Pizzeria Mozza (LA)

I don't really read up on restaurants from other cities unless they're featured in the NYTimes. As such, Mozza was ingrained into my memory after reading this article. Lots of celebs frequent new LA restaurant hot spots, and Mozza is no exception despite the fact that the food is actually good (is it obvious that I'm not the biggest fan of LA?). On this trip, we saw two C-list (or D-?) celebs, including a childhood favorite Rider Strong (too bad Cory Matthews was not in tow) and some minor character on Felicity (the guy who raped Felicity's roommate?). Not quite the Scarlett Johansson debacle we were hoping for.

Curtis and me pretending to pose for a picture, but only so we could sneak a shot at good ole Shawn Hunter

Letdowns aside, Mozza is good. Our party of 6 shared two appetizers (chicken liver bruschetta, fried ricotta-stuffed squash blossoms) and 5 pizzas. The flatbread (base of the pizza) that they're famous for was definitely as the press has described: thin, bubbly, and fired to perfection. The bianca with fennel sausage, as LA Weekly recommended, was my favorite, but all were pretty good.

Goat cheese, Prosciutto, and Bianca w/ fennel sausage

The dessert menu was full of uncommon (at least to us) Italian names so we had to sit our waitress down for explanations. They have a nice selection of gelati that they'll focus on after the osteria opens, but we opted for the plated desserts. We had no idea what "spiced ginger pigs" were supposed to be, and that instantly intrigued us. The dish ended up being a play on pigs in mud - not as mind-blowingly delicious as the waitress made it out to be, but interactive food is always fun. Curtis got a pumpkin gelato pie which I thought was not worth $7-8 at all. Reminiscent of Baskin Robbins ice cream cake, sorry.

"Spiced Ginger Pigs" + Italian chocolate pudding, Pumpkin gelato pie + candied nuts

If I were to rate this place, I'd give it 3 stars (bill came out to $25/person). It was good, but honestly... I like Cheeseboard better.