Ever since my first introduction to Pizzeria Mozza in Los Angeles about three years ago, I've been hoping they would open a branch in San Diego. Finally, after opening Los Angeles, Singapore, and Newport Beach, they opened in the new center called The Headquarters, right next to Seaport Village. The owners of Pizzeria Mozza are Mario Batali, Nancy Silverton and Joe Bastianich, three names that are well known in foodie circles. On a Tuesday afternoon, six of us went to Mozza for lunch. We all loved it.
The menu is a little different than the Los Angeles location, which has its more expensive full dining restaurant, Osteria Mozza next door. Here in San Diego the owners wanted to give diners a taste of what is available at Osteria Mozza in LA, so they added some interesting appetizer items to the Pizzeria Mozza menu. We tried a variety of items, some good, others great. The great food we had was a mushroom and fontina cheese pizza. Crunch crust with lots of different types of mushrooms on top (and lots of them), in addition to fontina cheese. Simply delicious. Also, the chopped salad, filled with several types of chopped lettuce, salami, garbanzo beans, oregano, and pepperachinis was fantastic. The caprese salad was also outstanding. It was a big piece of mozzarella cheese (although I thought it was more like burrata cheese), with roasted tomatoes and basil and pesto on top. Wonderful. We also loved the fried potatoes and ceci beans, with a garlicy mayonnaise for dippings. Our Margheritta pizza was good, but not great. Service was wonderful. Our waiter Kevin was very accommodating. The music volume is low enough so that you can converse with others. We were full by the time dessert rolled around, but I can vouch for the budini, and the other sweets I saw look amazing. I can't wait to go back and try some other items. The problem is, when you really like one thing you want to order that again instead of trying something new, but there are so many interesting items on the menu, I will try one new thing on each visit.
The Headquarters is a beautiful center, with several other upscale restaurants, including Seasons 52, Eddie V's and Cheesecake Factory. Stores like Madison, Geppettos Toys, and a store next to Mozza, the name of which I can't remember, that sells things that are recycled. Purses made from seat belt straps, and bags made from the felt used in automobiles are just some of the items they carry. Wonderful store. I can't wait to go down to Pizzeria Mozza again. It's my favorite pizza dough ever, bar none.
No comments:
Post a Comment