Nancy Silverton & Mario Batali

[Carolyn Tillie]

In the restaurant world, that is...

LA Times Article -- Nancy sells out of Campanile to partner with Batali for an Italian restaurant somewhere in Los Angeles.

Edited January 26, 2005 by Carolyn Tillie (log)

[SiseFromm]

He certainly seemed to respect what she was doing on Ciao America's sandwich episode, though I don't know how far back their relationship goes. Referring to her Italian "road-stop" pannini, he said, "This is what God would eat if he were driving a car". I've been meaning to try sandwich night ever since.

[cstuart]

Nancy Silverton & Mario Batali, Who knew they would hook up?

I did! No not really, but Nancy does call Mario her friend and includes "Mario's Favorite Bagna Cauda Sandwich" in her sandwich book. Good thing Mario has some weight to throw around because he seems to be spreading himself quite thin with all these restaurants, although opening one with Silverton sounds like a great idea.

[rjwong]

That entire article blew me away when I was reading it for the food digest this week.

According to the article, Silverton is looking around for locations. She & Batali are hoping to open the restaurant by the end of the summer.

Given that both have strong & driven personalities, I liked Nancy's answer to the questions about how she & Mario can co-exist in the kitchen, how the responsibilities & authorities are going to be divided up:

Silverton says they haven't discussed that yet "except that since the restaurant is in L.A., I'll be the boss."

After reading this article, I'm reminded of that old quote (slightly out of context), "Man doesn't live by bread alone ..."

Maybe that's why Mario Batali is bringing over the salumi to Los Angeles.

Edited January 27, 2005 by rjwong (log)

[melkor]

I’ve removed the posts from this thread about organizing an offline event as they violate the current eGullet events policy. If people are interested in getting together at the restaurant they are welcome to use the PM system to organize that. Another good option would be to organize an event that fits the guidelines in the events policy, in which case the event could be organized in this forum.

[rjwong]

Here's an update from the LA Daily News (10 Oct. 2005) on the Mario Batali & Nancy Silverton restaurant partnership:

Super Mario on the move / by Natalie Haughton

Next spring, he and Nancy Silverton, founder of La Brea Bakery, will collaborate on Trattoria del'Latte, a Los Angeles restaurant (located near Melrose and Highland avenues) encompassing a trio of different concepts. "Trattoria del'Latte will feature a large mozzarella bar; Enoteca del'Latte, a wine bar and Italian antipasti; and next to that Pizzeria del'Latte will feature a wood-fired pizza like that in Rome," says Silverton.

[Bond Girl]

I think there is a page 6 article that detailed the affair between these two. But it's page 6, take it with a grain of salt.

[rjwong]

Not to be outdone, the LA Times article, Big bucks for a slice of the pizza / by Corie Brown, includes this tidbit:

Prospective investors were stunned Oct. 5 when the private placement offering for the much anticipated Nancy Silverton-Mario Batali restaurant hit their desks. Shares in the Italian kitchen are being offered at a record $100,000 each, a startlingly large sum in Los Angeles, where buying into a top restaurant rarely costs more than $25,000 a share, and never more than $50,000 ... In a difficult restaurant climate, this is a wildly ambitious project — three restaurants in one, including a trattoria, a pizzeria and an enoteca.

[albiston]

Here's an update from the LA Daily News (10 Oct. 2005) on the Mario Batali & Nancy Silverton restaurant partnership:

...cut... and next to that Pizzeria del'Latte will feature a wood-fired pizza like that in Rome," says Silverton.

←

Maybe someone should tell Silverton that most Italians think that Roman-style pizza sucks, except maybe Romans, and I think that's changing too.

Edited October 12, 2005 by albiston (log)

[Ore]

Haha...Alberto, I agree!

I hope this thing happens though...we here in LA can use another fun place to eat, still, things are looking positive.

Only time will tell.

[savvysearch]

Very exciting news.

[rjwong]

I went to La Terza last Tuesday night, which is Italian Tavola night with Nancy Silverton. The tavola was great as usual.

Afterwards, I asked Nancy when the new restaurant will be open. She said hopefully in the fall [of 2006].

Keep waiting, folks!

[rjwong]

In the 29 March 2006 edition of the LA Times Food Section Digest includes Leslie Brenner's article/interview with Mario Batali and his current battles with Del Posto, among other things. In the article are some updated info about the new restaurant on Melrose & Highland with Nancy Silverton:

And in the meantime, he has his sight set firmly on Los Angeles. He says he aims for the restaurant to open the second week of June, now that construction is underway.

The name is changed — what was initially going to be called Latte — Trattoria del'Latte and Pizzeria del'Latte — is now to be called Mozza (as in mozzarella) — Trattoria Mozza and Pizzeria Mozza. And though Batali and Bastianich are partners, he says it'll really be Silverton's place.

Still, it'll be fascinating to see whether L.A. falls in love with the chef in shorts and orange clogs.

Mario says the 2nd week in June. Nancy says in the fall of 2006, maybe. Personally, I'd go with Nancy. Mario has no idea about LA bureaucracy ...

[davebr]

The Los Angeles magazine said Mozza will be open this month. Does anyone know if it has opened yet?

[rjwong]

To answer your question, here are a few photos I took about a week ago:

As you can see, Mozza is closed. You and I, as well as everyone else (and that includes Jonathan Gold & S. Irene Virbila), are going to have to wait until Mozza is open for business. According to my sources, the pizzeria is going to open in September and the main restaurant is planning to open at the end of the year. If I hear any further updates, I’ll do my best to keep everyone informed.

[davebr]

Thanks!!! Although I'm disappointed, Im thankfull I dont have to deal with yalls traffic looking for the place to only find out its not open.

[russ parsons]

latest word from a source VERY close to the project (how's that for coy?) is that the restaurant will be divided into 2 parts: a pizzeria that is scheduled to open sometime in September, and an osteria that will open about 6 weeks later.