Mozza
I have never understood the phrase,”______ has ruined me for ______.” (Fill-in the blanks for whatever applies in your life) Could something be so good that there is nothing else in the world that can match it? Well, I can now fill-in the blanks for something in my life: Mozza has ruined me for pizza. Yes, it’s true. I’m not kidding when I say that I really can’t have any other pizza than Mario Battali and Nancy Silverton’s creations on the corner of Highland and Melrose in Los Angeles. It’s at the point where if I have to sacrifice the calories and carbs that come with eating a pizza, then why not save it for the best? The best part is when I do get have it, I enjoy it guilt-free because there is no higher pizza temple I could worship at than at Mozza. It starts with the crust which Silverton brings from her genius work at La Brea Bakery. Thin and flaky, it’s satisfying and does not weigh you down. The star of the pizza line-up is the squash blossoms, tomato and burrata pizza but if you have a meat craving then go with the tomato, mozzarella, sausage, salami, bacon and guanciale. While I have enjoyed every other pizza option on the menu, if you force me to have a third choice on their list I would pick the Coach farm goat cheese, leeks, scallions and bacon pizza. It’s like choosing between Brad Pitt, Lenny Kravitz or Antonio Banderas, all attractive options; you just have to decide what flavor you like the best.

Eh. Everything was just kind of fine. The pizza crust was fine, Batali’s dad’s sausage was just ok, really nothing special. The salad was fine, but not memorable, I think we got the frissee. Actually the pizza was rather greasy.

I don’t see what the big deal is about this place. Bollini’s is so much better.

I’ve been wanting to try Batali’s pizza for a long time and after a few attempts to get reservations, we finally got in at a decent time. You’ll definitely want to make reservations to eat here, that is, unless you don’t mind eating really early or really late (they’re open til midnight). It’s a pretty small restaurant and the bar is open seating, but it looks like it can only sit about 1/2 a dozen people.

The ambience is sort of an upscale casual. At the end of the day it’s still just a pizzera…just a bit nicer :)

The neat thing about the pizza is that it’s extremely thin but with a puffy crust. It’s an interesting combination. You can really tell that each pizza’s flavor was thoughtfully concocted. I also recommend ordering a number of the appetizers – the mozza caprese was awesome and all the others we saw looked tasty.

I definitely want to come back and try the other pizzas. I’ll probably stick to more of the veggie-ish pizzas – I think they have a more delicate balance of flavor than the meat-centric ones.

If I wanted a type of pizza by the slice, I would go to Abbot Kinney or Mulberry Street Pizza. However, if I wanted gourmet pizza, I think Mozza has done no wrong. First off, who says no to burrata. Not I! Anyhow, this place is small so no parties over 4 or 5 and I would say if you can’t get any reservations, try to just sit at the pizza bar.

great crust. go at wierd times to avoid lines.

This is the best pizza I’ve ever had. Better than Grimaldi’s, Lou Malnati’s, Cheeseboard, and Zachary’s. The toppings are very high quality and the crust is perfect, (thanks to La Brea Bakery’s Nancy Silverton). Mozza does thin crust pizza to perfection, and it’s currently my favorite place to eat in LA.

Make reservations though, because this place is packed and pretty small. If you’re lucky, you may be able to walk-in and get a bar seat.

If you love thin crust pizza, this place rocks! It is a Mario Battali restaurant, so the food is very high quality, but the restaurant is surprisingly casual. For two appetizers, two pizzas, and four beers we only paid like $80 total, which is pretty darn cheap for such wonderful food. NOTE: Call a couple weeks in advance to reserve- the place is popular and gets booked way in advance