Thursday, November 19, 2009

Osteria Mozza: Amaro Bar Menu

Last week, my friend Kris and I decided it had been far too long since we’ve seen each other. We usually decide this about once every six months and meet up for a dinner at a different, random location. Kris quickly shot down my idea to go to Cube (I’m still not sure why) so I was briefly stumped. Then I remembered the Amaro Bar menu that Diana had been raving about recently.

I apologize for the crapstastic nature of the photos. In my excitement about my first Osteria Mozza dining experience, I forgot my camera at home. All I had was my cell phone cam…

We were pleasantly surprised that after being told it would be a 20-45 minute wait for the bar, that we were seated after only about 10 minutes. I almost crapped my pants when we sat right in front of Nancy Silverton…but we soon learned we were at the WRONG BAR. *sigh* After another few minutes wait, we were seated at the Amaro Bar. Honestly, this deal is just too great to pass up. For $35 you get an item from the mozzarella bar, pasta, a dessert and a glass of wine. Normally purchasing each of these items at a full dinner service would cost a lot more. Based on the strength of Diana’s recommendations and my own cravings I had the Oricchiette with Sausage and Swiss Chard, the Rosemary Olive Oil Cakes with Olive Oil Gelato and Rosemary Brittle, and Kris and I shared the mozzarella tasting for two.

Osteria Mozza


The burrata was easily the best item in the mozzarella, bursting with subtle sweet creaminess. Kris wasn’t a fan of the smoked mozzarella saying it reminded him of eating smoked salmon, but I enjoyed it. I also enjoyed the GINORMOUS hunk of garlic toast that came with our cheeses.

Mozzarella Tasting for Two at Osteria Mozza

When the pasta came out, I was a little surprised to see so much sauce. I thought it would be bigger chunks of sausage and chard, but instead it was a lovely velvety sauce with small chunks of fennel sausage. It was topped with seasoned breadcrumbs which added a great texture. I ate every last bite of my pasta and enjoyed a bite of my dining companion’s oxtail ragu.

Orecchiette with Sausage & Swiss chard

Since I was little miss piggy with the pasta, I barely had room for dessert, but I managed a few bites of my rosemary olive oil cakes. The olive oil gelato was especially good when I got it all in one bite with the swirl of olive oil on the bottom of my plate and a few sprinkles of sea salt.

Rosemary Olive Oil Cakes

Plus I *managed* a bite of Kris' apple tart with cider ice cream,

Apple Tart at Osteria Mozza

This was a really successful meal and you just can’t beat that price. I am definitely looking forward to going back to Osteria Mozza for this deal and other meals.

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8 comments:

Erica said...

What a fabulous dinner- great deal. All of the food looks so delicious. Love moz. I think your pictures are actually pretty good for a cell!

vanillasugarblog said...

craptastic! lol love that word. no, your photos are fine...I can easily tell how good the food is/was. apple cider ice cream? I have yet another idea to recreate.

Kate @ Savour Fare said...

Oh yum! I haven't tried Osteria Mozza yet, but I just might have to!

My parents love smoked mozzarella -- they eat it for lunch all the time -- melted and topped with a fresh salsa made from tomatoes, olive oil garlic and basil.

Diana said...

Yay! I'm so glad you liked it! Funny, your orchettiete looks saucier than I've ever seen it! But still delicious. Mmmm now I'm hungry for it again!

P.S. Don't worry at all about the photos - I would never know that you'd taken them on your phone - they look great!

Jenn said...

I seriously need to take a trip down there one of these days. I really do.

Anonymous said...

This Kris guy seems like he must have great taste... Otherwise you might have had to eat at Cube (per your horrible suggestion)- how lame would that have been!?

angela@spinachtiger said...

Of course you make miss LA more, but it would be fun to live there and go scout restaurants together. I am coming out sometime next year.

Gastronomer said...

You know how much I love restaurant reviews!!

I will have to grab a seat at the Amaro Bar ASAP since two chicks I really dig, really dig it. Ahem, that'd be you and D takes a B.