Gastronomy Blog by Cathy Chaplin

Restaurant Review

17 Dec 2008

Pizzeria Mozza – Los Angeles

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Even though it’s been over two years since Pizzeria Mozza served its first artfully topped wood-fired pie, reservations at a decent hour are still as tough as nails to snag. Nancy Silverton, Mario Batali and Joseph Bastianich are the masterminds behind the pizzeria and its upscale sister restaurant Osteria Mozza, hence the immense popularity. There’s nothing like big names to get diners’ salivatory glands going. Myself included.

I’ve been jonesing to try Pizzeria Mozza ever since the New York Times‘ Frank Bruni professed his love back in May of 2007. I was unfamiliar with Nancy Silverton’s mad skills prior to moving to Los Angeles, but knew of Mario Batali from the Food Network and his New York City eateries Babbo and Otto. I admire how Batali has managed to achieve a certain level of culinary celebrity without sacrificing his credibility as a chef or the quality of his ventures. Bravo! I also like how he blasts tunes from his personal iPod at Babbo and still manages to keep all three stars.

The best seats in the house at Pizzeria Mozza are those facing the wood-fired oven, which The Astronomer and I were fortunately seated at. Throughout our meal, we were mesmerized by the cooks masterfully working the dough, carefully arranging the toppings, and cautiously firing each creation. If you find yourself sitting at the bar, make sure to chat it up with Caesar (bottom right)—he’s a cool cat and makes excellent recommendations.

While we waited for our pizzas to arrive, we munched on some fantastic bread sticks. I’ve read that the appetizers are great, but since it was a weeknight outing, we didn’t feel like making it a three course affair. No worries, we’ll be back.

The Astronomer ordered a pizza with Coach farm goat cheese, leeks, scallions and bacon ($15). The pie measured a foot in diameter and was cut into four generous slices. Although not on the menu description, the pizza also contained whole cloves of roasted garlic, which were sweet without a trace of bitterness. Yum! The crust was thin in the middle and bulbous around the perimeter. The crust was enjoyable, but for The Astronomer, it was the combination of toppings that made the pie spectacular.

I ordered the egg, guanciale, radicchio, escarole and bagna cauda ($14) because I’m a sucker for runny eggs atop pizza pies. The combination of ingredients challenged me—the radicchio was bitter, while the bagna cauda tasted of the sea. Unlike The Astronomer’s pizza, mine wasn’t as easy to love because the flavors were bold and competed with one another. Next time, I’m going for the fennel sausage, panna, red onion and scallions combo.

For dessert, we asked our man Caesar which one was his favorite. Without hesitation he recommended the butterscotch budino ($9), which so happens to be Frank Bruni’s favorite too.

Frank Bruni calls the butterscotch budino “a pudding to shame all other puddings,” and I agree with him wholeheartedly. The smooth butterscotch pudding is topped with whipped cream, a thin layer of sweet caramel and an ample sprinkling of sea salt. The double punch of sweet and salty made me squeal. Really! The pudding was served with two pine nut and rosemary cookies on the side. Good times.

Click here for Nancy Silverton’s Butterscotch Budino recipe.

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Pizzeria Mozza
641 N Highland Ave
Los Angeles, CA 90036
Phone: 323-297-0101

Now Closed

16 Dec 2008

Tofu Village – Los Angeles (Koreatown)

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One of the things I missed most about America while I was away in Asia was attending rock shows. Sure, I saw some homegrown Saigon death metal and even My Chemical Romance, but none of my favorites ever came to rock the Mekong. This certainly is not the case in Los Angeles. In fact, so many sweet acts come to town that we have to pick and choose which ones to see based on monetary and scheduling constraints.

Ben Folds is The Astronomer’s all-time favorite musician—the Billy Joel of our generation, if you will. When we found out that he was coming to town and playing a show at the Wiltern Theatre, we knew we had to be there. Granted, we’ve already seen him twice, but Ben in concert is a magical experience that’s not to be missed.

I work a stone’s throw away from the Wiltern, so we stayed in Koreatown for dinner. Tofu Village is conveniently located across the street from the venue.

Tofu Village is known for their generous banchan. On this evening, we were served eleven different ones! My favorites of the bunch were the purple potato salad, jap chae, salty fish with chili sauce, and fried tofu with eggs. I especially loved the chewy little silverfish and ate them straight-up. Banchan are my favorite aspect of Korean meals because they bring about a feeling of adorable abundance.

Tofu Village specializes in soft tofu stew or soondubu jjigae. We ordered a seafood medley filled with clams, shrimp and lots of silken tofu. The stew arrived bubbling like mad in a clay pot, and our waiter cracked a raw quail egg into it upon arrival. Purple rice was served on the side. Since this was our first time venturing into soondubu jigae territory, we received a bit of instruction from our waiter—take a heap of rice, dip it into the stew, put it in your mouth, then repeat.

After the stew cooled down, we could actually taste the broth, which was flavorful, but not the least bit spicy. The waiter probably sensed we were newbies and prepared the stew mild even though we requested medium heat. Next time we’ll ask for a bolder rendition.

For our second dish, we tried the galbi jjim, which was translated as a “beef rib stew” on the menu. This dish was served with sticky rice and fish sauce on the side. The soup contained generous and tender hunks of beef ribs, glass noodles, scallions and dried plums. We incorporated the rice into the soup per our waiter’s instructions, which reminded me of the Vietnamese canh dishes I grew up with. Prior to exploring Koreatown, I associated Korean cuisine with brash, in-your-face spiciness. The galbi jjim highlights a more subtle side of Korean food.

After we polished off our two stews and paid our bill, we headed across the street to rock out.

Ben played a two and a half hour set, which pleased us to no end. The first half of the show was dedicated to new material, while the second half was dominated by the songs we knew by heart. For a nerdy man with a strangely elongated torso, Ben Folds rocks the party.

The Luckiest

Annie Waits

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Tofu Village
3807 Wilshire Blvd. #120
Los Angeles, CA 90189
Phone: 213-386-3650

Now Closed

15 Dec 2008

Fat Fish – Los Angeles (Koreatown)

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To truly enjoy conveyor belt sushi, one must be in the proper mindset. The ideal time is right after work, when one’s brain is too fried to place a proper order and one’s belly is growling for sustenance. It is imperative that conveyor belt sushi be reserved for these times when the conditions are just right, otherwise, disappointment will likely ensue. Furthermore, all those seeking a traditional sushi experience should make plans to eat elsewhere, because these types of places are anything but traditional.

Conveyor belt sushi was invented by Yoshiaki Shiraishi (1914-2001), who had problems staffing his small sushi restaurant and had difficulties managing the restaurant by himself. He got the idea of a conveyor belt sushi after watching beer bottles on a conveyor belt in an Asahi brewery. After 5 years of development, including the design of the conveyor belt and the speed of operations, Mr. Shiraishi opened the first conveyor belt sushi Mawaru Genroku Sushi in Osaka in 1958, quickly creating a chain of 240 restaurants all over Japan, however the number of restaurants was down to 11 in 2001. Mr. Shiraishi also invented a robotic sushi, served by robots, but this idea has not had commercial success.

The Astronomer and I dined at Fat Fish in Koreatown on a random weeknight after work. I was mentally exhausted, and my body and pockets were running on empty—the conditions were optimal for conveyor belt sushi.

Fat Fish’s modern space is well-appointed and staffed by friendly people. The crowd was predominantly Asian, which wasn’t a surprise since the eatery is located in the heart of Koreatown. What was surprising was the number of business-suit-types partaking in the sushi-on-the-cheap experience. I guess the down economy is hurting everyone.

We were seated promptly upon arrival along the conveyor belt’s path and were served complimentary miso soup to start.

The first plate to catch my eye featured salmon cubes placed atop half an avocado ($3). In between the fish and the buttery avocado was a layer of crispy rice. This creation, along with the bulk of the rolls we sampled this evening, was totally different than any sushi I’ve ever eaten. For an avocado-lover like myself, I found it highly enjoyable.

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