Amy ScattergoodCelebrating this year's Best of L.A. issue — now out in print and online — we're counting down, in no particular order, 100 of our favorite dishes.
4: Butterscotch Budino at Mozza.
There are many, many reasons to spend time at the glorious food complex that is Mozza on the corner of Melrose and Highland. The fennel sausage pizza. The porchetta (!). Salumi Thursdays. The pizza classes. The myriad bowls of pasta at the Osteria. The many incarnations of the stunning gelato. The gingerbread pigs. (One could go on.) But maybe the best dish on the menu, or at least the one that would engender the most uproar if it was ever removed, is the butterscotch budino. Pastry chef Dahlia Narvaez's dessert is neither ground-breaking nor anything assembled from foams or wacky foodist techniques. Basically it's just a butterscotch pudding, albeit an extraordinary one.
In Narvaez's hands, the pudding — which at Mozza goes by the appropriately Italian name of budino — is more a study in caramel than it is an ordinary pudding. Topped with a thick strata of salted caramel and a spoonful of whipped crème fraîche, the dish also comes with a few rosemary-pine nut cornmeal cookies. Again, both a simple cookie and far more than the sum of its parts.
The caramel in both the pudding and the topping play off each other, with the tang from the crème fraîche and the zing from the salt preventing the dish from becoming too sweet or cloying. The rosemary cookies both provide a bit of savory crunch and give you something to concentrate on so that you don't eat the pudding in one long series of repeating spoonfuls.
You can make the dessert at home — the recipe is on the James Beard Foundation's website — if you're feeling particularly ambitious. But really, part of the fun of this is eating the dish after a pizza or a plate of meatballs, spooning up the golden dessert in the happy orange-themed atmosphere of Nancy Silverton's restaurant.
100: Lukshon's Dan Dan Noodles
99: Cemita de Milanesa at Cemitas Poblanos Elviritas #1
98: Chichen Itza's Cochinita Pibil
96: La Cevicheria's Bloody Clam Ceviche
94: Peruvian Chicken at Pollo a la Brasa
93: Squash Blossom Quesadilla at Antojitos Carmen
92: Thai Boat Noodles at Pa-Ord
90: Furikake Kettle Corn at A-Frame
89: Live Santa Barbara Spot Prawns at Providence
88: Fried Pig Tails at Night + Market
87: Egg Salad Sandwich at Euro Pane
85: Truffle Honey-Laced Fried Chicken at Manhattan Beach Post
84: Mool Naeng Myun at Yu Chic Naeng Myun
83: Chicken Vampiro at Mexicali Taco & Co
81: White Anchovy, Tomato and Fresno Chile Pizza at Pizzeria Mozza
80: Shu Mai at Elite Restaurant
79: Tandoori Chicken at Al-Watan
78: Chocolate Bread and Butter Pudding at The Hungry Cat
77: Agedashi Tofu at Izakaya Bincho
74: The Sea Urchin Tostada at La Guerrerense
73: Wood-Roasted English Peas at Tar & Roses
72: Persian Mulberries at Weiser Family Farms
71: Hunan-Style Preserved Pork with Tofu at Hunan Chilli King
70: Brisket Banh Mi at Gjelina Take Away
69: Yukhwe Bibimbap at Oo-Kook Korean BBQ
68: Lamb Pie at Beijing Pie House
67: Son of a Gun's Uni and Burrata
66: Pastrami Reuben at Art's Delicatessen
65: Beef Koobideh at Kabab Mahaleh
64: The Whipper Burger at Hawkins House of Burgers
63: Slippery Shrimp at Yang Chow
62: Whole Channel Island Red Sea Urchin at Water Grill
61: Going Dutch Panini at Bread Lounge
60: Huckleberry's Green Eggs & Ham
59: Pickled Watermelon Salad at L&E Oyster Bar
58: Spaghettini with Abalone, Pickled Cod Roe and Truffles at n/naka
57: Brown Brown Bread Ice Cream at Scoops Westside
56: Smothered Chicken at R and R Soul Food
53: The Sycamore Kitchen's Double BLT-A Sandwich
52: House Wonton Soup at China Cafe
51: Almond Croissant at Proof Bakery
50: The Southern Fry at Plan Check Kitchen + Bar
49: The Dodger Dog at Dodger Stadium
47: Lucky Baldwins' Traditional Full English Breakfast
46: Edomae Tendon Bowl at Hannosuke
45: The Pescado Zarandeado at Coni'Seafood
43: Raw Kale Salad at Elf Cafe
42: Steak Tartare Tacos at MessHall
40: Sicilian Slice at Pizzanista
39: Grilled Baby Goat T-bone at Mozza's Scuola di Pizza Salumi Bar
37: The Island Combo at TiGeorges' Chicken
36: Tacos Al Pastor at Tacos Leo
35: “Sandwich” at Roma Italian Deli
33: Cauliflower T-Bone at Superba Snack Bar
32: Pupusa Revuelta at Atlacatl
31: Bonjiri Yakitori at Kokekokko
30: Crispy Pork with Morning Glory at Crispy Pork Gang & Grill
29: Sashimi Special at Sushi Gen
28: Tamal de Mole Negro at Guelaguetza
27: The Hickoryburger at Apple Pan
26: Lobster Thermidor at Musso & Frank's
25: Poached Pear Coupe at Tavern
24: Coconut Bavarois at Red Medicine
23: The Tasting Kitchen's Pork Rillettes
21: Anson Mills Grits & Eggs at Milo & Olive
20: Lamb Dip at Philippe the Original
19: Salsa de Chorizo Con Cesina at Gish Bac
18: Matsuhisa's Yellowtail Scallion Donburi
17: Green Curry Mussels at Jitlada
16: Creamy Pumpkin Soup at BierBeisl
15: Fish Taco from Ricky's Fish Tacos
14: Spago's Baked Jonagold Apple
13: Rivera's Tortillas Florales
11: Sugar and Spice Beignets at Hatfield's
9: Pastrami on Rye at Langer's Delicatessen
8: Smoked Salmon with Mango at Kiriko
7. Water-Boiled Fish at Chung King.
6. Mole de los Dioses at Rocio's Mole de los Dioses
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