A visiting wine geek's thoughts on Mozz

[Robin Garr]

Pals Mike and Cindy from Cincy were in for a show the other night, and Mike was kind enough to share his thoughts on dinner and wine at Mozz while they were here. Shared, with his permission:

Wife and I dined at Mozz on Sunday. Food was very good. The popover-style bread was hot and delicious. The caprese, hangar steak, and tortellini were all very good. Caesar salad was run-of-the-mill. Coffee tasty. Service uneven..waiter had to be reminded to bring our wine. Wine situation was very disappointing. First the list was woefully short for an enoteca. Second, only a handful of Italian wines appeared on the list. Third, a Dolcetto was considered to be a 'reserve' wine. Fourth, the pricing was outrageously high..wanted $48 for a rosso Toscana that retails at $15..the Dolcetto was $50! Finally, they were sold out of both!

If you're a foodie, go. If rapacious wine prices give you heartburn, find another venue.

The wine thing really bugs me....Mozz is billed as an enoteca yet the wine list had no more than 40 labels. And an Italian eatery with about 7 Italian wines on the list is bothersome. I realize the plebeian masses order cabernet sauvignon and chardonnay with anything but would expect the management of a non-chain restaurant to at least stock and push Italian varietals. Oh well, I will stick with the local mom and pop Italian restaurant up here.

One upside in the wine area I forgot to mention is that their glass pours on the red side were pretty good...I would venture to say they were close to 6 ounces. Maybe the bartender had a heavy hand realizing that we had already gone 0 for 2 on bottles, but that is pure conjecture. The white wine pour was probably 5 ounces. Another point I didn't have room for in my comments to Open Table is that both the caprese and the Caesar salad were big enough to share....the caprese had at about 8 slices of tomato and mozzarella while the Caesar was an entire head of Romaine albeit trimmed of the usual damage to exterior leaves. Also the jalapeno-mint dressing served on the side with the caprese was really tasty.

A side benefit of the lack of desirable wines by the bottle was that Cindy and I drank less with dinner than we otherwise would....and didn't have to worry about dozing off during the concert!

After looking at a lot of restaurants online in advance of this trip, I would agree that Louisville has a very nice dining scene. And Cindy and I were impressed by Whitney Hall, would definitely return for future concerts.

Another little tidbit of information....I have recently used Open Table for several reservations. And I like their features. One is the ability to search all of their restaurant clients in Louisville (or other cities) for availability for a specific size of party and time. The other is the ability to send emails containing the reservation data to one's fellow diners right from Open Table's web site. Neat stuff!

...And an Italian eatery with about 7 Italian wines on the list is bothersome.

The representation of Italian wines in Louisville, both at retail and in restaurants is pretty abyssmal, especially given the availability of great wines at wholesale. Vincenzo's has a solid Italian wine list. I actually think for what it is, Come Back Inn has a pretty darned good by the glass selection of Italian wines, or at least my memory of it was that I was pleasantly surprised. Have no idea what the list looks like at Volare or Porcini.

I get it, Italian wines are a hard sell to the uninitiated. I have a friend in the trade who admits to being uneducated on Italian wines. He has a decent palate, and an appreciation for Burgundies, so it seems to be an easy sell - he likes wines that are earthy and high pitched (like many Italian wines...). But he has complained that most of the Italians he's had are "too acidic". And this is a guy in the trade, not your average layperson. I opened a Rosso Conero for him, 100% Montepulciano (as in Marche, not the Sangiovese clone) and he said it as "too acidic". And I intentionally chose a wine that is soft, one that I guarantee on paper is higher pH (lower acid) than most of the Burgundian Pinot Noirs he likes. But psychology, well, it's hard to fight against. Beyond that, the Euro remaining strong has changed the game a lot on Italian wines. When I got started in the trade, $12-15 would get a you a really nice Tuscan wine, and could even take you pretty far for a Piemontese table wine (Dolcetto, Barbera even Gattinara). Not so much anymore. You're pushing $20+ to get wines of quality, wines that are interesting and more than one-dimensional (that transcend the sharpness that has created these negative connotations towards Italian wines).

It's kinda like that fiery beer thread that's been going on. If I had to make my decision about where to eat based on wine lists, I'd stay home a lot. And I'm not talking just about Italian, either. But as it is, I'm not motivated to eat outside my own house much anyway.

On the other hand, at work we recently featured a very good Soave that is available at a reasonable price in a tasting. This is purely anectdotal, but I feel safe claiming that nearly all, if not all of the attendees were unfamiliar with Soave in general, and would not have otherwise chosen that wine. It was a runaway success. So I think there is room if the retailer or server is willing to do a little education, or has the opportunity to present something to a customer who doesn't recognize much on the label. Right now, at the Wine Market, we have a small, but geographically diverse selection of Italian wines, most of which are actually quite modern in style, with enough fruit character and small oak on them to appeal to local tastes. But not too many people see stuff that is recognizable to them, or understand the language on the labels. The Wine Rack has a small but very well curated Italian aisle too, as does Whole Foods. Even walking over to the Italian rack at Trader Joe's and just blindly grabbing something will most likely net you something good. But I guarantee all those spots sell less Italian wine in toto than a fraction of their proprietary California Zin-based blends with funky names and sexy labels. Bleh.

On a note unrelated to the above, but germane to this thread, I have only eaten at Mozz twice, and both of those times quite a while ago. I found the food to be excellent. The main reason I haven't returned is that I mostly dine out with my family, and while the service was very gracious to a party of four with two young kids, Mozz is not exactly the kind of place I'd call family-friendly.

"plebeian masses" huh?

[Robin Garr]

I liked the food and the mood at Mozz but was really put off by the service, which was over-the-top smarmy and obsequious. I suspect I was recognized as a critic, but most more sophisticated establishments understand that few serious critics appreciate being treated like a browsing vizier at a Turkish rug market.

"plebeian masses" huh?

As much as I'd like to, I won't go quite that far. And I readily admit I am a complete snob. Two thoughts. First, the masses flock to garbage fast food, go nuts for junk in boxes (frozen or add water and microwave) at the supermarkets. But that stuff wouldn't sell if it didn't taste good. "Good" though is a subjective term.

Second, here's the analogy I draw at work, when given the opportunity. Your California wines are like Pamela Anderson. French, Catherine Deneuve. Italian, Sophia Loren.

At the risk of starting another battle I don't want to be involved in (odd how the only really inflammatory convos on here have to do with beer), my beer equivalent of that analogy is American craft beer = Bruce Willis. Old World beers of quality = Jean Reno.

I suspect I was recognized as a critic, but most more sophisticated establishments understand that few serious critics appreciate being treated like a browsing vizier at a Turkish rug market.

I had a funny experience in Chicago when up there on work. I don't often dine alone anymore, and even more rarely when traveling for work, but this particular night that is what happened. I went to a place that I had heard/read about and had piqued my interest. I felt as though they must have pegged me as a potential critic, blogger of note, or someone in the trade, a chef perhaps (contrary to what some folks on here seem to think, I am not a chef). Maybe it's how I talked or carried myself, or whatever. But this small spot (Ruxbin) does not take reservations, and somehow I got promoted up the line and was seated much earlier than expected, got sendouts from the kitchen, etc. I wish I knew what I did right that night, I'd do it every time!

Ken, I've had the same thing happen to me in some nice Philly restaurants. My theory is that, when they see someone dining alone, they might believe you're someone in the industry or a genuine admirer of the craft (I fall in the latter). They know you're there for the dining experience and not just to enjoy the company of others.

In any case, it can make solo dining a pleasure!

This is an interesting revelation!

Now, how can I arrange it that My Sweetie and I can both dine alone at adjoining tables?



Sorry. Does this count as a rhetorical question?

When Mozz first opened, I remember that the wine list was at least half Italian. Has it been "dumbed down" since then, maybe due to lack of familiarity?

Has anyone been to their new-ish spot on 4th Street?

When Mozz first opened, I remember that the wine list was at least half Italian. Has it been "dumbed down" since then, maybe due to lack of familiarity?

Yeah, I haven't been in over a year, but when I went, the list was more heavily Italian. Other reports confirm what Robin's guests observed.

Has anyone been to their new-ish spot on 4th Street?

I have, for lunch. It was good, nothing outstanding. I tried a piece of my coworker's pizza and while it had good flavor, the crust was kind of doughy and underbaked compared to the ones that places like Coals and Garage Bar offer.