*(Mozza is not average!)
www.mozza-la.com
6602 Melrose Ave
Los Angeles, CA 90038
(323) 297-0100
You, our faithful reader, know that The Duo is always reviewing the newest hot spot. Even though there has been so much written about one of our favorite LA haunt’s, Pizzeria Mozza, we’re here to bring you news hotter than a wood-burning pizza oven: within a few short weeks, you will no longer have to stand in line to munch on the crackling crust to die for. Finally you’ll be able to get this extraordinary pizza to take home at, “Mozza2Go”, which is opening right next door the Osteria.
As you probably know, there is no accommodation at the present venue to provide for take out food. So this is great news for everyone wanting to sabotage his or her diets. In addition to obtaining a quick fix for your pizza habit, the new space will also serve as a private cooking school for you alone with the master of all things pizza, or for up to thirty of your most intimate friends. 
The restaurant décor itself is nothing mesmerizing, but it serves as the tableau for an extraordinary selection of palette-pleasing pizzas and much, much more. It’s a simple, large room with high ceilings and a long bar stretching along two of the sidewalls. It’s dark ruby walls, wood floors, wood tables and simple hanging lights provide a din over which you’ll have to speak loudly, or simply replace the conversation with stuffing your face.
The Dining Duo has never walked out of Mozza hungry or dissatisfied. We would venture to say this is the best pizza that we have ever sunk our perfectly bleached teeth into. We owe this to the genius chefs Nancy Silverton of La Brea Bakery fame, and Mario Batali of Del Posto in NYC and B & B Ristoranti in Las Vegas. Between the La Brea Bakery incomparable dough and the simple but perennially fresh fare and spices (all from farmers’ markets), the taste sensations of everything we order is superb.
Our favorite is the house made Fennel Sausage, peppered with red onions and scallions at $15. Our modus operandi is to always order an appetizer and two pizzas. We highly recommend the Fried Squash Blossoms oozing with fresh ricotta ($8), which are lightly fried and served piping hot so the cheese melts in your mouth as the flavors devour your taste buds. Scott is not a meat eater but savors the sauce of the Meatballs al Forno ($12). In that dish, there are three balls (the oddity of such not lost on us) that are spiced just right and served with, once again that fabulous La Brea bread, and accompanied by lots of marinara sauce. We are both corn eaters and the Corn al forno ($8) is a corn on the cob sensation that is served golden brown in spots, which we love. There are three pieces that arrive piping hot at your table by very friendly runners. Speaking of friendly, Pilar, our waitress was nice, pretty and spoke with a slight lisp that was either from eating hot pizza sauce, or hailing from Spain.
If it’s the season (only a couple of months a year), try the Ramps, guanciale with English Peas and panna pizza ($18), a leek and scallion combination, albeit overly salty, is an opportunity to try something unique and usually unavailable. All of this good cookin’ can be accompanied by a wine list that is extremely unique, composed of 50 wines under $50. Chris Miller, the wine director, will suggest something perfect for your wine palette.
The desserts looked yummy, but who ever has room after stuffing yourself full of everything and anything on the menu. Of note is the caramel copetta with marshmallow sauce and salted Spanish Peanuts ($9). Then waddle back to your car (park on the street and avoid the expensive valet parking) and wish that you were Karen Carpenter.
The Dining Duo’s Note: There are no food pictures for this piece because we were asked by the staff not to use a camera in the restaurant.
Saturday
Thursday
Cube
615 North La Brea Av
LA 90036
323 939 1148
11 AM-10 PM Mon- Fri
11 AM-11 PM Sat
The Scene: Cheese bar with tables
Cuisine: home made pasta
Must Try: Lamb Sausage Lasagna
Star Rating: 1.50
Average Cost: Entrees $10 to $17
Cube is definitely not the place to eat if you’re rushing. With delicious food as a lure, getting past the tenuous “service” is a challenge, but doesn’t seem to stop a young crowd from coming.
On a tired parcel of La Brea south of Melrose, this “cheese bar” reminds us of a European deli for takeout goods, and perhaps a place to rest your feet. The atmosphere is minimal and sports only a half a dozen simple wood tables inside, with an equal amount of metal tables outside.
Cube doesn’t serve liquor, but they encourage you to bring wine with no corking fee, a welcome touch. Of course, that means you actually have to wait for a server to open it, which might happen sometime before Christmas. We had to wait for napkins, cutlery and water (order bottled water as their tap is not filtered and tastes it). As long as The Dining Duo is griping, aren’t you tired of a darkened restaurant and being handed a menu with miniscule writing on it? Cube’s printing is so small that you might as well just ask the waiter (if you can find him) what he recommends.
Start with a flight of cheeses. Cube boasts a giant selection, and we were not disappointed. Just tell your waiter whether you like sharp, pungent, or mild, and enjoy the surprise that’s delivered. We did, especially when it was served on a chalk board with each name written by it.
After the intolerably long wait for our main courses (Scott went into the kitchen to secure napkins for us, which apparently didn’t bother the waiters), we were delighted to sample some of the delicious items on the menu. Pasta is a specialty; as they are owned by the Divine Pasta Company. The spicy lamb sausage ground with béchamel sauce and lasagna proved to be the highlight of the evening, with such a special blend of spices that its low price of $13.95 proved extraordinary. Aaron Eastland, the chef from Cube—formerly from New York—also excels on the home made goat cheese ravioli sprinkled with eggplant ($12.95). Try the roasted garlic pesto pizza, fired over wood; Although the latter was heavy on garlic, it was accompanied by walnuts and gorgonzola. Also worth tasting is the Spicy Italian Sausage at $14.95, which reminded Michael of New York’s little Italy.
Unfortunately, as good as the main course and appetizers proved, the desserts were disappointing. The bread pudding (again, delivery was pathetically slow) was bland and uneventful, and expensive at $7.95.
When asked if we would return, The Dining Duo said, “Yes, if we were in the neighborhood, but only if we brought sleeping bags for breakfast.”
Michael & Scottie
Tuesday
Bin 8945
8945 Santa Monica Blvd.
West Hollywood, CA 90069
(310) 550-8945
The Scene: New and groovy, and right in the thick of things.
Cuisine: Caribbean meets North Africa, along with a glass of wine.
Must Try: Heath Bar Brownie a la Mode
Star Rating: 3 of 4
Average Cost: $26-$29 for “smallish” Entrees
There’s something new, something different, and something simply elegant on the Boulevard…and it’s not “Mamma” in a new Chanel outfit; it’s a magnificent redo of the old Greenery. Interior designed by Wade Robinson of Silver Lake, the cement floors and used brick main wall accent an elegant, glass-encased wine rack displaying 1,200 bottles of delicious varietals begging to be tasted. Comfortable seats indoors are perfect for friends, although may be a bit too communal for an intimate first date. A simple and elegant shelf traverses the brick wall, carrying on it a myriad of different-shaped glass decanters, all of which bespeak wine and informality. A bar crosses the other side of the small, but well-planned room (the owner, adorable and fit David Haskell, designed the working spaces of the restaurant). The outdoor patio is perfect for summer nights, with seating of up to twenty folks, but unfortunately too intimate enough to accommodate parties in excess of six. Although the patio chairs are pretty to look at, be prepared to overcome comfort for the appetizing selection of food treats and the unlimited selection of West Hollywood flora and fauna parading past your table.
You won’t see tablecloths at this restaurant because David, perpetually in his T-shirt, jeans and Panerai, has created a restaurant that screams “no pretense.” Although all the cloth napkins are ironed on the premises and impeccably folded, the paper placemats and napkins all carry a logo of a red wineglass stain, which is meant to signify that “wine is just wine” so don’t get carried away with it. We were, in fact, carried away with the extensive selection, ranging to the most expensive wine at $500 a bottle, an ’85 Domaine Comte de George de Vogue, but still well priced, with the cheapest bottle of wine going for $32, the Chateau Fontalem. The “Bin” offers at least a hundred wines for $50 or less per bottle, and there is a tremendously delicious selection of wine by the glass at $8 per glass; we especially enjoyed a Greek selection (love those Greeks), Cheateau Clauss from Petroto at only $8. On the various times we visited the restaurant, we enjoyed a new selection each and every time; just tell David your desired taste and he will facilitate it. He was right on each time with us.
Our first visit to the restaurant was during their second week of operation, and the service was friendly, but not quite yet in place. Our follow-up visits show that David Haskell is on track, and the service was friendly, efficient, and refreshing. Again, on the first visit, unfortunately the servers brought food to the table, putting it on all the wrong destinations, a big “no-no” for the Dining Duo when paying the healthy price tab that the “Bin” commands. But more about the check later.
All of our food selections proved to be superb, delivered on beautiful plates, interesting cutlery, and presenting the fluids in delicately sculpted glasses (we particularly enjoy the water glass, which seemed to have come from a more elegant table setting). The creative food is divided into small, slightly larger and even larger plates. Having tasted most things on the menu, we highly recommend the Bin 8945 salad at $12 with very fresh greens, spectacular blue cheese, candied nuts and one of Michael's favorites, heirloom apples. The meat empanadas at $9 are tasty and we found the decadent Gorgonzola fritters, loaded with cheese and calories, sensational at $10.
In the larger plates, the chef, Matt Carpenter's Jerk Chicken, although pricey at $27 was exquisitely prepared, with just enough spice, served tender and moist. Our friend James savored the Steak which was marinated in Belgian beer with perfect "duck fat" fries, exactly as ordered medium rare at $29. Leave room for a must-have Heath Bar Brownie topped with heath bar crunch ice cream that was amongst the best brownies we have enjoyed in a long time.
Although the portions were too small for our tastes and dinner will probably set you back at a pricey $50-$70 a person, it’s about time that we see an upscale style come to our cherished boulevard. With all the disposable income in our community, it’s always refreshing to find food presentations, combined with the eagerness of the staff to please and serve, topped off with the fact that they appear to “not be trying too hard” to create a presentation. Oh, and Sean the waiter is absolutely adorable and tells us he has some hidden assets beyond waiting tables. With the local four corners offering such downscale selections as “The Voodoo Room”, Hamburger Haven (great burgers), and Pavilions, it’s nice to find a little bastion of delectable treats and comfortable service creeping into our neighborhood. And if you don’t think you hit the mother lode at this restaurant, there’s always that old stand-by right across the street.
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