italian

Pizzeria Mozza – Burrata So Fine, Sausage So Nice

by Franklin on May 1, 2013

I remember whan I was a kid, pizza was my favorite food. When I spoke of pizza as a kid, I meant the every day Dominoes delivery kind of pizza — the kind that my childhood idol, Michaelangelo from TMNT liked. As an adult now, my pizza pallate has evolved into something more. Before, the crust was just an obstacle for the good stuff, also known as the meat and cheese. Now, the crust is most important component for a good pizza. At Pizzeria Mozza, you can have your adult pizza. The crust is uber thin, and the toppings are of the highest quality. Masterfully baked in their woodfire oven, their pizzas are some of the most coveted in Los Angeles.

Pizzeria Mozza is a power house. Not only do you have Nancy Silverton, the bread baking extrodinaire who founded La Brea Bakery, you have Mario Batali in the mix. With the help of restauranteur and tv personality Joe Bastianich, Pizzeria Mozza was bound to thrive. Gourmet pizza nowadays is easier to find in Los Angeles — they are everywhere! Pizzeria Mozza is special and is one of the few who started the gourmet pizza trend in Los Angeles. Backed by the Mario Batali and Nancy Silverton also doesn’t hurt either. Do to it’s popularity, reservations are a must. Luckily, there were a couple of seats available at the bar. I was ready to have my pizza!

Instead of traditional bread, they served grissinis. The crunchy bread sticks in the form of long pencils were a nice light snack before dinner. Having not much flavor and a lot of crunch, it was still fun to munch on these bread sticks.

One of Pizzeria Mozza’s most famous and most expensive pizzas is the squash blossoms pizza. Though I would rarely shell out 20 bucks for a pizza, I had to see for myself what all the fuss was about. At first bite, the mixture of the tomato and burrata was pristine. The tomoato flavor was subtle and the burrata had a gentle milky flavor. Delicate in texture, the burrata was silky smooth. Married with the flavors of the squash blossom, everything came together nicely. Texurally, the dough was perfectly chewy and airy on the inside and crisp on the outside. The squash blossoms roasted in the oven made it light and crisp. This brought out the flavors quite nicely. For a meatless pizza pie, it was pretty dang good.

For my meat fix, I ordered the fennel sausage pizza. Topped with house-made sausage, the subtly sweet yet savory sausage was the star. Pops of fennel really brought out the flavors nicely. The herbiness of the red onions and scallions balanced out the fatty sausage nicely. I don’t quite know if this was better of the two pizzas. The sausage on this was perfect, almost life changing, but the squash blossom pizza as a whole was better. Get both!

To end things, I ordered their butterscotch budino. A play between a sweet and decadent budino and savory rosemary pine nut cookies was teasing the senses. The caramel and butterscotch was quite sweet, but the help of Maldon sea salt helped intensify the taste. The cookies alone were a bit bland and not sweet. The elements of the rosemary in the pine nut cookie and the budino was a match so complex and delicate. This was a beautiful dessert.

Everyone knows that Pizzeria Mozza is the LA standard when it comes to artisinal pizzas. The service is near perfect and the pizzas are exceptional. You have Nancy Silverton for the crust, and Mario Batali, true Italian at heart. With these two, a perfect pizza is bound to be born. The restaurant is casual and well-appointed. Though I only had the pizza there, I’m sure the other items are just as good. As a child, pizza was my favorite food. Now as an adult, Pizzeria Mozza made pizza one of my favorite foods again.

Pizzeria Mozza on Urbanspoon

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C & O Cucina – Carbo-Load at the Beach

by Franklin on April 14, 2013

Is it just me or is Italian food the ultimate comfort food? You got carbs galore from pasta and pizza dough, and with melted cheese or sauce on top of all that, it’s the ultimate “good feeling” food. Though this will mean more time at the gym, sometimes pasta and bread is all a guy needs. C & O Cucina knows this and their restaurant in Venice / Marina Del Rey is as popular as ever. Always a wait, though not as much as C & O Ttrattoria, it is well worth it. This is an Italian food standard for anyone in the area.

As you already know, the garlic knots are sometimes the main attraction here. This time around, they weren’t as soft and luscious as I remembered. I know. What the heck are you talking about? It was a bit too crunchy on the outside and not as chewy on the inside. The strong herb mixture flavor was nice and was still a great start for our meal.

I tried the pappardelle with wild mushroom and chicken apple sausage. The wide noodle was cooked perfectly and made for perfect bites. With porcini, portobello and champignon mushrooms, the mushroom trio was the best part of this dish. To top it all off, the shallots in white wine tomato cream sauce gave this pasta dish its richness. The creamy mushroom sauce with pasta was classic comfort food. Topped with a showering of cheese made this unforgettable.

My lasagna bolognese was a treat as well. The best part was the rich meat sauce. There was a lot of large pieces of meat that was refreshing. It wasn’t left to a puree of meat and sauce. Coupled with perfectly al dente pasta, it was a perfect lasagna. I rarely order lasagna at restaurants, because they all taste the same to me. And really though, if its made right, they all do. Sometimes comfort food requires a plate of hot lasagna. Where are all my Garfield fans at? If you aren’t a lasagna fan, go for one of the pastas.

Though the menu is nearly identical C & O down the street, I feel the restaurant is quite different from each other. Trattoria felt more Italian — there was sining involved, rustic seating and you just had the feeling that you were eating dinner with everyone in the room. Cucina had more of an intimate feel with less character. Depending on what you are looking for, the food at both restaurants is quite delicious. From a comforting bowl of penne to creamy pasta dishes, any bad day can turn to a good one here. And yes, do fill up on the garlic knots.

C & O Cucina on Urbanspoon

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Osteria La Buca – Fun in the Sun with Pizza and Pasta

by Franklin on March 15, 2013

Italian food used to be my favorite food. With the introduction of sashimi and the all mighty carne asada fries, Italian is a close second? Third? Definitely a top 5 contender of my all time favorite foods, Italian food is one of my loves of food. Osteria La Buca, easily one of the best in Los Angeles, was a fun experience. The food was perfectly done and ingredients tasted as they should — fresh and vibrant. Literally the first ones here for dinner service, I had the whole restaurant to myself. Perfectly timed at just before sunset, with the addition of all window walls and a class ceiling, the pictures came out just as I liked (though I still need a lot of work). I had fun eating the tasty food and taking just as many photos as bites.

We started off with their house made bread. The bread was soft and fluffy. It was a bit single noted, but the marinara helped give it some life. It was simple and all, but a little more texture would have made this perfect.

I absolutely love their calamari fritti. Battered in semolina flour, the outside was crisp and light. Cooked perfectly, the squid inside was tender and had a nice bite. It wasn’t at all chewy or fishy. The flavor was mild and fresh, and the batter shined throughout the dish. Dipping it in the marinara sauce was good, but the lemon aioli was my favorite. The rich aioli and crunchy calamari went well with the hint of lemon and creaminess of the aioli. This definitely hit the spot and should be ordered all the time.

The fried egg pizza was the choice for the pie. Cooked in a high heat oven, the crust was thin and chewy — not perfect, but still delicious. The fried egg in the middle was enough a reason to order this pizza, if not, do it for the smoked prosciutto. Topped with tomatoes and mozzarella, this pizza was classic with a little twist. Topping this was a great amount of arugula. Nearly a salad on top of a pizza, the arugula and prosciutto went perfectly together. The egg, though not helping the dish, was still welcomed. Surely, the crust needed something to sop up, and egg yolk is pretty much the perfect thing.

My all time favorite pasta is carbonara. I love the simplicity of it all with the creamy sauce and salty cheeses and pancetta. Their bucatini carbonara was almost perfect. The sauce was creamy and salty. Topped with an poached egg to finish the sauce, it surely was a creamy pasta. Mascarpone was added to the mix to make everything even creamier. The black pepper was prominent as all carbonara should and the pancetta was crispy and salty. One thing I did not like about the dish was the pasta. I do love an al dente pasta, but this was slightly under cooked. Maybe even just 30 seconds longer in the boiling water would have made this a perfect pasta dish. Other than that, this was and is a house favorite. I saw a guy just walk up to the bar and order a bowl for himself — Nobody to bother him — just him and his bowl of perfect pasta carbonara.

The tiramisu was an afterthought, and overstuffed on pasta and pizza, the dessert had to be taken to go. The cake and cream inside was perfectly balanced and rich. The distinct coffee taste mixed with the cream was the best part. One thing weird about this tiramisu is that it didn’t have a cinnamon layer on top. Though it didn’t add that extra depth in flavor, the basic necessities and pure tiramisu flavors came through to make this dessert order worthy.

Osteria La Buca, once a small, and still a relatively small restaurant has a lot going for it. The inside’s minimalistic design is fresh and comforting. This once, hole in the wall Italian joint bloomed into a modern and trendy destination for “new” Italian food, namely pizzas and pastas. Their flavorful rustic pastas and proper pizzas keep this place busy. Osteria Mamma just down the street stemmed from once head chef “Mamma” and Son. Though they are doing their own thing there, Osteria La buca is pretty much a new restaurant inside and out.

Osteria La Buca on Urbanspoon

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Ciao Deli – Clams on my Pizza Please

by Franklin on February 19, 2013

I came across Ciao Deli when I was in Newport Beach / Costa Mesa. It was late, I was hungry, and nothing was around. I found Ciao Deli online and noticed they had garlic knots, just like the ones at C & O in LA. For the time being, Ciao Deli had to do. Entering the restaurant, the ambiance was relaxed and casual. Pictures and memorabilia plastered the walls of this small joint.

We started off with the cheese knots. Though they were not as good as the ones in C & O, they were still tasty. The blanket of melted cheese was well received. More like cheesy bread than anything else, it had a nice flavor. Dipping it in the marinara sauce helped bring everything together. The acidity helped balance out the fatty cheese. These were a good start, but the cheese knots were easily forgettable.

I normally don’t order spaghetti at restaurants, of course unless its Spaghetti Factory. I was surprised at myself for ordering this dish. For the most part, I was quite pleased with this dish. The noodles were cooked perfectly and the spaghetti sauce was better than most. The meatballs in this dish made this a perfect pasta dish. It was meaty and delicious, just like a home style spaghetti should be — Simple and delicious.

My favorite of the night was the clam pizza. The picture really doesn’t display the clams, and the picture isn’t lying. There really wasn’t a lot of clams on it. I was expecting the clams to be plenty and meaty, enough to have a good bite to it. Though there wasn’t much, the flavor was all there. It was salty and cheesy, and the crust was thin — a perfect recipe for a pizza. I think clams should always go on pizza.

Writing about this meal, I realize how vegetables and fruits are lacking from my diet. Good think I am juicing here and there. That way I can have more meals like this that consist of bready, cheese, and pasta. I guess the tomatoes in the spaghetti sauce counts as vegetables. Right? In all honesty, this Orange County restaurant made me happy. The food was down to earth and tasted great. They even deliver if you are in the vicinity. Places like this keep food humble — nothing fancy here. It is just good food the way it is supposed to be.

Ciao Deli & Pizzeria on Urbanspoon

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C & O Trattoria – Garlic Knots & Garlic Knots, That’s Amore

by Franklin on October 8, 2012

C & O Trattoria is one of those go to spots when you are in Venice, Marina De Rey area. The food is affordable and the selection is plenty. The best part is, once you enter, you feel like you are family. The staff is friendly — they even offer you garlic knots while you wait for a table. The wait for a table can be a while. Being right next to Venice Pier, you can walk around and shop around while you wait for your table. Once you take a seat, you are transferred to Italy and you are no longer at the beach.

C & O Trattoria and Cucina are all about garlic knots. Garlic knots, garlic knots, garlic knots. I think people come here just for these morsels of drug infused bread. It is warm, buttery, oregano-y (dried parsley?), and of course, garlicky, and you can get as much as you want! They even server it to the hungry patrons outside awaiting a table. I ordered mine with the tepenade– a bad idea. The garlic knots on their own are tasty. The olive tepenade just made things complicated and actually overpowered the simple goodness of the bread. You can easily fill up on garlic knots and you would have ordered your pasta dish for nothing. Eat sparingly. For the sake of garlic knots, I will try to write “garlic knots” as many time as I can along this post. Garlic knots? Yes. Garlic knots.

I ordered the fettuccine prosciutto. I know it sounds heavy, but it was quite delicate and balanced. It had prosciutto, mushrooms, roma tomatoes, and shallots in a brandy cream sauce. The prosciutto was a bit lacking — I was greedily expecting nice shavings of this stuff. I wished for so much prosciutto, I can make a prosciutto and garlic knot sandwich. Anyways, the fettuccine wasn’t home made by any means, but it was still delicious. Covered in the rich brandy cream sauce, this pasta dish was carb and cream heavy. The nice crunch of the shallots and tomatoes helped offset the richness a bit. With a blanket of Parmesan though, this was definitely a great heavy pasta dish. Add garlic knots to the equation and you got yourself a carb on carb overload.

Oh my garlic knots! I know with that cheese blanket it is difficult to see, but this indeed isn’t the same dish. The seafood pasta for me was taasty, but I am particular about seafood pasta. Using Penne is a good start, but an angel hair or even plain spaghetti would have been nice too. The mix of brocolli and tomatoes gave it nice color. The seafood though, that is where it all counts. The shrimp, salmon, and calamari were cooked surprisingly well. Expecting rubber bands, the calimari was actually soft and cooked to a near perfection. The shirmp was cooked decently and the salmon did a good job not being so over fishy. Though the seafood was prepared nicely, I still am not a fan of seafood and pasta together.

To me, pasta is all about the cheese and the noodles. Any meat that goes well with cheese (beef, sausage, prosciutto, chicken, meat balls) is a good thing. Seafood, the ultimate don’t-eat-with-cheese food worked alright in pasta, but for me, not so much. I will gladly take chicken fettuccine alfredo over shrimp. A bit off because, well, I love seafood. In fact, I would like to know where the best place to get a seafood pasta. That would truly be a gem. C & O Trattoria keeps a decent amount of authenticity to the feel of Italy. Not saying that the food is 100% just like you will find in Italy, but the atmosphere seems to work. I mean, I’ve never been to Italy, but I’ve been to The Venetian in Vegas a bunch of times — and I hear that’s practically a carbon copy. From the city, to the beach, to Italy — that is the natural transition I found myself in. The food was decent and the service was even better. They even sang “That’s Amore” in the middle of dinner service. All the waiters, servers, and hosts stopped what they were doing, walking around with their wine glasses and touched glasses with everyone. For those without an imagination, there is a video clip for you above. The experience was fun and the food was decent. It wasn’t the best pasta or Italian I ever had, but the experience was great. Garlic knots!

C & O Trattoria on Urbanspoon

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Secret Pizza / NNPK (Cosmopolitan) – I Play a Game of Hide and Seek with Food

September 14, 2012

Secret Pizza is just what Cosmopolitan is about — Mysterious, a bit of deviant. I mean, where else will you find a pizza joint with no markings or signs of any nature. No Name Pizza Kitchen? Check. This place isn’t even in the resort directory — not on the Cosmopolitan website, nothing! How I came [...]

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Tomato Pie (Silver Lake) – Thin Crust is an Understatement

May 4, 2012

Tomato Pie, a pizza joint in Hollywood and Silverlake derives its name from, well, tomato pie. Tomato pie is a Sicillian’s take on pizza where the dough is fococia like and thick. It is normally topped with tomato sauce and sprinkled with cheese. Never having tried tomoato pie, Tomato Pie was an obvious choice. The [...]

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Petrillo’s Pizza – Classic Pizzeria in the San Gabriel Valley

April 24, 2012

Growing up in the San Gabriel Valley, I had a lot of Asian eateries to choose from. Whatever Asian I was in the mood for, nothing was out of reach. Having this luxury had its drawbacks. Anything else, I had to choose from a small group of restaurants — No really good burger joints, gastropubs, [...]

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Todd English’s Olives (Bellagio) – A Little Sweet, A Little Salty, In The Best Way Possible

January 23, 2012

It seems to be that a lot of my favorite restaurants in Vegas converge around the Bellagio Fountain.  I don’t see why not.  The Fountain alone is amazing to have as a background of a great meal. Todd English’s Olives in Bellagio has class and taste, and won’t hurt your wallet.  From the interior design, [...]

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