Mozza gets giddy

Mozza works. (Except for a few cranks on Chowhound.) Nancy Silverton is stationed at the oven; Mario Batali is still AWOL. (Perhaps Eater LA should take over BataliWatch.) Those who complain it's not the kind of place where you order a large pie to go are absolutely right, but La Buca is down the street.

For everybody else: Clam pizza is excellent. So is the homemade fennel sausage. I liked the pizza topped with rosemary and lardo (aka cured pork fat - translucent slices of proscuitto-flavored goodness), but that one's closer to focaccia. Also noteworthy: chicken liver crostini (so much better than anything else I've had with the words "chicken liver" in its name) and deep-fried ricotta-stuffed squash blossoms.

However, none of this acknowledges Mozza's true bid for greatness, which is the highest server-to-customer ratio you'll ever see in a pizza parlor.

Between the busboys, waiters, trainees and runners on the floor last Wednesday night, there were about four customers per employee.

"It's a lot for a 65-person restaurant, but it's not out of whack based on sales," says Mozza general manager David Rosoff. And while he expects a smaller staff as they get up to speed, it can't change too much: "People here expect a higher level of service."

And at Mozza, that can mean a struggle against its own design. With a full house, volume stays just below shouting level. Seats graze each other; so do table edges. Right now, that doesn't matter much; when you've got a hot restaurant, the crowd skews giddy for the first few months. You probably know the people eating next to you, anyway. Down the line, however, Mozza patrons may need all the help they can get.