Friday, July 16, 2010

Around Town - A Summer Dinner at Osteria Mozza


For month's I have been wanting to try Mario Batali's restaurant Osteria Mozza but because it is located in Hancock Park, which is basically mid-town Los Angeles, I haven't bothered to go.  I don't mind the drive, it's the traffic that I can't take...and I typically won't drive east of Beverly Hills unless there is special reason for it.  Well, I  finally decided that my son's birthday dinner merited a trip to Mozza, so off we went.
Osteria Mozza and Pizzaria Mozza are both pretty casual, in design and ambiance, so I opted to wear a summer dress and some casual jewelry, citrine dangle earrings, a citrine ring, a peridot ring and a bunch of skinny gold bangle bracelets.

Mozza was busy, in fact we had to take a 6:15 reservation just to get a table. Luckily we all get up early in the morning so we didn't really mind the early dinner. 

One thing that the restaurant does well is offer a large bar that serves food as well, so that if you can't get a table, you can always have dinner at the bar.  While waiting for my son's girlfriend, the lovely Laura, we waited at the bar which was fine.  But I'd love to know why is it that restaurants won't seat you at your table until every one has arrived?

Luckily, in spite of traffic we all arrived within a few minutes of each other and were seated a nice table tucked away in a corner amid the wine bottles.  Here is my pretty girl and my handsome son. (I'm not sure what's up with his glow in the dark RayBans...)
I would love to report that the food was stupendous...but it wasn't. It was certainly good, but not awesome.   Perhaps I ordered incorrectly.  I opted for the mussels on the waiter's recommendation for a first course, but I probably should have stayed with the burrata.  Then the sea bass for the main course was just OK.  Stephanie and Laura had meat dishes, grilled lamb and grilled hanger steak, and those dishes were certainly better than the fish.  The four of us shared a pasta dish that was also competent but not incredible.
Luckily the sommelier suggested a very good wine that was appropriately priced (for my budget) below $100....because I was totally lost when looking at the wine list where many wines were $600 and above.  I wonder, who goes to Mozza and orders a $975 bottle of wine?

Overall, we had a lot of fun celebrating Alex's 27th birthday in style.


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9 comments:

Anonymous said...

Love the colours of your dress and how you've picked them up in the earrings.
You must have been a young mum!

Belle de Ville said...

Tabitha, I love the colors of this dress too but I look fat in this photo....must be the print on the fabric...God knows it couldn't possibly be my middle aged figure ;-)
I was already married with children when I was the same age as my kids are now.

Angela said...

Happy B-day to Alex.... : )
As for the necklace I am wearing in my post, no they are all swarovski pearls and crystals. It's a fun trendy piece. Although my mom asked me to make her one in real pearls and stones. : )

La Belette Rouge said...

I have been really wanting to go there. I also want to try Ramsay's London too.
And, OMG, you LOOK amazing. You must do a post on your skin routine. You have gorgeous skin.

Belle de Ville said...

Savvy, yes you need to make that necklace in cultured pearls and gemstones.
Belette, I'm the one with the camera in front of my face. The photo is of my daughter!

Laguna Beach Fogey said...

Abso-f*cking-lutely stunning. The jewelry is rather nice too.

Mardel said...

Love the dress and the the colors of the earrings; well all the jewelry choices, actually. I like how you mix colors. The earrings look far more yummy here than on the website. I hate it when I've really wanted to try a place and it disappoints.

Jill said...

Happy Birthday Alex!

Love the earrings...all the jewelry really, but I'd mug you for the earrings. Mug in the 2000's version, not the 1980's version. I'm not sure if ya'll used that slang in LA back then. If you did, you'll know what I mean.

I think they force you to the bar so that you'll order more drinks. It's a ploy and it pisses me off.

mette said...

Now what part of you are you referring, when you say you look fat?? I can´t find fat anywhere. You have an amazing figure. Please tell me, what keeps you so thin? Do you exercise a lot, do you count calories or what? This is the first time I see your kids together, They look so healthy, content and of course, beautiful!

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