, coriander and sweet sherry $15.90. To that is added Empanadas, fried pastries filled with veal mince, egg green olives, spices and served with spicy salsa $15.90 and Albondigas spicy pork meatballs served in a cinnamon, sherry and chilli sauce $15.90. No expectations but rather lulled by the street aromas we were hopeful. A massive plate arrives and looks just stunning. The squid is piled high, it is fresh and crispy with a light coating that does not disguise the sweet taste of the squid. The sausage, made to the chef’s recipe by their butcher, with whom they have a very close relationship, is succulent and moist and the onion and sultana rich gravy has a perfectly balanced finale finished with a little vinegar. The empanadas are crisp and the pastry, as it should be, crumbly and they are stuffed with a spicy minced meat filling that has a mild curry flavour. They are also very good as are the meatballs. Cabbage salad is a favourite and rarely found on restaurant menus so its appearance as a side was further evidence of putting the love in. By the time the steak arrived we were feeling challenged but, the steak’s crispy smoky crust was delicious and the accompanying vegetable, basically sautéed carrot, onion and potato with a smattering of zucchini was sweet and fresh and delicious.
Dessert? Forget it! In summary Sosta stacked up better than just about anywhere we have been recently in Adelaide. Sosta is also further proof that owner run restaurants have an edge that manager run restaurants rarely achieve. Silly stuff, like perfectly laid tables, immaculate glassware and every table cloth meticulously square to the ground and that’s just the start before you get to the food and wine. Sosta is a steak house of the very best kind.
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WINE is serious business at Sosta and their medium sized wine list is a brilliant example of just how a good list is written. It is clear from a glance that Phillip Tropeano has more than a passing interest in wine and he has managed to write a list with excellent balance, plenty of diversity and interest with less well known wines and a generous proportion of old world and South American wines. An astounding 41 wines by the glass the most expensive is the 07 Domaine Bouchard ’La Vignee’ at $13 a glass and $59 a bottle and to show the diversity the 07 Jed Malbec from Mendoza in Argentina $10 a glass and $39 a bottle, a wine interestingly enough made by Australian winemakers in Argentina. We chose a glass of the 08 tar & Roses Pinot Grigio from Heathcote Victoria $8 and 09 Pipers Brook Pinot Gris both terrific examples of Australia terroir.
There are plenty of interesting wines around the $40 mark and serious seduction between the $45 to $60 mark. Even the 05 Domaine Bouchard Beaune du Chateaux Premier Cru was just $110. There is little comparison to be found in price structure between restaurant price and chain store wine shops a factor that is becoming increasingly difficult for restaurants who are generally paying more for the items than these discount stores are selling them for. Customers find these comparisons extremely annoying because it can make the wines appear to be marked up by as much as 300%. A wise restaurateur will be looking widely for small boutique companies, or companies who have wines specifically for the restaurant trade. The fact that frequently these chain liquor stores can sell for less than the restaurant buys does not register with customers and after all why should it? Phillip Tropeano’s list is an indication of the time and effort that he has put into sourcing interesting quality wines at good prices, refreshing when on many lists it has become difficult to find a good bottle under $50 and glasses of wine hovering between $15 and $18. It is impossible to maintain 41 wines by the glass with out a proper bottle storage system, which is a serious financial commitment to ensure the customer who enjoys trying new wines that they will be served in good condition.
CHEF — Vincenzo Aiossa
RESTAURANT MANAGER and SOMMELIER — Phillip Tropeano
OWNERS — Vincenzo Aiossa and Phillip Tropeano
