IF THE MOZZA CORNER LASTS FOR A THOUSAND YEARS, PEOPLE WILL STILL SAY: "THIS WAS THEIR FINEST HOUR"

it wasn’t until Irene appeared at the window that the beauty - and importance - of what Mozza was doing really hit home here at Highland and Melrose. Perhaps we had been so busy to fully appreciate how appreciative people were of what the Corner meant during these times.

For four tense days, at a makeshift walk-up ordering window at Chi Spacca, hundreds of laid off restaurant workers had “ordered” two hot entrees - usually roast chicken thighs and/or vegetarian lasagna - and picked out some supplies - such as a box of cereal or mac n cheese, toilet paper or hand soap - then thanked chef/owner Nancy Silverton and the Mozza staff and moved on. Roughly 150 people a night were coming by as part of the Nancy Silverton/ Maker’s Mark Whiskey collaboration known as the Restaurant Workers Relief program.

Then, on Day 4, Sunday night, Irene showed up. She was a pretty, long-haired Asian American who had been laid off and was - like almost everyone else - quite thankful for the food and supplies we gave her with a decent amount - but not overly so - of good cheer. But, then she shifted gears like that Ford GT40 down the Mulsanne straight in “Ford vs. Ferrari”..

“I don’t think you realize what this means to us,” Irene said. “That you care. I want to contribute.” She had been talking in a controlled, but passionate tone. But, then her voice cracked as she add “Can i bring I contribute something, Can I bring some rolls of toilet paper?” And she burst into tears. She, like Bruce Springsteen sings, “burst just like a super nova”. The cardboard menu Irene was holding was dotted with her tear drops.

Before her, at the window. Francis Sebastian, the Chi Spacca general manager and a member of the Mozza Corner Special Forces, started to drop his own tears. Tough guys weeping is kinda special. Alan Birnbaum, Pizzeria and Osteria Mozza GM, Ping Pong Room and Apartment cleaner and also a Special Ops member, was, uncharacteristically, unable to speak. Nancy standing 10 feet away and watching, got misty-eyed and smiled a rather sad smile. Jimmy Dolan, the Mozza Tribune staff writer, standing nearest to Irene, violated social distancing, and reached out to touch her shoulder as tender as he is capable of, which isn’t particularly tender.

“Irene has become a symbol for us," said Nancy who took a rare night off yesterday to rest after a week of 13 hour days. “She came to represent the gratefulness of the community. That the food and supplies are appreciated and needed, but even more so. knowing that people care about them. That’s the most beautiful thing when you’re struggling. That people you don;t even really know care about you. The lasagna will feed you that night, but knowing you’re cared about can get you through the day.”

Since that Sunday, we’ve been waiting for Irene to reappear. We told her to come back every night. But, we haven’t seen her. Francis and I weren’t there very much Friday night, so maybe she came by and the people filling in didn’t know her. So, Irene, if you happen to read this, reach out with a text to the Mozza Tribune. (213) 700-1960.

The Mozza Corner has had many glorious - and some scary - moments. There was the time, before Pizzeria Mozza had even opened when legendary pizzaiola Chris Bianco blessed the oven. There was the night, thanks to copy editor Saji Mathai, we got early word that L.A. Times restaurant critic S.I. Virbila had awarded three stars to the Pizzeria. The day in 2009 or so when Osteria got a Michelin star. The first night Michelle Obama came in with her kids - and secret service agents. There was the day a speeding pickup truck slammed into the front doors of Osteria. The night when word came to the kitchen that Nancy had been named Outstanding Chef in America at the James Beard Award. The day Dario Cecchini told the story of his first bistecca Fiorentina The night we got word Tony the cleaner from Nine-O Crips was gonna do a take over robbery because he was pissed he got fired. The night Stringer Bell aka Idris Alba, had a drink with Nancy and Michael, And then there was those cherished “Shift Drinks”, the end of shift drink, after 13 years, over 4,800 of them.

But, looking back over the last 13 years, four months, two weeks since Mozza opened, there was never a finer moment than the night when Irene cried.

Just in case you are too young - and/or dumb - the headline is riffed from Winston Churchill rallying the British in 1940. His speech went like this.

“….the Battle of Britain is about to begin. Upon this battle depends the survival of Christian civilisation. Upon it depends our own British life, and the long continuity of our institutions and our Empire. The whole fury and might of the enemy must very soon be turned on us. Hitler knows that he will have to break us in this island or lose the war. If we can stand up to him, all Europe may be freed and the life of the world may move forward into broad, sunlit uplands. But if we fail, then the whole world, including the United States, including all that we have known and cared for, will sink into the abyss of a new Dark Age made more sinister, and perhaps more protracted, by the lights of perverted science. Let us therefore brace ourselves to our duty and so bear ourselves that, if the British Empire and its Commonwealth last for a thousand years, men will still say: This was their finest hour.”

THE WORLD'S MOST FAMOUS BUTCHER HAS NO MOUTHS TO FEED; DARIO CECCHINI IN TUSCANY

Last July, back in good ‘ol 2019, Antica Macelleria Cecchini, the renowned shop of Dario Cecchini, not-arguably the world’s most famous butcher, was so packed with locals and tourist from more than 20 nations that i walked outside just to get a little breathing space. Today, and for the last month plus, the place is basically empty except for the Butcher and his wife.

Today, Wednesday, I think, via Whatsapp, i ‘talked” with Kim Wicks, Dario’s wife. She said the mood was not “sad’ in Panzano in Chianti, but rather ‘eerie. She, in her message said something that defines beautifully Dario’s feelings about Nancy. ‘Dario has just now discovered Netflix. In fact, the first thing he asked to see was Nancy’s chef’s Table.” (That choked me up, not a hard thing to do, but it also choked up Nancy, which is a bit more difficult.)

And here’s a brief Q & A with Dario - as translated by Kim - from Panzano in Chianti.

When did you first hear about Corona?
We heard in January, that there was a problem in a city in China called Wuhan, where it seemed that it all started from eating animals that we consider strange, like bats. Right now I am reading a story about Alexandre Dumas speaking on the consumption of meat through history, where he states it is believed that the ancient Romans found small dogs excellent. So,  I don't want to judge.

 What is the mood in Panzano?

The population is acting responsibly. There are few people circulating on the streets, the bars are closed, the restaurants are closed, there is silence. The most present thing is this silence, this noisy silence, a silence you can hear.

 Can you go to Florence?

We don't go to Florence, I think we could go for special cases like a doctor or a hospital visit, but we are all here. We don't move, people are being very very responsible.

 Can people go out and take a walk around?

You don't see people strolling, even if I think walks would be allowed so far, as long as one doesn’t bunch up with others. But no, nobody is out strolling.

 Is there a curfew?

From 6 o'clock in the afternoon, all stores, including food stores such as Macelleria Cecchini must close and therefore yes, there is a sort of curfew, no one is on the streets.

 What good movie have you seen?

It's me and Kim in the house, we watch old crime movies and whatever we happen on. Yesterday we saw a fabulous 1968 film directed by Don Siegel, called “Madigan'‘. (with Richard Widmark) It was a fantastic New York police, shoot ‘em up story.

 What are you cooking at home?

Kim is doing a series of experiments on me, the other day I ate beef with curry masala and coconut milk. It was good, a little strong but I'm the only one on whom she can test out her creative cuisine.

I love my wife.



MOZZA’S RESTAURANT WORKER’S RELIEF TONIGHT NOT YOUR TYPICAL SOUP KITCHEN FARE; MARINATED GRILLED OCTO, ANYONE?

Nancy Silverton can’t do anything halfway. Even her collaboration with Maker’s Mark Kentucky Bourbon, the Restaurant Worker’s Relief program, is classy and carefully thought out.

Take tonight., for example. The main courses - enough for 300 portions - are 1) roasted locally sourced City of Vernon chicken thighs seasoned with Maldon sea salt and served with buttery mashed potatoes; 2) garlic, parsley and chili flake marinated grilled octopus served with a lemon vinaigrette; and 3) Buratta cheese from Puglia with roasted tomatoes and fresh basil.

That’s not your typical soup kitchen fare. But, whoever said Nancy was typical.

DISPATCH FROM MOZZA - A MESSAGE FROM THE MOZZA TRIBUNE TO THE STAFF

FROM JIMMY DOLAN, MOZZA TRIBUNE STAFF WRITER

Today, Tuesday, at least I think it’s Tuesday, marks the sixth evening of the Nancy Silverton/Maker’s Mark collaboration known as the Restaurant Workers’ Relief (RWR) program.

In the previous five nights, Mozza has handed out over 1,300 dinners to roughly 700 very appreciative people.  They start lining up around 4:30 for the program that begins at 5:30 p.m. sharp. 

The bizarre thing is that of the 700 laid-off restaurant workers only about 20 have been actual Mozza folks, people who worked – and WILL work again – at either Pizzeria Mozza, Osteria Mozza, Mozza 2Go, Chi Spacca or even the office.

What up, my peoples? You got too much foolish pride to come for a chicken plate and/or some lasagna? The toothpaste and cereal we giving away not up to your standards. Stumptown coffee not good enough? Or like several Mozza Corner workers  I have talked to, you feel that other people are hurting worse than yourself and you don’t want to take that food from them?

Forget all that and just come over to Mozza and get two dinners, get some supplies, and most importantly say hi to Nancy. Nancy likes to give the food to the people she doesn’t know, but she LOVES to see and give you some food. The people she works with, the people she WILL work with.

Yes, there’s a line stretching down Highland almost to Clinton. However, Mozza chief of security, Capt. Miller of the United States 1st Special Forces Operational Detachment-Delta, has made it possible for you not to wait in that line. Text Capt. Miller at (213) 700-1960 or get to Alan and they will arrange for you to go in the alley and come in the back way.  Sometimes, that’s the best way

Stone serious.

Jimmy Dolan

ALSO  If you want to share your stories with the Tribune about what you’ve been doing, how you’ve been coping with this madness, then email me at makmak47@gmail.com

DE CECCO PASTA, MAKER'S MARK WHISKEY STEPPIN' UP WITH NANCY AT MOZZA FOR RESTAURANT WORKER'S RELIEF

Friday morning in the back Mozza parking spot, only three of the five spaces were open. The other two were taken up, Italian style - not with a Lamborghini or Ferrari - but with pallets and pallets of De Cecco dried pasta, donated to the Corner by way of Chef’s Warehouse.

The pasta will make its was tonight to scores of laid off restaurant worker’s as Mozza’s Chi Spacca serves as the forward operating base of a relief program during these unprecedented times. Kicked off by, get this, Maker’s Mark whiskey with a $50,000 donation, about 150 very appreciative Los Angeles restaurant employee received two dinners of lasagna, potatoes, salad and an assortment of supplies from diapers, toilet paper to baby wipes and toothpaste.

Manning the front distribution desk was Spacca Sheriff Francis Sebastian, the great x7 grandson of Genghis Khan, along with Shayna Kaye Milazzo, Mozza’s storied office manager and Kate Elizabeth Green, Nancy’s right hand woman. Green, it should be noted, looked about as stylish as one could look wearing a mask, save perhaps Ruth Reichl in a black version.

As the LAPD came by to give their full approval, Mozza’s head of security, Capt. John Mason of the British SAS, walked the line, reassuring people that there was enough for all, as long as the line didn’t go beyond 150 people. Everyone was behaving, respecting that “social distancing” and thankful of the project. They heaped praise on Nancy, who told them they should be thanking Maker’s Mark whiskey, her new favorite booze.

Credit also goes to Edward Lee, the Louisville chef first approached by Maker’s Mark who pointed them to Nancy. His LEE Initiative ( www.leeinitiative.org) is on the front line of the Restaurant Worker’s Relief (RWR) project. Also to John Magazino of Chef’s Warehouse who was texting Nancy as soon as he heard about the project, eager to help.

The RWR project continues tonight at 5:30 p.m. . and will last at least three weeks. It’ll longer if more people like television producer Betsy Beers, who donated cash last night, step up. So come on, step on up. Koufax might be pitching. but he’s goin’ easy on those with a kind heart and a generous wallet.

MOZZA/MAKER'S MARK COLLABORATION BEGINS TONIGHT; MOZZA 2G0 EXPANDED MENU INCLUDES D.I.Y. PIZZA KIT

When Mayor Eric Garcetti announced Sunday night that all restaurants in Los Angeles would close, everyone on the Mozza corner agreed it was something that, sadly, had to be done.

“Sunday night i had to look my restaurant family in the eye and let them know i no longer had work for them. Mayor Garcetti had said we had to close. This didn’t come as a surprise as I knew it was something that was gonna happen, that had to happen, done.But, telling my staff was the hardest thing I’ve ever done in my career.”

A snippet of good news came to the Mozza Corner on Wednesday when it was announced that Maker’s Mark Kentucky Bourbon had donated $50,000 for Nancy to provide free dinners to laid off Los Angeles restaurant employees. Starting today, Thursday, those providing a recent pay stub can get two free dinners as well as needed supplies such as toilet paper, baby diapers and other items.

The menu will be meat or vegetarian lasagna with mashed potatoes and salad.

##

 As concerns and precautions designed to slow the spread are expanded, Nancy has taken to expanding the menu items available at Mozza2Go, the only to-go establishment ever honored by the United Nations.

The following enticing secondi, formerly only offered at Spacca and Osteria are available at reduced prices.

 Grilled ‘Moorish’ lamb shoulder chops with mint, yogurt and – unnecessarily – lemon. $23.

 Porcini rubbed Short Ribs with salsa verde,  scallions - $23

 Grilled Lamb Sausage with Calbrian chile slasa, roasted peppers, onions. - $15

 Roasted Sonoma Lamb Rack with Persian lime, tahini, grilled broccoli - $28

In addition, Mozza2Go is now offering a ‘Pizza Kit’ which is pizza dough, tomato sauce, basil and mozzarella so folks can make their own margarita pizza at home during these unprecedented  times.

NANCY SILVERTON AND MAKER'S MARK WHISKEY COLLABORATE TO FEED LOS ANGELES' UNEMPLOYED RESTAURANT WORKERS COMMUNITY

Los Angeles chef Nancy Silverton, a long-time red wine aficionado is about to become a whiskey drinker. Maker’s Mark, to be exact.

The Kentucky bourbon maker reached out Wednesday to announced a partnership with Nancy for a $50,000 funded project that will be used to buy food and other supplies and feed - for free - the masses of recently laid-off restaurant employees. The food will be served out of Mozza2Go. The program will start Thursday night. Initially, it will last two weeks, but with extra funding will go on beyond that.

Special thanks goes to Edward Lee, chef/owner of restaurants of 610 Magnolia, MilkWood, and Whiskey Dry in Louisville, Kentucky and author of the cookbooks Smoke & Pickles and Buttermilk Graffiti. Edward Lee was the first chef Maker’s Mark approached and he recommended Nancy to them. For that, Nancy is honored.

The Mozza/Maker’s Mark project will likely be very similar to Lee’s at his 610 Magnolia restaurant. Every night hundreds of to-go meals, in addition to items like diapers, wipes, baby food, canned foods and cereals, toilet paper and Tylenol will be offered seven days a week until otherwise noted and pick-up times will be from 5 to 8:30 p.m. Workers will be required to provide a recent pay stub or other proof of restaurant employment.

The Maker’s Mark collaboration will also be implemented in several U.S. cities.

According to confidential sources, Silverton texted Edward Lee this morning that she was “honored” and “I won’t let you down”. Of that, there is no doubt.

TOM HANKS AND RITA WILSON LAND THE GREATEST ROLES OF THEIR CAREERS

The best news I heard this wayward week was that Tom Hanks and his Rita Wilson have the Corona virus. Talk about some comforting information in troubled times. And I sincerely mean that.

Wednesday night, I got the following text. “Tom Hanks, wife have virus”. If it had been sent from many people I know, I would have dismissed it as stupid. But, this text was from Saji Mathai, a very respected former Los Angeles Times copy editor whose life is devoted to accuracy.

I was numbed by the news. Tom Hanks and Rita have Corona? My neck radar tingled in the bad way when danger looms.  It was the Rock Hudson moment, the  Magic Johnson moment for the virus.  If Tom Hanks could get it, then no one is safe.  Gloom descend hard.

But, then, less than 30 minutes later, a strange feeling came to me. A feeling that made me kinda ashamed, even borderline cowardly, like that soldier cowering in the stairwell after the German slowly pushes the knife into the chest of the American in “Saving Private Ryan”.  Well, maybe not that bad. Still, the feeling was this; I was glad Tom Hanks got the virus. If anyone - and I’m talking anyone on Earth - should get it, Tom Hanks is the ideal person.

Certainly not because I wish him and Rita harm, but the opposite. It was because I like him so much, I respect him so much and, most importantly in these times, I trust him completely. The guy exudes a nearly long gone quality of pure honesty, of being a good person. I’m not saying he’s the only one with those qualities. Hell,  I even occasionally have them, but I am saying no one is better suited to play the role to lead us out of this uncertainty. To battle the uncharted seas, the mystery invasion.

In the small Tuscan village of Panzano in Chianti, my friend Kim Wicks, whose husband is the most famous butcher in Italy, Dario Cecchini – and who are quarantined there – was borderline thrilled to hear the news about Hanks. “In one fell swoop he has become the ambassador to de-stigmatized the whole thing. We can all watch him unveil the mystery. Because it is the unknown that freaks us all out and now, through Tom and Rita, we will go from uncertainty to some certainty. What a godsend.”

Tom and Rita will be our war correspondents sending dispatches from the front line. Finally there’ll be tweets that the world will await. Tweets that will matter to the world.

This morning I saw a tweet and photo from Tom  – with Rita looking fine as ever – and it finished with a spin on the classic line from “A League of Their Own”; “Remember, despite all the current events, there is no crying in baseball.”

There’s no crying, but there’s a whole lotta rooting. And I’m thinking, in all of history of the entire world  never has ever been more people rooting for two people to beat anything as much as they will be for Tom and Rita. There’s usually two sides to a fight. Either you want Ali or you want Frazier. Either you want Brazil or you want Argentina. Usually, as in war, there’s a bad guy, but the thing is, that bad guy thinks you’re the bad guy.

No one thinks Tom Hanks is the bad guy. The health minister in Iran, the sharecropper in Alabama, the yak farmer in Tibet, the dock worker in the Ivory Coast, the brain surgeon in Kyoto, the nurse in Bogota, the line cook from Oaxaca at Pizzeria Mozza, the point guard for the Golden State Warriors, the immigrant from Albania who works in Copenhagen, the Mercedes Formula One driver from England, everyone - other than, of course, some people who want the end of the world - are rooting for Tom and Rita.

Three years and four months ago, the day after Trump was elected,  I wrote an op-ed in the Los Angeles Times  urging people who said they were moving to Canada if he won to stay and fight. I wrote the piece because I stumbled onto watching “Saving Private Ryan” the day after the election and realized we, as a nation, had been through so much worse than having some buffoon in the White House.  We had been through World War II and Capt. Miller ( Hanks ) was gonna save Private Ryan, come hell or high. In the movie, Capt. Miller does save Ryan, but dies on a bridge.

In this real life movie, the sequel to Saving Private Ryan, the role of Tom Hanks was born to play, the greatest role of his and Rita’s life, the ending will be different.

Just as Tom Hanks ends his tweets, let me say  “hanks”. Hanks a lot.

NANCY SILVERTON GIVES RARE "4 NODS" TO GILBERTO CETINA'S MEXICAN SEAFOOD COUNTER "HOLBOX"

When Ruth Reichl tells you to go to a restaurant, go. Just go. She told this reporter Sunday afternoon to go to Holbox and before the sun had set, I was there with Nancy Silverton at a 10-seat counter in the colorful Mercado La Paloma, across the Harbor Freeway from the Coliseum.

Within three minutes, chef Gilberto Cetina, Jr, (Chichen Itza) who named this seafood gem after a car-free island off the north coast of the Yucatan Peninsula, was placing a vibrant green dish (pictured, right) before us. Nancy took a bite of this “aquachile” - Baja Half Moon scallops, lime-serrano-cilantro marinade, and avocado - and started nodding her head in silence. One nod, two.., three and then, slowly – as I watched in wonder – the rare Fourth Nod.  In the 17 years I have been eating with her, Nancy has given the 4 Nods to less than 40 dishes.

When we find out Holbox has been here, at 37th and Grand Ave., for three years, Nancy turns to me and asks “Why the hell haven’t you taken me here before? You gotta wait for Ruth to give the go ahead?’

Fortunately. three tacos show up; octopus, shrimp and yellowtail. They’re excellent. Then a grilled lobster. We eat in silence with some “damn”s and “whoa’s” tossed in.

It’s was such a delight, such a nice surprise. Thank you, Gilberto. Thank you, chef Fatima Juarez.  Thank you, host Maria.

And, oh yeah, thank you, Ruth.