Mozza My Heart

I realize just about every food blogger and his/her mother has written about Mozza, so I will try to keep my review short and sweet. In a nutshell, I now know what all the hype is about, and why, at noon on a Monday, there was a line of hungry people waiting for the restaurant to open.

Thoughtful yet rustic appetizers like the chicken liver crostini (above) and the Mozza caprese (burrata with roasted tomatoes and basil olive oil - below) are exactly the kind of dishes I crave when at an Italian eatery. It's basic food made with the freshest ingredients, and there's no fuss with presentation or garnishes or froufrou plates. By the way, the caprese picture was taken after we'd eaten most of it; I kept forgetting to take photos before diving into the food, if that's any indication of how good it was!

We also ordered the Prosciutto di Parma, which was light and started with a mild sweetness before finishing with a salty bite. My boss thought it wasn't salty enough, but I liked it just fine. It was great on its own, or wrapped around the long breadsticks that Mozza provides on every table.

My coworker Joey's favorite appetizer was the cauliflower gratinate. This is like taking a plain ol' cauliflower, dressing it up in a silky robe of cream and adorning it with caramelized bits of goodness. Who knew cauliflower could be so decadent?

Of course Mozza is known for their pizzas, so we did our duty (it was so difficult!) and ordered one each. My boss got the Coach farm goat cheese, leeks, scallions & bacon pizza, which was the group favorite. The leeks work like cheese on the pizza crust; light, soft and full of flavor; and the dabs of fresh goat cheese offset the salty bacon ever so perfectly. It's pretty much everything I've been looking for in a pizza, and now I've finally found it. To quote a Kenny Loggins song, "When true love appears, everything you think you know is wrong." Kenny, you speak the truth, brother.

I stuck with the old standard, the Margherita with mozzarella, tomato & basil. It was very good, with tangy, fresh tomato sauce and a super crispy crust, but I would have liked a tad bit more cheese on it. I didn't mind that some of the crust was quite dark, because it didn't affect the flavor at all and I expect a few black blisters on a pizza made in a 700 degree oven.

Joey chose the fennel sausage, panna & red onion pizza, which he liked. His only complaint was too much fennel in the sausage. Both the boss and I liked his pizza quite a bit, but we all agreed that the goat cheese/leek/bacon was the favorite.

On to dessert. Yes, I know what you're thinking: How could you possibly have room for dessert at this point? It's Mozza, and I cannot leave without trying the butterscotch pudding. It was everything I've ever wanted and more, and that is not an exaggeration. The pudding was incredibly rich, but not too sweet, and the added sea salt just made the dessert. The best dessert I've ever had was a pine nut tart with buttermilk gelato, and that was at Babbo in NYC. I can honestly say that this dessert is now tied with that for my all-time favorite dessert at a restaurant.

We also ordered the strawberry gelato pie, which was good though not great. It is what it is; strawberry gelato in a cookie crust. We also got baked cherries with vanilla ice cream, which had great flavor but poor execution. The cherries came with stems on and seeds in, which is odd considering they were hot. Who wants to pick pits out of hot cherries?

Overall, however, the Mozza experience lived up to all of my expectations. And, for full disclosure, I should note that I do know the executive chef, Matt Molina, and am also acquainted with Mozza's general manager, David Rosoff. That said, I am a true foodie and would never be swayed to write a good review on a restaurant that I didn't think was worthy.

Mozza is undeniably fantastic.

San Francisco: Nigella Style

My dearest friends Stacy (above) and Cat (below) toast to a lovely evening at TWO!

A night of pure, lusty food was had at TWO, a relatively new SOMA restaurant. You've already gotten a preview of the bone marrow from this restaurant, which was so delightful it required its very own posting.

My lovely friends Cat (book publishing editor) and Stacy (web channels manager) met me for an evening of total debauchery (food-wise), and I think we can all agree that it was absolutely worth every calorie and fat gram. I'll save the long descriptions for your imagination and leave you with an array of photos plus comments on the food from Nigella Lawson:

"TWO's 'bread basket' consists of warm, luscious, buttery chive biscuits and deliciously hot and naughty cayenne crisps. One might feel utterly sinful devouring these little devilish morsels of pastry but, quite frankly, I can give myself pleasure without feeling guilty, no?"

"This is an example of taking something very simple and turning it into a brilliant work of food art. Shaved asparagus, lemon zest and a sprinkle of nuts serve as a cozy bed for a delicious, fried hunk of sheep's milk cheese. The texture is slightly springy and chewy but in the most appealing way; I quite like to tear into this dish late at night wearing only a pair of my best stilettos and a cashmere scarf. I beg to ask, 'What more do you need?'"

"Some people are frightened by the thought of eating pigeons, but I can honestly say I don't discriminate when it comes to matters of the flesh. Any flesh will do, so long as its plump and exquisitely juicy. This ravioli filled with squab is perfection in my book; each is like a little treasure, wrapped in a golden moist skin and bursting with mounds of scrumptious meat...each bite bursting with savory liquid. It's quite gratifying to eat, really." [*winks*]

"Now I'm not a fan of fussy pizza as pizza is meant to be a delicious, higgledy-piggledy mess of the right flavors. But I'd be lying if I didn't admit that we tore into this duck confit and caramelized onion pizza with reckless abandon. The oily, silky duck flesh and the aromatic, sweet onions - the combination was utterly pleasurable to the palate. The best way to eat something this luxurious is to toss your hair to the side, throw down your fork and grab a slice with your bare hands and get down to it. Forget the napkins and use your tongue to simply lick any excess duck fat that may remain on your lips - we wouldn't want to waste now, would we?"

"I'm not a skinny woman and I shall never be, and my love of chocolate far outweighs any desire to fit into a sample-size piece of clothing. So for our last course we ordered the bittersweet chocolate fondue with graham crackers, biscotti and candied fruit. There's something about dipping a strawberry in rich, bittersweet chocolate and watching the shiny, dark liquid drip off the tip of the voluptuous red flesh that is fully mesmerizing. This fondue provides pleasure to literally all of one's senses, so that makes it the perfect dessert in my book."

-Nigella Lawson*

*Not really Nigella Lawson, but because the food at TWO was so decadent, I thought it fitting that I get into the spirit of the world's most lusty chef to describe our experience eating there. Needless to say, I am a fan of hers and this is not meant as a slag.

Casa Bianca Pizza Pie

Pizza divides people. Everyone has their favorite place, and everybody claims to know the "best" pizza and where it comes from. But pizza can be so many things to so many people; you have to start with the type/style of pizza you prefer before you can even touch on who has the best in town. There's Chicago style pizza, there's thin crust, thick crust, upside down in a bowl pizza (as I witnessed on the Food Network last week). Then there's the toppings...some claim there's nothing more pure than the original pizza Margherita. Others say it's sausage. More say it's gotta be pepperoni or you might as well just have a sandwich. See how complicated this can get?

On Chowhound, there are very differing and passionate views about an LA city favorite, Casa Bianca Pizza Pie. People either love it ("thin crust is awesome!," "the eggplant is the best I've ever had!", "it's worth the wait!") or hate it ("greasy crust!", "canned mushrooms!", "the wait is torturously long!").

Well, I happen to love Casa Bianca, and was very proud and pleased to take my parents there for the first time the other night. We did have to wait an hour, but we killed time by walking down to the Colorado Wine Company and each had a glass of fabulous red (Boudreaux for my dad, zin for my mom, and a cab sav for me). We sat on some wine boxes which the manager kindly covered with cushions (the stools at the wine bar were all taken), and had a very nice, pre-dinner drink before we headed up the street to Casa.

Our wine box coffee table

We brought our own bottle of zin (corkage is only $2.50), and ordered two medium pizzas: one with eggplant, sausage, onion and easy cheese; the other with jalapenos, green peppers, tomatoes and onions.

The pizzas didn't disappoint. The crust was thin and crispy, all the way through. The eggplant, deep fried and full of flavor, was great company to the sausage and onions. And the easy-on-the-cheese was the way to go because of the heavier toppings.

Sausage and onions and eggplant, oh my!

The vegetarian pizza was very good as well. The fresh veggies balanced out the flavor of the salty cheese. And even though we got regular cheese on this one, it wasn't gloppy or overdone in the least.

Vegetarian with lots of jalapenos

I like Casa Bianca pies because they don't overdo the crust, cheese or toppings, and there's very little grease on the pizzas. The service was quick and friendly, even though it was absolutely packed (with 2+ hours worth of folks waiting outside), and the atmosphere is simple and focused on the food, not frills. I don't think it's authentically New York style (they don't claim to be) or that they're trying to be anything else or beat anyone else at the pizza game. Quite simply, they make a great pizza and, with the Colorado Wine Company and the Chalet close by, you can put your name in, go grab a drink, then come back just in time to be seated. So the wait factor is easily dealt with. Not a bad way to spend an evening, no?