la.foodblogging

KT has already covered Osteria Mozza thoroughly and with gusto. We enjoyed dinner there on Saturday night, here are my quick notes:

• Yes, you still need to call 30 days ahead. Lighting up the phones right at 10:00, and continuing through 10:50, Suzy was able to get us a four top at 6:00
• The dining room is beautiful, subtly decorated and classy
• This really should be called Nancy Silverton’s place, with Mario consulting. She’s there keeping the place humming.
• Knowing what I know now, I would recommend skipping the Secondi. For each couple who is dining, order two appetizers, one or two cheeses, two pastas and a side or two. Then order a dessert. The Secondi’s are good, but the appetizers, mozzarella bar and pastas are where it’s at.
• DO NOT miss the brown butter topped ravioli stuffed with ricotta and an egg yolk. It’s unreal.
• The Crispy Duck was a major misfire. Ours wasn’t crispy and serving it on a cutting board was a bit odd
• The much talked about octopus dish lived up to the hype. Charred and flavorful on the outside, tender on the inside.
• You can’t go wrong with the Burrata and the Buratta-Ricotta hybrid (Burricotti)
• The tagliatelle pasta was perfect. I don’t think I have ever had pasta cooked so well.
• Osteria Mozza is not cheap, but is worth it for the quality food and dining experience. The biggest deterrent is the hassle of getting a reservation. Maybe they do that to save your arteries.

Osteria Mozza (menu)
6602 Melrose Ave
Los Angeles, CA 90038
Phone: (323) 297-0100

By Jonah (see more of his posts). Jonah is the founder of la.foodblogging and also created Digesty, a food blog aggregator and Cheww.com, a spam free foodblog search engine.