Restaurant smackdown: Osteria Mozza vs. Craft

Photo credit: Los Angeles Times

I share a birthday with Neil Armstrong. My best friend shares a birthday with Hitler.

And as of dinnertime tonight, two new L.A. restaurants—Osteria Mozza, Mario Batali and Nancy Silverton’s ode to all things mozzarella, and Craft , the Los Angeles outpost of Tom “Top Chef” Colicchio’s super-popular New York eatery of the same name—will be born on the same day.

Should we be worried that it’s Friday the 13th?

Since comparing the two dueling see-and-be-seen restaurants seems inevitable, let’s just cut the Craft (Zing!). I propose a good ol’ fashioned smackdown: Mozza vs. Craft. Mano a mano. No scratching or hitting below the belt. Biting permitted.

Let the smackdown begin…

Round 1: Reservations

Since their reservation line opened at 10 a.m., I naturally started calling Mozza at 9:45 a.m. By 10:10 a.m., I was on two phones speed-dailing like a true champ, and trying not to take the busy signal personally (you’d think I was calling a radio show trying to win Maroon 5 tickets). Finally, at 10:15 a.m., I made it through… and was told they were already completely booked until Monday.

Next I rang up Craft, which not only picked up on the first ring, but was still taking reservations for opening night (though only at 6 p.m. and 11 p.m.). A couple of minutes later, I got an email from Craft (!), confirming my reservation and offering helpful suggestions regarding parking and dress code ("Smart Casual": so bring your weekend monocle).

You’ve won this round, Craft. But I hear that Mozza’s mozzarella bar is pretty wicked…

Keep posted for reviews of both restaurants in the coming week – same Metro-time, same Metro-channel.

--Amir Kenan