Pizzeria Mozza: Los Angeles, CA
After an easy two hour drive from Santa Barbara that took us through Malibu and other coastal areas, we finally made it to Los Angeles. We had been warned that driving in the city is difficult but I actually found my Northern Virginia training served me well so we felt relatively comfortable as we made our way to the AirBnB. Along the way, we stopped to check out Pizzeria Mozza, a restaurant we'd heard about months before and had seriously high hopes for.
We'd first seen Pizzeria Mozza and it's sister restaurant Osteria Mozza on an episode of Chef's Table featuring Nancy Silverton. Her episode was focused on her quest to create delicious European style bread in the United States. Of course, delicious pizza crusts are a natural progression once you have delicious bread! So, since pizza is one of Matt's favorite foods, we knew we had to give it a try...
I'm always a little wary of places I've seen on television or social media because you can never be sure about the different biases that may be in play - such as subtle paid reviews, etc. However, I'm relieved to say that Pizzeria Mozza definitely lived up to the hype. It was smaller than I'd expected and was still pretty busy when we arrived. However, they were able to squeeze us in at a table by the open kitchen which was perfect since it proved to be a useful vantage point for people watching.
We started with "Nancy's Chopped Salad" - a delicious mix of salami, cheese, tomatoes and lettuce. I'm sure there were more ingredients that I've missed out since it was such a delicious mix!
It had a nice vinaigrette dressing that didn't overshadow the individual elements too. This was the perfect mix of decadent ingredients (salami, cheese) with enough veggies to still let us feel at least a little healthy...
Next up were the stars of the show: the pizzas. Matt went for the option with meatballs, mozzarella di bufala, tomato, chili flakes and fresh oregano. The crust was really a standout, which wasn't surprising given Nancy's background. However the meatballs were also delicious and the whole pizza had a really nice balance to it.
For my pizza, I went with the fungi misti, fontina, teleggio and thyme option. I love mushrooms on pizza so they hand me at fungi. There was also a hint of lemon in the mushrooms that brought out a nice flavor and paired well with the cheeses. Again, the crust was perfect of course. Ultimately we ended up taking some of my pizza home with us and it was just as delicious hours later.
If you're in Los Angeles, I'm going to join the choir of locals and insist that you make a stop at Pizzeria Mozza. It's hardly original to say this but it was one of the best pizzas I've ever had. Even Matt was impressed and he is a notorious pizza critic!
Details:
Address: 641 N. Highland Drive, Los Angeles, CA 90036
Hours: 12pm to 12am every day
Website: www.pizzeriamozza.com
