The Relisher is the place where the world’s top chefs reveal their favorite spots in their home cities. This week, we spoke with James Beard award-winning chef, Nancy Silverton, the chef and co-owner of Mozza Group, consisting of over 8 restaurants including Michelin-starred Osteria Mozza in Los Angeles.
In addition to Chef Nancy's legendary restaurant portfolio, she has authored 11 cookbooks, was featured in an episode of the acclaimed Netflix series "Chef's Table," and co-writes the
Substack newsletter with renowned food writer .Below, Chef Nancy reveals her favorite spots in LA, including the bakery that inspired her to write her latest book, The Cookie That Changed My Life.
*At the end of the interview, there is a Google Map link and a summary with links and price ranges for all the mentioned places.
Restaurants
Choosing my favorite restaurants is difficult to do because, for me, a great meal is more about the people I'm with rather than the food or the restaurant itself. I tend to regularly visit restaurants owned by friends, former employees, or people with whom I've built a personal relationship over the years as I want to support them and their establishments. And so, the places that I regularly visit are:
Jar: The Head Chef and owner, Suzanne Tracht, was a chef for a few years when I owned Campanile. Today, she’s a good friend, and Jar is a terrific neighborhood restaurant. It's a great place to have meetings, and the menu is very familiar.
I'm not really in the mood to decide what I want to eat. I want dishes that reach out to me, and usually they're things that are very familiar like a preferred catch of the day, simple salads, etc. Her two standout dishes are the pot roast and braised chicken with Asian flavors.
A.O.C.: The head chef, Suzanne Goin, is a huge advocate of seasonality and supporting her farmers market, so the menu is always changing. Her salads are fantastic, and she’s also very knowledgeable about cheese and how to handle it.
My favorite dish is Suzanne’s absolutely brilliant roast chicken dish, which she prepares as an homage to the late (and probably my all-time favorite) Chef Judy Rogers of Zuni Cafe. This chicken dish is always on the menu, but the vegetable-supporting components of her dishes are always very seasonal. Note that there are two locations; I usually go to West Hollywood.
Spago: This is my go-to for something more upscale or celebratory. It’s a place to go if you want to get spoiled — they have an extraordinary wine list and masterfully crafted dishes. Working at Spago early in my career helped put me on the map, and so it holds a special place in my heart.
In terms of the best meal I had in LA in the last year, Antico Nuovo, a charming Italian restaurant where the chef prepares simple Italian food using artisanal products, would be it. It's a very small, intimate and lively place.
I don't recall what occasion we were celebrating — whether it was a birthday or just the last day with a couple of the cooks from Mozza. It was simply a delightful meal. The chef has created a wonderful restaurant that reflects his love for cooking. He has taken his passion and turned it into his restaurant, and I'm truly proud of him.
Quick Bite
Grab-and-go / all-day quick dining spots are opening all over Los Angeles lately. Most of the time, it's not very appealing to me, and not everyone does it well, but when someone does do it well, I’m in awe. Café Telegrama falls into this category.
Here, the interesting selection of pastries screams “Eat me”, the coffee is perfectly crafted, and the salads are perfectly made. Café Telegrama is located on Western Avenue in a developing neighborhood becoming known as a foodie destination, with interesting eateries lining the little strip. I get as excited about a restaurant on this level as I do about a perfectly executed three-star experience.
Bakeries
République Bakery, run by a husband and wife team, is actually in the same building as two of my previous restaurants, La Brea Bakery and Campanile Restaurant. What is so heartwarming is that they took a place that has so much memory for me, so much history… and she celebrated that and made it into an even better place. Their pastries are fantastic. every single one screams out to you, “Eat me!" And her oatmeal raisin cookie is absolutely addictive.
Friends and Family is run by baker Roxana, who used to work for me at Campanile. Her standout items are the cookies, especially the peanut butter cookie. It’s the perfect peanut butter cookie, in my opinion — rounded edges, cracks all over the surface, chewy when you break it open, and tastes like peanut butter. This cookie was the inspiration for my new book, The Cookie That Changed My Life.
My favorite breakfast place is Courage Bagels, which makes the most delicious bagels. They're well baked, crusty, chewy, packed with flavor and they're small. I order the plain bagel — I don't even order it with cream cheese or salmon. I don't need that whole bagel sandwich experience, just the flavor of that bagel is fantastic.
Coffee Shops
I’m a cappuccino drinker and my go to coffee shop in Los Angeles is Go Get Em Tiger.
However, the best cup of coffee that I’ve probably ever had was at Arabica in Singapore, which recently opened their first LA location in The Grove. Arabica’s coffee features a delicious flavored bean that’s perfectly extracted, and the milk is perfectly steamed. They offer only one size, and in my opinion, it’s the ideal size for a cup of coffee.
Boutiques
Nickey Kehoe is a design shop that's the most well-curated houseware store I've ever visited. They boast a fabulous collection ranging from linens and tablecloths to ceramics and everything you need for your home. It's impossible to walk in and not walk out with arms loaded full of things you didn't know you needed. As for clothing, I love Noodle Stories for their beautiful collection of Italian and Japanese designers.
Favorite Restaurants in The World
All of my favorite restaurants in the world are in Italy, my second home. As mentioned before, restaurants are more than just the food. I have three really dear friends in Italy, and every summer I go to see them, and at least two of them in the winter (since all of these places are very far from one another).
Outside of Naples is my favorite pizzeria, called Pepe in Grani. The chef creates a unique style of pizza that is somewhat fluffy, using all locally sourced products, from the olives to the beautiful mountain mozzarella. He's famous for his Margherita because it's a different style. I also love the pizza he makes with Mortadella (Italian sausage) and buffalo milk ricotta.
I adore Massimo Bottura and his restaurant Osteria Francescana in Modena, a three-star experience. Each summer he crafts a new menu celebrating a new theme, and so I'm always looking forward to what that summer's experience is going to be. It's always a long meal but it's an exciting one, and he comes out and tells me the story behind each of the dishes which always has to do with a collaboration between himself and the kitchen. I love all of the cooks there.
Dario Cecchini is the world-famous Tuscan butcher located in Chianti, a tiny hilltop town in Tuscany. He has three restaurants all of which offer communal dining experiences where you share the table with the rest of the restaurant’s guests. Dario is deeply committed to celebrating meat, and he uses all of the parts of the animals in his dishes.
Thanks for reading — Gabrielle
SUMMARY
HERE is the Google Maps link.
RESTAURANTS
Jar $$
A.O.C. $$
Antico Nuovo $$
Spago $$$
CAFES & BAKERIES
COFFEE SHOPS
BOUTIQUES
Dario Cecchini: https://www.dariocecchini.com/?lang=en
Osteria Francesana: https://osteriafrancescana.it (see English tab, top right)
Pepi in Grani: https://www.pepeingrani.it/?lang=en
Appreciate this list in Google Map form! Had the chance to go to one of Dario's restaurants this past fall and it was wonderful—can't wait to try more of Nancy's recs