Osteria Mozza
I was really looking forward to going to Osteria Mozza since Mario Batali’s Lupa in New York City is one of my favorite restaurants. From the reviews that I read, I had very high expectations of Osteria Mozza. After the dinner I realized that the Nancy Silverton dishes, especially those at the Mozzarella Bar, were the standouts. Batali’s dishes have not yet translated to the wonderful dishes that I know them to be. If you haven’t had Batali’s cooking before, you would probably find his dishes to be quite good by LA standards.
Our “amuse bouche” – a mozzarella involtini stuffed with fresh basil, roasted tomato, and olives. This was really good and would have tasted even better with the wine that I had ordered that arrived to the table extremely late.
Since it was still officially Summer, I ordered a Bastianich Rosato. It suited my appetizers well.
My grilled octopus salad:
This was really fantastic, though the octopus could have been slightly fresher. The salad was composed of braised leeks, fresh chives, boiled potato, and the octopus tossed with a vinaigrette. The vinegar was way too strong but somehow worked with the blandness of the octopus. I took most of this home and ate it the next day for lunch and it was just extraordinarily delicious. The vinegar dissipated somewhat and the flavors just really came together.
My Bufala Mozzarella with multi dippies:
This was just fabulous! I loved the mozzarella wit the assertive flavors of most of the dips. I thought that the romanesco worked the best as it was made with a nice smokey pimenton that complemented the mozzarella well. I also liked the caper berry relish (which I put on my cold steak sandwich the next day – delicious). I had a problem with the tapenade though: it had too much lemon essence in it plus a touch of what I think was lavender. That might go well on crostini but it was quite awful with mozzarella.
Bonus Pic! Burrata with Bacon and Sauteed Escarole:
My Bavette Cacio e Pepe:
This was good but was missing most of the unctuousness that you would find at Lupa (also, the cheese was melted through instead of being in soft, small crumbles). Despite this, I thought that this dish was executed well due to the perfect balance of the cheese and the pepper, and for the fact that the Bavette was perfectly cooked.
The Beef Brasato with Polenta:
My great-grandmother used to season her meatballs with some chopped celery leaves so I was excited to see them as a garnish on this dish. But unlike my great-grandmother, who used the leaves sparingly, Osteria Mozza put a big handful on a dish, and the leaves were so aggressive that it dominated it as opposed to augmenting it.
Most Foodie Chicks preferred Pizzeria Mozza to the Osteria. I have to agree but I will definitely come back and sit at the Mozzeralla Bar.
Our “amuse bouche” – a mozzarella involtini stuffed with fresh basil, roasted tomato, and olives. This was really good and would have tasted even better with the wine that I had ordered that arrived to the table extremely late.
Since it was still officially Summer, I ordered a Bastianich Rosato. It suited my appetizers well.
My grilled octopus salad:
This was really fantastic, though the octopus could have been slightly fresher. The salad was composed of braised leeks, fresh chives, boiled potato, and the octopus tossed with a vinaigrette. The vinegar was way too strong but somehow worked with the blandness of the octopus. I took most of this home and ate it the next day for lunch and it was just extraordinarily delicious. The vinegar dissipated somewhat and the flavors just really came together.
My Bufala Mozzarella with multi dippies:
This was just fabulous! I loved the mozzarella wit the assertive flavors of most of the dips. I thought that the romanesco worked the best as it was made with a nice smokey pimenton that complemented the mozzarella well. I also liked the caper berry relish (which I put on my cold steak sandwich the next day – delicious). I had a problem with the tapenade though: it had too much lemon essence in it plus a touch of what I think was lavender. That might go well on crostini but it was quite awful with mozzarella.
Bonus Pic! Burrata with Bacon and Sauteed Escarole:
My Bavette Cacio e Pepe:
This was good but was missing most of the unctuousness that you would find at Lupa (also, the cheese was melted through instead of being in soft, small crumbles). Despite this, I thought that this dish was executed well due to the perfect balance of the cheese and the pepper, and for the fact that the Bavette was perfectly cooked.
The Beef Brasato with Polenta:
My great-grandmother used to season her meatballs with some chopped celery leaves so I was excited to see them as a garnish on this dish. But unlike my great-grandmother, who used the leaves sparingly, Osteria Mozza put a big handful on a dish, and the leaves were so aggressive that it dominated it as opposed to augmenting it.
Most Foodie Chicks preferred Pizzeria Mozza to the Osteria. I have to agree but I will definitely come back and sit at the Mozzeralla Bar.
Osteria Mozza
6602 Melrose Avenue
Los Angeles, CA 90038
Labels: Bastianich Wines, Bavette Cacio e Pepe, Mario Batali, Mozza, Osteria Mozza, Pizzeria Mozza
posted by Bon Vivant at 5:36 PM
5 Comments:
SO JEALOUS
That looks delightful. I want!!!
10:39 PM
how long of a wait re: reservations? i'm so jealous and hungry :-)
12:24 PM
Hey, Lucy: rezzies are made a month in advance but I recommend eating at the Mozzarella Bar since the food is better and it's walk in only.
5:33 PM
Burrata! I just learned about this stuff a couple of months ago, on Lidia's TV show. Not too long afterward, Murray's Cheese in NY started carrying it. I like to eat it with garlicky sauteed radicchio with a splash of balsamic vinegar.
12:33 PM
Hi, Sarah. I'm surprised that burrata hit Los Angeles before NYC! Usually it's the other way around. A burrata maker from Italy settled somewhere in Riverside Co. and the rest is history.
5:32 PM
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