#9 - Pizza from Pizzeria Mozza

“What’s a blog???” said my Dad on the way to our first meal during a recent weeklong stay for the Hundgen clan. Well, this should be interesting…

You may already know Karen, Stephen and Kim from their last appearance on the blog for our Thanksgiving extravanganza. Or you may know them because you’ve met them in real life…and for that, I express my deepest condolences.

All (half)-joking aside, my parents brought nothing but laughter and tears of joy to my friends throughout their weeklong trip…and brought nothing but deep embarrassment to me through countless stories of “Mike - everyone’s favorite chubby teenager”. (Seriously Mom, how many times must we remind people I struck out…at T-Ball).

If Karen, Stephen and Kim were to be cast on a television show or, who am I kidding - Karen wouldn’t settle for less than a major motion picture, the breakdown would look something like this:

Kim Hundgen – Sometimes moody, always ‘sporty’, this character has a knack for losing cell phones (10 in two years) and breakd cameras (“It fell in the ocean” was the latest gem). Also, Meryl Streep may issue a restraining order if Kim’s doesn’t seek professional help to overcome her obsession with this woman.

Stephen Hundgen – features that resemble a cross between Brian Dennehy and the Dad from “Boy Meets World”. Stephen’s Facebook page includes “likes” for Jack Nicholson, Robert Dinero, Al Pacino, “Boardwalk Empire” and the “Sopranos”…does this guy love romantic comedies or what?

Karen Hundgen – Take a dash of Suze Orman’s style combined with the lipstick from Leslie Stahl and then load it up with Joy Behar’s ‘New Yawk’ attitude (beau font hair included) and you have Karen in a nutshell. Best described as “An Event”, Karen leaves her mark wherever she goes. Wallflowers and introverts beware, Karen will get your “story” whether you like it or not.

Since the family is only in town together once every year or so, I wanted to include them on a pLAte that I knew would be a surefire hit. Let’s be honest, there was no way in hell I’d be able to get Karen to someplace like Alhambra or Altadena and I don’t think Stephen would be into trying the fish kidneys from Jitlada. So for our “Meet the Parents” edition of 99 pLAtes we visited (along with Jessie and John) Pizzeria Mozza, best known for its mouth-wateringly-good pizza pies.

Mom – “So what’s the pLAte, what do we have to order”.

Me – “I don’t know…it just says pizza. Usually the author is very specific on what to get. I don’t know what to do…I mean I could investigate further.”

Mom – “Michael relax…who cares, so what…we’ll order a bunch of pizzas and talk about all of em.”

And that is exactly what we did. We ordered 5 Pizzas total plus a Chop Salad, Fried Squash Blossoms with Ricotta, White Beans ala Toscana and of course the famous Meatballs. Quite the meal for a light lunch…thank god for that Amex (wink, wink, nudge, nudge)…right Dad???

With our orders in (apologies to the waiter that Mom has already started sizing up for a proper Q and A session) the discussion turned to technology. Dad was raving about his newest toy the iPad…

Dad - “I mean I’ve got the g3’s now…it works anywhere!”.

Me – “Dad, it’s 3G.”

Dad- “That’s what I said, g3!”

Me - <sigh>

Meanwhile, Mom was amazed by the new fangled Dyson Hand Air Dryer in the bathrooms.

Mom – “We don’t have these in North Carolina, they are really hip out here in California. I wanted to stick my head in that thing, I bet it would be a good hair dryer.”

Dad - <sigh>

The appetizers arrived not a moment too soon. As the plates were passed around and forks divied up the squash blossoms, salad and meatballs everyone appeared to be on taste sensory overload. Karen exclaimed, “Oh my GAWD. These are the way meatballs should taste.” (which may or may not have been a subtle dig at her mother-in-laws meatballs).

It goes without saying that the food at Mozza is delicious. Everyone who’s lived in or visited LA in the past five years knows this place delivers time after time. It’s one thing to be great on your first visit, but the consistency is what continues to impress me when eating at Mozza. If they could just build a better waiting area…I’d be a pig in truffle butter.

Our pizzas came out next. “You know he has really nice eyes, they are so green. I bet he is an actor,” Karen claimed. This poor waiter…

The Lineup

Egg Guanccle Escarole

Tasted like a bacon, egg and cheese

Radisccio Bogna Cuda

Mozza’s version of a Pizza Hut Meatlovers Pie

Fennel Sausage, Red Onions, Scallions

My standby, I order it every time

Coach Farm Goat Cheese

With so many other creative toppings, this one was a bit too boring

Leeks, Scallions Garlic Bacon

Where do leeks come from and why do they taste so good?

After several more “OMG’s” around the table mostly about the food (Kim’s OMG was for seeing a character from “The Hills” saddled up at the bar), everyone agreed that Mozza was a winning pLAte. Nearly five years in LA and I still haven’t found a better slice of pizza.

With the dishes cleared and the check paid –phew, thanks Dad- Mom still had a mission to fulfill.

Mom – “Well, I think we should tell him about the blog”

Me – “Mom, we aren’t telling the waiter about my little food blog.”

Mom – “Why not, I bet he’ll read it…I mean he has such nice eyes.”

Me – “Mom! No, no, no! I don’t want to get into a fight about this.”

Care to guess who won that argument?

Pizzeria Mozza

641 N Highland Ave

Los Angeles, CA 90036