mozzeria...heartwarming gourmet pizza

San Francisco has no shortage of pizzerias, so the opening of another one in the Mission District was a bit perplexing to me. Then I heard about the premiss for Mozzeria, a wood-fire Neapolitan pizza restaurant, owned by a deaf couple. Even more heartwarming is that the owners are deaf and they employ several deaf people that work in the restaurant. What wonderful human and community spirit! Melody Stein, the co-owner, is a third generation restauranteur who before opening Mozzeria, also spent several weeks in Italy learning the final art of pizza making.

The restaurant is located on 16th and Guererro on the ground floor of a Mission Edwardian. The interior can be described as modern rustic with a beautiful carrera marble bar counter, dark cherry dining tables, bright red dining chairs, and warmly lit Edison bulbs. Let's just say I want my house to look like that! Towards the back, but in prominent view is large wood-fire pizza oven. Given the oven's location, it almost acts like a heater. However on the night Sheila and I visited it was unseasonably hot in SF, which meant we were boiling inside.

The menu is a mix of small plates (salads, cheeses, meats), a few pastas, and several pizzas. The wait staff was extremely friendly and helped to recommend a few dishes for us veggies using sign language. We ended up selecting a Rainbow Beet Salad, Japanese Pumpkin Ravioli, Ortolana Pizza, and Lemon Curd Cheesecake.

Rainbow Beet Salad. Sheila and I shared this starter salad of fresh beets, goat cheese, arugula, citrus, and horseradish. On paper I wasn't sure about citrus and horseradish, but to my surprise the contrasting textures and flavors worked very well. The acidity and bitterness of those two ingredients were balanced by the sweetness of the goat cheese and crispness of the arugula and beets.

Japanese Pumpkin Ravioli. This was Sheila's order of Japanese pumpkin, walnut gremolata, arugula, sage brown butter. The homemade pasta was cooked slightly al dente and Sheila found it very filling. The brown butter gave the dish a sweet taste. Sheila noted that there wasn't anything to balance that out like spice or acid. Nevertheless, she did enjoy the fresh busting flavors.

Ortolana Pizza. This was my pizza order of eggplant, red onion, red peppers, and pomodoro sauce. I also added on mozzarella. Piping hot and cut into four large slices, I started eating it from center out. This totally reminded me of La Porchetta, our neighborhood pizza joint when living in London. The eggplants had been grilled to a slight char, the onion had been caramelized, and red peppers had been roasted. Individually these toppings would have worked, but my senses were confused when they were all combined on one pizza. It tasted like a mixed grilled veggie sandwich, but on a pizza. The caramelized onions overpowered the other toppings with too much sweetness and the mozzarella didn't add enough saltiness. Of course, I'm an equal opportunity pizza eater, so despite my comments I still would eat this pizza every day.

Lemon Curd Cheesecake. A New York style cheesecake with lemon curd and raspberries served on a graham cracker chocolate crust. The cheesecake was light, rich and smooth; the crust was dense and crackly; the lemon and raspberries were fresh and tart. Overall, the dish wasn't overly sweet and we were absolutely fine with that. I can tell you that they don't skimp on the portions here, but neither of us were able to finish the slice.

You feel joy dining at Mozzeria because of the sense of humanity. The food is cooked from the heart as if you were sitting in the owners' home. And therein lies story, the Stein's are cooking for their family (the patrons), but the food needs to be refined for the masses. That's not to say that it wasn't good food, I just think Sheila and I have been spoiled by living in SF where there are dozens of great gourmet pizzerias.

frances has a michelin star, really?

Michelin-started restaurants are usually uptight for us casual dining folk. However, we couldn’t pass an invite from the Laffs to join them at Frances, the highly acclaimed modern Californian spot in the Castro. Despite having only been open for a year, Frances received one Michelin star and requires reservations months in advance, partly because there are only 16 tables.

We joined the Laffs on a damp Sunday evening – Frances is located in an indistinct street just east of Castro St. Its décor is elevated casual, and good luck having a quiet conversation, tables are literally on top of each other. Unfortunately, I was not impressed with the food.

The menu is seasonal modern Californian, a hallmark of Chef Melissa Perello, a multiple time James Beard Award nominee and SF Rising Star Award winner. There bouchees, appetizers, mains, sides, desserts. We ordered a mix of items for pseudo “tasting menu” and here’s the review.

Crispy chickpea fritters – We were expecting free-formed fritters, a la India pakoras. We received were five mozzarella stick looking objects. The chickpea filling was extremely dense and had the consistency of whipped smooth mashed potatoes. There was an interesting aftertaste which the impression of added cream or eggs. Consensus was we would not order again.

Roasted red beet salad – Chunks of red beets with an accompaniment of greens. Despite being a bouche, the portion was huge and we were not expecting that. Overall can’t really go wrong with a salad, but Sheila and I would take the one at Delarosa or Beretta over Frances any day.

Grilled asparagus and chicory salad – This was the best dish of the evening. Asparagus was good through and had a light smoky flavor. Chicory and greens were light and fresh. Serving portion was right to share. My only complaint was that it was bit heavy handed with the salt and vinaigrette. We should have asked for it on the side.

Risotto with mushroom – A mix of oyster and chanterelle served on a bed of creamy risotto. It was Sheila first time having risotto, she thought it good. For my taste, it was a heavy handed on the parmesan, which coupled with the inherent saltiness of the mushrooms made it very difficult to finish. I felt dehydrated after 5 bites! This is pure speculations, but I think this dish caused the roller coasters our stomachs the next day. One of the best risottos I’ve had was at Aqua (now closed) in Financial District. Sheila should use Frances’ as the barometer, unless she wants to set the bar low.

Roasted squash sides – rings of roasted squash rubbed in salt, pepper, thyme, and other herbs. It would have been better if not for the Sodium overload experienced earlier. The squash was fresh and severed slightly crunchy. As a side portion, there were still leftover even though Sheila and I split the order.

Lumberjack cake with maple walnut ice cream – apple and date cake served with a scoop of Humphrey Slocomb (HS) ice cream. Who knew maple walnut could be so tasty as ice cream! HS, with its wacky flavors that can sometimes include tofu, vinegar, and beets, pulled off a great one with maple walnut. The cake was layered beautifully with apples. We’d all order this again, however something tells me it won’t be a Frances.

Chicory root panna cotta with mandarins and sea salt cookies – The panna cotta was silky smooth on its own and had an espresso layer at the top. And then you bit into the mandarins, and the sourness took over. I understand the concept of introducing citrus flavors to counter the sweetness in desserts, but this was a miss when combined. We ended up eating the mandarins on their own after picking them from the panna cotta. On the plus side, the chocolate sea salt cookies were divine!

Total bill for the four of us was $160+, not bad for amount we ordered. We all believed that the food would be elevated much higher based on the accolades pouring in. Perhaps it’s because we ordered vegetarian dishes? Perhaps modern Californian cuisine needs meat? Whatever the case, I'm surprised this placed earned a Michelin star. We’ll stick with our tried and true favorites instead.