This week's restaurant review takes a look at the Scuola di Pizza, and in particular its Thursday night salumi bar, a project by chef Chad Colby that will go from one to four nights a week in January. We hope you'll find time to read the review in its entirety, but for the attention- and time-deprived, here's the quick version:

Concept: The Scuola di Pizza is the space at Mozza between the Osteria and Mozza2Go. It is used as a cooking school, a private-events space and the venue for a series of weekly pop-up dinners.

Food: Chef Chad Colby is meat-obsessed. As such, he's made the Scuola into a kind of lab for his meaty experiments, in particular turning them into charcuterie. This led Mozza to become the first restaurant in L.A. to be licensed to cure and serve meat on premises. That charcuterie is highlighted each Thursday night at the salumi bar. Colby also holds special whole-hog dinners, and dinners focused on other meats.

What's the big deal?: Mozza as an entity thrives and grows in part because its owners are so good at seeking out talent and providing opportunity for that talent. That's the case with Colby, who was a sous chef at the Osteria. From the review: Here's the thing about Colby and what he's doing at the Scuola that's so cool: Amidst the big, important, celebrity chef-driven machine that is Mozza is a young chef, a Willy Wonka of meats, who doggedly pursued a passion project that wasn't even possible in Los Angeles before he made it so.

Vital statistics: There's a small but well-curated wine list for the salumi bar and other events at the Scuola. Service is always warm and utterly professional. No reservations are needed for the salumi bar, but classes and prix fix dinners require a reservation and a credit card number. Prices range from $150 for classes to $75 for dinners at the salumi bar, which is a la carte and quite reasonable.

Take-away: The salumi bar is the most laid-back way to eat at Mozza, and by far my favorite of all my experiences there. Find out exactly why by reading the full review.

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