Mozza

The first appetizer to arrive: the bacala crostini. It was creamy and yummy, and not salty at all. The drizzle of fruity olive oil and the black olives were the perfect garnish.

And to drink with it a carafina of Rosato produced by Joe Bastianich's vineyard in Friuli:

I have to admit, I was all prepared to hate Mozza on my first outing there. Mumsy had already been a few weeks ago and she brought home some leftovers that were absolutely dreadful! "Nancy's" Chopped Salad had a virus killing amount of vinegar on it (plus it tasted like something that one would get at a big corporate chain) and the special sausage had a casing the texture of parchment paper plus the sausage meat tasted mealy. Mumsy said that the pizza was excellent but she ate it all before I could try it.

So I met a dozen women there this last Sunday for My Doppelganger's surprise bday party. Boy, was she surprised. And so was I by how damn good the food was!

One of my favorite things to eat is arancine. These arancine were smaller and more like suppli al telefono (so called because when you pull them apart the melted cheese looks like telephone wires):

Ooh, watch the bubbling roasted olives fresh out of the oven:

These smelled divine! However, there was too much rosemary in the dish and I thought that Lucques olives were too firm - I would have preferred a softer olive. But the garlic in the dish was fabulous and the oil/herb mixture made a great dunk for our leftover pizza crusts.

A must to order at Mozza, the chicken liver crostini with guanciale. The flavor combinations were great as were the contrasting textures of the smooth liver and the crispy guanciale:

Below, the squash blossom, burrata, and tomato pizza. This was good, but the burrata cheese was way too cold and clashed with the hot pizza crust. It would have been a lot better if the cheese were slightly warmer - it would have been a nicer contrast with the crust.

See the different pizzas that we ordered:

The special "pizzetta" in the second video had mascarpone, peas, ramps, and pancetta on it. I figured out right after I filmed the pizzetta that the weird flavor was anise seed. That pizza did not need that much anise seed, if any.

Here was the special on Sunday, the lasagne al forno:

I loved this but most people in our party did not because the dish did not conform to what they know as lasagne, i.e., it wasn't the Italian American lasagne, or what passes for Italian American lasagne in this City. This was perfect to me: the noodles were like silk hankerchiefs, a wonderful bolognese, and a creamy balsamella (bechamel); just a simple minimalist Italian dish.

The best dessert ever:

I don't mention it on the video, because I hadn't tried one, but the little cookies served on the side were absolutely incredible, nearly as good as the butterscotch budino. They were like a shortbread but I think that the fat was olive oil instead of butter and they had some carmelized pine nuts and fresh rosemary sprigs on top. Divoon!

I have to admit that Mario Batali's Lupa is one of my all time favorite restaurants, and while Mozza is not as good as Lupa, it's still an excellent restaurant.

Mozza

641 N. Highland Avenue

Los Angeles, CA 90036

www.mozza-la.com

Osteria La Buca

What an true Italian dinner is all about: good food, good company, and good times. Good times. Here is our table at the very popular and crowded Osteria La Buca on Melrose and Wilton. You can see Mr. Taste of Thai's arms in the background - his arms always get into the photos. On this night my genetics took over and I had an antipasto, a primi, a secondi, and dessert.

Situated in a tiny store front a few blocks from Paramount Studios, Osteria La Buca has been a hit since it first opened. They only have a handful of tables in the place, and about two years ago, or so it seems, they started an expansion into the place next door. From my viewpoint when I drive by, it looks as though they haven't made much progress. But I don't mind; I really like the intimate feel of the place and am afraid that it will lose a lot of it's charm when it becomes a normal sized restaurant (I used to work at Authentic Cafe when it was just the counter and those seven small tables right next to the kitchen, and I have to say the dynamics of the place changed for the worse when it expanded.)

Below, my antipasto with the highly coveted burratta cheese, prosciutto, salami, and arugula. The mellowness of the burratta works so well with the saltiness of the cured meats and the spiciness of the arugula.

My next course was tagliatelle with bolognese sauce. Sorry, mama (she was cooking that night) the sauce was good but not as good as my bolognese (although the texture of the homemade pasta was superb.)

My main course was the steak with gorgonzola sauce served over more arugula. Another triumpant flavor combination. Steak and blue veined cheeses go so well together as does the arugula with both of those items. How could this dish not be a success?

My dessert, a pear custard tart. The pears had been previously poached in a Barbaresco.

They just loved us there so mama came out of the kitchen, they pulled out the limoncello, we toasted to everyone's good health, and then they gave us a couple of more desserts on the house: tiramisu and a coffee panna cotta.

I have to say that this place has the yummiest looking pizza but I've never tried it. On my next outing there I will order it and report back to you.

Osteria La Buca

5210 1/2 Melrose Avenue

Hollywood, CA 90038

www.osterialabuca.com