Osteria Mozza: Winning Dishes

Last week I found myself at Osteria Mozza for a friend's birthday dinner.  It had been a while since I had been to the Osteria, as I tend to go to the more casual pizzeria more often.  The table ordered a number of dishes but I will focus on the two I enjoyed the most.

First was the beautiful dish of mozzarella with tomatoes and toast.  The mozzarella was of top quality and had an unctuous texture and mouthfeel, both silky and creamy.  The cherry tomatoes tasted fresh and were juicy and the whole dish let the quality of the ingredients shine through without any unnecessary adornment.

The other standout dish was the Grilled Beef Tagliata rucola & Parmigiano with aceto balsamico.  This came from the Secondi section of the menu and was priced at $29.  The steak was sliced in the kitchen and was cooked a perfect medium rare, as asked for.  The dish was also simple with balsamic vinegar on it and a salad of arugula with thin slices of aged Parmesan.  The saltiness of the Parmesan cheese was a great complement to the sliced beef.  This dish was a real crowd pleaser.

We wouldn't have ordered this dish, except our first choice of the Grilled Leg of Lamb was unavailable, and it worked out.  Mozza seemed to be out of several dishes the night we dined, which can be frustrating as a diner as we weren't told of what they were out of until we tried to order them.  Memo to restaurants: don't hope that your customers won't order the dishes you are out of, so that you won't have to disclose their unavailability.  Tell them upfront so that nobody gets excited about an option they can't really have.  Readers: if you have your heart set on something on the menu, perhaps call Mozza in advance to ask them to save you a portion, to avoid possible disappointment.

Note that Nancy Silverton was there even on a Sunday evening, working at the Mozzarella Bar.  She mentioned she is typically there 4-5 nights a week.

Osteria Mozza: 641 N. Highland, Los Angeles. (323) 297-0100.  Website: www.mozza-la.com

Taste of the Nation 2010 Recap

Last Sunday over 1,500 food fans, chefs and vintners got together to raise money for Share Our Strength, an organization dedicated to fighting childhood hunger in America, at the annual Taste of the Nation event in Culver City.

Over 40 local restaurants participated by providing sample size portions of their food. Attendees could try as many of the foods as they wanted, and fortunately the lines were manageable for almost all vendors, with the exception of the Gelato Bar, whose icy offerings were much in demand on a hot day.

Chef Michael Voltaggio of The Dining Room at the Langham in Pasadena did a cooking demonstration on the main stage and also got inked a new tattoo in honor of the charity event.

Mozza, Bottega Louie, Patina, Bar 210, Hatfields, The Bazaar, Sprinkles, and Loteria Grill were just some of the restaurants represented.

My favorite tastes of the day included the short ribs with potato puree from Hatfield's, the hamachi from Patina, the torchon of foie gras and the salad of heirloom tomato, watermelon and feta, both from Bottega Louie. Both of the Bottega Louie offerings were excellent and the watermelon and tomato salad was perfect and refreshing on warm summer day. I can't wait to get to the restaurant to try the full menu.

The FIG station was serving hot dogs, in order to promote their newly launched FIG Hot Dog Cart, which is available poolside at the Fairmont Hotel on weekends. It seemed silly to offer a full sized hot dog (they were quite large) at an event at which people were grazing from dozens of booths. I was also disappointed when after it turned out that both toppings on offer included pork (which I don't eat), they weren't willing to let me try one without the toppings (which I could see them adding literally in front of me.) "We are pork friendly," the smug member of the kitchen staff said. His attitude made me question whether I should bother returning back to FIG again.

Below are selected photos from the event:

Executive Chef Tony Esnault & Pastry Chef Waylynn Lucas of Patina.

Marcel Vigneron of Bar 210 with his pomegranate spheres.

Karen Hatfield of Hatfield's plating.

Sam Marvin of Bottega Louie.

The wonderful torchon of foie gras with apple gastrique and marcona almond brittle from Bottega Louie.

The albacore sashimi with onion sauce in a cocktail glass from K-Zo.

The delicious vanilla panna cotta from Mozza.