AEJ and I had lunch this afternoon at Pizzeria Mozza, Mario Batali’s (and Nancy Silverton’s and Joseph Bastianich’s) pizza restaurant in Hollywood. We’ve been a few times, and it’s always a treat. We don’t go often, largely because $70 for lunch is a lot to “stomach.” (HA!)

The place is very small, and it’s mobbed, both at lunch and dinner. Partially due to its size and decor, the restaurant feels very much like New York. The biggest difference is that the staff is all friendly — especially the hostess, who kind of oozed California sunshine (in the most charming way).

The only reservation we could get was for 1:45pm. We arrived at 1:20 (we were a little anxious), and we squeezed through the front door, only to wait until about 1:50 to be seated, all the while being subjected to the sights and smells of the pizzas as they passed by. Finally at our table, we were brought these little crunchy breadsticks — quite literally the size of sticks. Super tasty.

We’re having a heat wave here, with temperatures in the upper-90s, so by the time we sat down, I was thirsty, and we both ordered fresh-squeezed lemonades. I think they put a little club soda in them to give ’em a little fizz.

Our appetizer was the chopped salad, which my mom once described as “the best salad I’ve ever had in my whole life.” My life has been a little shorter, so it doesn’t mean as much coming from me, but I might say the same thing. The tomatoes are fresh and juicy, the salami is homemade, the spices are perfect.

It’s so good, it’s deserving of two pictures.

Each pizza is made fresh, so we had a few minutes between courses. Around 2:30, the place quieted down quite a bit. Here you can see some of the nice warm colors they chose. It really is a great room. (It was packed again by 3pm.)

Oh, and here come the pizzas. We went with one very traditional Margherita pizza with homemade mozzarella, tomato, and basil… (just check out that crust!)

… and for our slightly more adventurous pizza, salame gentile, mozzarella, tomato, and fresno chiles. This one was spicy — and the best pizza we’ve had there.

We were offered dessert, but this time, we passed. (We had some great desserts when we ate there for AEJ’s birthday.) I opted for a second lemonade.

The place is mega-yummy. If we win the $330+ million lottery jackpot tomorrow, we’re totally eating there daily. I may even buy the place. Then we can get super fat. It’s going to be awesome.