I don't know how the heck I got from Pico and La Cienega all the way to Western without seeing Highland! Well, I blame bad eyesight and loud music; but I think it just doesn't connect or I'm just crazy. Either way, it made me a wee bit late for my dinner. Luckily, I didn't have to struggle much with parking, though, I did worry a bit. I parked right out in front of the restaurant like a rock star (loading only zone). hehe...I was just lucky.
The building is marked, but I wasn't super sure which door was for the pizzeria and which was for the osteria, so I asked and was kindly directed. I rushed through the door (since I was late) and luckily, remembered my manners and said hello to the hosts at the host stand who greeted me in a friendly fashion as I stated that I was meeting a friend who was already seated at the bar. I made my way over and apologized for being late. My first instinct was to grab the bottle of water that was in front of me and pour some in my glass for a drink when out of nowhere comes this arm the does it for me. Amazing. Now that's good service.
The restaurant was packed for a slow night. I guess everyone thought the same thing as me, "oh, it's Monday, it'll be slow". And it was slow...for them. The atmosphere at Pizzeria Mozza is warm and friendly, like a neighborhood restaurant around the corner. Not snobbishly fancy. Lights hanging from the high ceilings and dim sconces along the wall light the dark reddish walls that promote our appetites. I'm sitting front and center at the bar so that I can watch the pizzas being made. The guys on the line don't miss a beat...especially that Chef Joseph.
Chef Joseph Tagorda
This is how they do it...
Ready for the oven
Adding the final touches
In front of me sits a glass of prosecco wine. MMM...I love it! Compliments to the chef already! haha. First dish up is an appetizer. Goat cheese, battered and fried sitting in a pool of lentils and bits of meat. (This is just my guess.) Topped with yummy arugula. For those not really into goat cheese (I am not a fan AT ALL of goat cheese), I tried a little and ended up finishing my half of the dish (and we're talking about two people who really have a disdain for goat cheese) and so did my friend. The portion of cheese seemed large, but was so light, it didn't mask any of the flavors of the lentil or arugula. Sorry, there's no picture...that just means it was so good I forgot to take a picture and just went for it.
Next up were mussels. Mussels al forno (baked in the freakin' hot oven) with salsa Calabrese. I'm ashamed to say that I didn't try these because I have a fear of soft and squishy sea stuff. There are times when I will just go for it, but today wasn't that day. My friend said they were good though.
Bruschetta, pronounced brush-ketta. Normally you have tomato, but at Mozza, it's butternut squash! Delicious sautéed bitter greens that tasted like caramelized onion confit covered in a butternut squash puree topped with applewood smoked bacon. Delicioso! I feel like making this into a breakfast item, 'cept with a waffle! hehe.
And then there were two...
Squash blossoms. If you like crunchy fried things, add this to your favorites list. Filled with a ricotta filling and lightly battered and fried. If you're not familiar with squash blossoms, they are the flowers taken from summer squash:
And for the main event:
The meatlover's pizza. No, this isn't Dominos, but it was referred to as that as its nickname I suppose. Bacon, salami, fennel sausage, guanciale, tomato and mozzarella. The pizza was about 9" or so, just enough to share or eat on your own. In our case, share, since we'd already had so many appetizers. The crust was super thin without it becoming soggy from the sauce. Perfecto.
We also had individual sized pizzas; one with a sheep's cheese, Cacio di Roma, stinging nettles, and Salumi salami. Now, let's get back to these nettles. I was eating the pizza and suddenly, I thought of Chinese medicine. I couldn't tell if it was from the taste or the aroma, but now I know it was from the aroma. Stinging nettles are a plant that (for visual thought's sake) whose leaves kind of remind me of parsley but have little hairs (that inject histamines) to protect itself from humans or other animals. It has a long history of being used for medicinal purposes such as this Chinese balm called Mopiko, which we used to use on our mosquito bites when visiting the Philippines. All o' dis from the smell of my pizza. By the way, the nettles were fried, so no tongues were numbed while eating. Interesting.
Pizza Bianca. Mozzarella, fontina, sottocenere, and scattered pieces of fried sage. Very good, but I still have to stick to the meaty one as my favorite. I am biased though, only because I enjoy red sauced food items better and I like meat vs. much else.
At this point, we were stuffed--but there was still enough room for some gelato! And by some, I mean three small scoops. Lovely scoops of Gianduja (hazelnut), vanilla and mint chip (I know, boring). For my friend, pistachio (highly recommended), coconut, and espresso. Next time, I say get the gianduja (I just like saying gianduyah...don'tcha?), pistachio, and espresso, unless they have something different next time. All of this was topped off with a pretty waffle tuile, which I used as a scoop for my gelato. I imagined I was sitting on the Spanish steps in Rome, eating gelato out of a waffle cone. Not really, but maybe they'd like me to.
Lastly (and this time I mean it), we had a meyer lemon tart with fresh blueberries, with a side of cream and sprinkled with candied lemon zest. Creamy and delicious. The shortbread crust was light, moist and perfectly baked!
What a lovely meal. I'd like to say that I was so full I passed out from food coma, but the sugar from the dessert helped me stay awake to write all of this. yay!
Here's the menu for your next visit. http://www.mozza-la.com/pizzeria/menu.cfm#69
Pizzeria Mozza
614 N. Highland Avenue
Los Angeles
(323) 297-0100 for reservations
Valet Parking about $10 or if you're lucky and it's after 6pm, you can park in the yellow loading zone right in front of the restauant (*at your own risk of course*) ;0)