Osteria Mozza

It was complete fate that I ended up having dinner at Osteria Mozza last night.Monday afternoon I read on Just Jared that Gwen Stefani and Gavin Rosedale celebrated their 6th wedding anniversary at Osteria Mozza in LA, obviously since in LA this week it especially peaked my interest. That night, on my way home from a friend's house, I actually drove pass it and the enormous crowd waiting outside to be seated. Then Tuesday after work I took home the September issue of Bon Appetit magazine. As I'm sitting on the couch flipping through the mag I notice that Osteria Mozza is listed as one of the best Italian restaurants in America! I immediately ask my friend's mom, whom I'm staying with, if she's been to the apparent hot-spot. And she replies "funny you should ask, we have reservations there tomorrow night!"

The next morning I do a little more research on the restaurant and discover that it's owned by Mario Batali (famous chef who also owns 6 restaurants in NYC), Nancy Silverton (owner of Campanile in LA) and Joseph Bastianich; all of whom also own the restaurant next door, Pizzeria Mozza. Reservations are hard to come by, rumor is that reservations are needed 30 days in advance for a table at Osteria Mozza (seats at the bar are for walk-ins).

The menu at Osteria Mozza is very impressive with an entire section dedicated to the free standing Mozzarella Bar where Nancy, who was there last night, prepares a wide array of fresh items from Mozzarella, Bocconcini, Stracciatella and more. Our party of 7 enjoyed the Burricotti with braised artichokes, pine nuts, currants & mint pesto (pictured here), Goat Cheese Ravioli, Tagliatelle with oxtail ragu, Crisp Duck al Mattone with pear mostarda & Brussels sprouts, and a side of corn and onions.
For drinks we ordered lemon drop martinis and the 2004 Tocai Friulano.
The space is lovely with dark wood work throughout, white marble table tops, dark chocolate-colored walls and tall ceilings bordered with Robin Egg blue paint.

Morandi

The food at this rustic Italian trattoria is truly unique from the appetizers to dessert. I definitely recommend the Carciofi alla giudea (fried artichokes with lemon) for an appetizer, Zucca in scapece (savory pumpkin with pine nuts and raisins) as an antipasti, Tortelli di zucca (pumpkin ravioli with sage and butter) for the pasta dish and Branzino alla luciana (whole sea bass grilled in a lemon vinigrette) for the fish dish. Stick around for dessert because the Pere al forno (bosc pears roasted in red wine with robiola) is not to be missed. However I do suggest ordering a side of noci (similar to vanilla) gelato because I didn't like the robiola cheese very much. Another tasty and beautiful dessert was Crespelle (warm crepe with vanilla gelato and berries).

We went before seeing a Broadway show so we dined very early, but I would recommend making reservations for about 7:30 or 8pm, that's when the crowd really started picking up.

Check it out ASAP- it's already been written up in New York mag and more so hurry up! It's located at 211 Waverly Place.

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Tamarind

This was my first experience eating Indian food and now I'm a huge fan! I ordered the Chana Pindi- a north Indian specialty of chickpeas cooked with onion tomatoes and pomegranate seeds. Yes, it was a bit spicy but amazingly delicious and filling. Most of the friends I dined with ordered the Chicken Tikka Masala- chicken tikka cooked in a tomato fenugreek sauce with Indian spices, which they loved. All the dishes were served in elegant silver dishes, as was the rice we ordered on the side to cool down our spicy dishes.
I definitely recommend making reservations for a weekend night at Tamarind (E. 22nd Street) as it was really crowded by the time we left. However, it wouldn't be a bad place to have to wait to be seated. The decor was crisp with white and beige hues which allowed for a nice relaxing meal.