800 Degrees: Santa Monica

800 Degrees, the build-your-own-Neapolitan-pizza concept from Umami’s Adam Fleischman and chef Anthony Carron, is known for its handmade, fast, and affordable pies– or, as I like to say, personalized pizzas with pedigree. The restaurant (whose Brentwood spot is also known for the lines that stretch out the door) recently opened a new, massive location in Santa Monica just a stone’s throw from the ocean.

Each hand-stretched pie begins at one end of a long, marble pizza bar that stretches the length of the banquette-filled dining room and ends at 800 Degrees’ wood-fire ovens. Diners can choose a Specialty Pie or make one of their own. To build your own pizza, there are four bases: the Margherita (crushed tomato, fresh mozzarella, parmigiano reggiano, olive oil, basil), Bianca (no sauce, fresh mozzarella, parmigiano reggiano, garlic, oregano, olive oil), Marinara (crushed tomato, garlic, oregano, olive oil, no cheese), and Verde (pine nut-basil pesto, fresh mozzarella, parmigiano reggiano). From there, quality toppings such as clams and boschetto di tartufo (truffle cheese from Italy) cost between $1 and $6 each.

The pizza ovens are (naturally) 800 degrees.

Freshly shaved prosciutto makes everything better.

For my build-your-own pizza, I started with the classic Margherita and added mozzarella di bufala, broccolini, tomatoes, arugula, onions, roasted garlic, and prosciutto. I may be biased, but I thought this was a pretty winning creation.

Justin opted for the Tartufo, a white pizza with truffle cheese, roasted garlic, mushrooms and arugula, to which he added prosciutto, creating a delightfully well-rounded, truffle-laced bite.

With a great concept and affordable price point, there’s little not to enjoy about 800 Degrees. Ciao ciao!

*Food and drink were hosted. 

800 Degrees
www.800degreespizza.com
120 Wilshire Blvd.
Santa Monica, CA 90401
(310) 566-0801

Ray’s and Stark Bar

Museums are not generally associated with destination dining. However, at Ray’s and Stark Bar at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA) you won’t find any cafeteria trays or shrink-wrapped sandwiches. What you’ll get instead is a menu of ever-changing, seasonal Mediterranean small plates from chef Kris Morningstar (AOC, Patina, District) and the Patina Restaurant Group.

While planning dinner with a fellow food-loving friend, we discovered that we’d both been meaning to visit Ray’s and Stark Bar and decided to check it off our list on our double date.

Ray’s and Stark Bar, named for film producer and former LACMA trustee Ray Stark (THE WAY WE WERE, FUNNY GIRL, ANNIE), sits adjacent to the Resnick Pavilion and features views of several museum buildings as well as the famous Urban Lights installation. While summertime normally calls for outdoor dining, a heat wave made the glass-walled, mid-century-inspired dining room seem like a better option.

Once we were seated, a mile-high loaf of bread straight from the oven arrived at our table. The crusty bread was delicious on its own but when slathered with the creamy, sea salt and chive-topped butter? Heavenly.

To sip on, I ordered a Rose Wishes and Lavender Dreams made with gin, Chateau L’Afrique Cotes de Provence Rose, St. Germain, lavender syrup, freshly squeezed lemon juice and sage ($14.00). Despite its frou-frou name, this drink packed a punch.

My dining companions selected the Ray’s Swizzle (rum, freshly squeezed lime juice, pineapple syrup, blackberry, orange, $11.00), Ginger Rogers (freshly squeezed lime juice, ginger, mint, ginger ale, $11.00), and the Owl and the Pussycat (rum, freshly squeezed lemon juice, simple syrup, chilis, strawberries, $11.00) for their libations (L to R).

Drink at your own risk! The bottom of Justin’s glass broke clean off his Ray’s Swizzle while he was holding it, drenching both him and my purse. The staff apologized and brought him a replacement cocktail, but we were still a little miffed to find it on our tab at the end of the night. Oh well…

Once poor Justin cleaned himself up, our meal began with a cool, crisp amuse bouche of hamachi-topped cucumber.

The first of our dishes to arrive was the Summer Squash, a raw vegetable medley tossed with red onions, oregano, pine nuts and feta cheese and drizzled with an anchovy-mustard vinagrette ($10.00). The salad was a bit too simple to dazzle, but the cool bites were refreshing in the heat.

Next up was a trio of pastas. My favorite was the Cavatelli with broccoli rabe, anchovies, chili and garlic, finished with bread crumbs and a wonderfully nutty Grana Padano ($16.00). Each al dente bite was a perfect balance of salty and savory flavors, and I loved the crunch of the bread crumbs.

Our carb parade continued with the Agnolotti Dal Plin in which the pinched rectangular packets of pasta were served with truffled rice, hazelnuts, arugula, hen of the woods mushroom and porcini sauce ($19.00). I’m not one for mushrooms, but they imparted a nicely subtle earthiness to the spot-on agnolotti.

Our third and final pasta dish was the Ricotta Gnudi ($17.00). The tender ricotta-stuffed pillows were bathed in a savory brown butter sauce and brightened up with sweet Brentwood corn. A generous grating of pecorino sardo and a sage leaf finished the well-executed plate.

Our final savory dish of the evening was the Italian Stallion, a pizza topped with sausage, caciocavallo, olives, fennel pollen and broccoli di cicco ($18.00). Ray’s and Stark Bar’s crisp yet chewy pizza might be one of the most underrated pies in the city.

To round out the evening and satiate our sweet tooth, we selected two desserts. To my surprise, both were quite modernist-looking and a whimsical departure from our savory courses.

The “Chocolate” dessert featured chocolate bon-bons filled with passion fruit mousse as well as brownie and cookie crumbles, chocolate shavings and a tart passion fruit coulis ($10.00). Yum.

Our “Toffee” dessert with date pudding, apple balls, a disc of crunchy toffee and toffee ice cream ($10.00) also impressed.

Complimentary soft, creamy housemade Oreos wrapped up the night.

From the first bite of bread to the last bite of dessert, the food and drink at Ray’s and Stark Bar really delivered. I can’t believe it’s take me so long to visit! Now, once I’ve moved past having to pay for that spontaneously shattering drink, I’ll be back.

Ray’s and Stark Bar
Website here
5905 Wilshire Blvd.
Los Angeles, CA 90036
(323) 857-6180

Mid-Week Insta-Nom: Montanara Pizza at Don Antonio (NY)

Here’s your mid-week Insta-Nom to help get you over the hump:

Montanara Pizza at Don Antonio

 

One of my favorite bites of last year was the Montanara Pizza at Don Antonio in Midtown New York. The star of the pizza, which has its roots in Naples, is the crust, which is flash deep-fried for around a minute, then topped with smoked buffalo mozzarella, fresh tomatoes and finished in a wood oven. The result is a crust which is airy and pliable yet crisp with a hint of sweetness and not at all greasy. While the other pies at Don Antonio are also delicious, the Montanara is the star of the menu.

 

Don Antonio

www.donantoniopizza.com

309 W. 50th Street
New York, NY 10019
(646) 719-1043

Milo and Olive

As a superfan of both pizza and the wife-husband team of Zoe Nathan and Josh Loeb (Rustic Canyon, Huckleberry, Sweet Rose Creamery), I was long overdue for a visit to Milo and Olive. The pizzeria sits on the same stretch of Wilshire Boulevard in Santa Monica as Rustic Canyon and Huckleberry and, like its sister eateries, spotlights locally-sourced, seasonal ingredients (and also showcases Zoe’s phenomenal pastries).

Recently, my boyfriend and I found ourselves in Santa Monica for an impromptu errand with no dinner plans. Since the tiny, twenty-four seat Milo and Olive doesn’t accept reservations, it seemed like as a good a time as any to pay them a visit. Our initial estimated wait time of 45 minutes crept up to over an hour thanks to some lingering diners, but I refused to let a (serious) case of the “hangries” come between me and my pizza.

Once seated, we started with the Wood-Fired Garlic Knot ($7.50), a plump satchel of pizza dough stuffed with olive oil, thyme and whole garlic cloves– lots and lots of them.

With a delightfully crisp exterior and pillowy soft, garlicky interior, it’s no wonder the garlic knot is one of the restaurant’s most popular dishes.

For our entrees, we opted for two of Milo and Olive’s specials.

The Bacon and Brussels Sprout special arrived with pliable, crispy pizza dough topped with a hearty helping of brussels sprouts, Nueske bacon slivers, red onions and sottocerne cheese ($20.00). I wished that the brussels sprouts and bacon had more a tad more char and crunch but, overall, the pie was pretty delightful, and the all-important crust ranked among the best in LA.

Our second entree was the off-menu Black Truffle Pizza special with truffle cream and taleggio cheese ($40.00) When we were informed that only two of these remained and heard the couple across from us order one of them, I quickly stated my case for the splurge to the boyfriend. Could we really miss out on this pizza and be subjected to watching our neighbors enjoy the truffle goodness? Absolutely not. The creamy, umami-laden pizza boasted a generous helping of truffle shavings and more than justified the price tag in our minds–especially when you consider the leftovers of the sizable pizza that we took home.

There’s a reason that Rustic Canyon, Huckleberry and Sweet Rose Creamery are at the top of my list of favorite spots, and now Milo and Olive joins them.

Milo and Olive
www.miloandolive.com
2723 Wilshire Boulevard
Santa Monica, CA 90403
(310) 453-6776

Doors Up: Inside the Truck with The Slice Truck

What makes a good food truck–one to which people will return again and again? Great food is the obvious answer, but, J and I realized that our favorite trucks not only serve good food but are also run by good people.

With that in mind, he and I decided to start this “Doors Up: Inside the Truck” series to introduce readers to our friends inside the trucks, the ones who work tirelessly to bring us their best and do it all with a smile. The food trucks themselves get a lot of attention, but what about the people who run them? Who are they? Hope you enjoy.

Doors Up: Inside the Truck w/ The Slice Truck from Noms Not Bombs on Vimeo.

Which food truck should be featured next? If you have any suggestions or run a truck that you would like to be profiled, leave a comment or email Nomsnotbombs@gmail.com.

The Slice Truck

www.slicetruck.com

www.twitter.com/theslicetruck

The High’s and Low’s of Pizzeria Mozza

Pizzeria Mozza has eluded me and J for quite some time now.

While others fondly recalled their fennel sausage pizza or their butterscotch budino with a hint of drool on their face, J and I could only talk about the 4:30 PM or 10:30 PM reservations we’d turned down. For J’s birthday, however, I was determined to change our Mozza-less-ness and booked surprise reservations a month in advance.

What’s left to say about Mozza that hasn’t been said already? Founded by superchefs Nancy Silverton, Mario Batali and Joseph Bastianich in 2007 and helmed by Matt Molina (announced today as one of the final nominees for the 2010 James Beard Awards), Pizzeria Mozza is still one of the hottest reservations in town and is often heralded as the best pizza in LA.

Would the food live up to the hype? J and I were about to see.

We started with the Mozza caprese ($12). I’ve eaten my fair share of caprese in both the US and Italy, but this dish was absolutely mindblowing. Each tasty tomato literally exploded with juice when I cut into it, and the pesto and mozzarella cheese were delicious to the tenth power. There was a thin, crunchy layer of something on the cheese that I couldn’t identify but, whatever it was, it worked and was gooood. I seriously need to look into whether or not crack is an ingredient in this dish because I am jonesing for my next Mozza caprese fix.

I ordered the famed Squash blossom, tomato and burrata pizza ($22), which lived up to every rave review I have ever heard. I’ve never eaten squash blossoms (which are, apparently, so delicate and perishable that grocery stores don’t bother to carry them), but I’m now a fan. The giant mounds of burrata can only be described with one word– “NOM.” And the crust! Flavorful! Crunchy! *Swoon* $22 is a lot to pay for pizza, but this is worth every cent.

The birthday boy ordered the Prosciutto di parma, rucola, tomato and mozzarella pizza ($15). Wow, were the prosciutto and the rucola fresh and tasty. This one had a little too much going on flavor-wise for my taste, but J happily gobbled it up.

As wonderful as the food was, however, it was overshadowed by very poor service. Our waitress paid us no attention while being completely attentive of all of her other tables and didn’t even mention J’s birthday, let alone celebrate it with, say, a complimentary glass of wine or dessert. I noted the special occasion both when I made the reservation online and when I called to change the reservation time but was willing to chalk the omission up to the information getting lost in translation…until I saw our check, which had “BDAY” clearly written on it. After going out of our way to go to Pizzeria Mozza to celebrate a special event, J and I left feeling neglected and disappointed despite the delicious dinner.

I’ve since emailed the manager of Pizzeria Mozza and received a very nice, completely apologetic response, asking for my phone number to call me tomorrow, which I greatly. appreciate. We’ll see what happens! The food was so good that I’d hate for this bad experience to turn me and J off from Mozza for forever.

I’ll post an update after I speak with the manager.

Pizzeria Mozza

www.mozza-la.com

641 N. Highland Ave.

Los Angeles, CA 90036

(323) 297-0101

Slice Truck and Get Shaved

Pizza is one of the latest foods to join in on the food trunk fun. When I first heard about Slice Truck, I thought, “This will either be epic…or terrible.” So, last night, I decided to give them a try.

Slice Truck serves up pepperoni and plain slices–both topped with fresh mozzarella cheese and basil. You can also choose from a list of additional toppings for an extra charge. I ordered the pepperoni.

I can sum up the pizza in one word: “YUM!” In my book, Slice Truck is second only to Mulberry Street, which is saying a lot given the fact that Mulberry Street is an LA pizza institution and Slice Truck is a start-up food truck. I definitely hope, though, that they branch out in terms of their menu soon. Sometimes you want more than just pepperoni or cheese!

My slice had the perfect amount of cheese, and the mozzarella was delicious. There was also just the right amount of basil, which was really what made the flavor of the pizza for me. My favorite part of the pizza, though, (and my criteria for good pizza) was the dough. It was the perfect combination of crispy and dough-y. The sauce and the actual pepperoni were just OK, but, overall, I was a big fan of the pizza.

Next stop, Get Shaved–a truck that serves shaved ice Hawaiian style. The ice for shaved ice should be light, fluffy and not too densely packed while the syrup should be soaked all the way through but not poured so heavily that the ice collapses. Verrrrrry tricky. And Get Shaved always does it perfectly–better, in fact, than a lot of places in Hawaii.

Get Shaved was started by a husband-wife team who aren’t from Hawaii but who love it, and their appreciation for Hawaii and for getting this ono treat right definitely show. From the consistency of the ice to the homemade flavors, I love everything about Get Shaved.

Take advantage of the flavor choices and get three. Be bold and branch out from standard American flavors and try something like guava or lychee (you can’t look at the flavor list and honestly tell me that you want grape).

You can also add ice cream or azuki beans (sweet red Japanese beans) to the bottom and condensed milk, sour spray or li hing mui (dried plum powder) to the top.

I always order the same thing at Get Shaved: Blue Hawaii (a combination of vanilla and coconut), Passion Fruit and POG (a juice from Hawaii with passion fruit, guava and orange flavors) with ice cream at the bottom. So yummy!

One of the great things about Get Shaved is that they really value and listen to their customers. For example, they added the sweet cream topping and li hing mui to the menu and made POG a regular flavor rather than a special after getting requests.

Yummy night!

Slice Truck

www.slicetruck.com

Get Shaved

www.getshavedice.com