Bringing Good Food Home

If this post were a text message being sent to a modern-day teenager, the teenager's response might be: "Obv."

That's because this post basically says something that you already know: "Instead of cooking something good for dinner, you can buy something good and bring it home." So why am I writing it? Because even though it's something that you may already know, it's not something that you necessarily do. I don't do it much myself--if I'm going to cook, I buy ingredients and cook; if I want food from a restaurant, I'd rather go to a restaurant--but that changed when I discovered Mozza-To-Go.

The pizza at Mozza is one of my favorite things about L.A. The crust is almost like a pastry, it's got so many flaky layers; little crystals of salt shatter as you bite through it. And the toppings--from housemade fennel meatballs to white anchovies--are all stimulating and arresting, the kinds of toppings you don't get bored with even several slices later.

Much like Franny's was our go-to special occasion pizza restaurant in New York, Mozza's become our go-to special occasion pizza restaurant in L.A. That was it was a special-occasion-only pizza place until I had an appointment with a trainer (yes, I'm still working out!) at a new gym on La Brea near Melrose. That's near Mozza-To-Go. And also near an excellent wine shop called Domaine L.A. where my friend Whitney works.

So yes, before going to the gym, I went to Mozza-To-Go and bought a giant focaccia--well two focaccia halves. Then I visited Whitney at Domaine and she helped me choose a bottle of wine:

So I showed up to the gym with focaccia and wine which I had to store in a locker while working out.

But when I got home, look what awaited us for dinner!

That, on the left, is leek focaccia with cherry tomatoes; that on the right is focaccia with fresno chiles. And here's the wine that Whitney paired with it:

A robust, rich, almost meaty (beef jerky came to mind) flavored wine that stood up to the bold flavors of the focaccia. And just to keep things a little more balanced, I made an escarole salad with lemon juice, olive oil and Parmesan which rounded out the meal:

I've made focaccia at home before (this one's a favorite) but no focaccia I'll ever make will rise to the level of Nancy Silverton's. So how lucky am I that I can score world class focaccia, top notch wine, drive home and eat like a king?

But, believe it or not, you're lucky too. Even if you don't live in a big city, surely there's some place near your home that has a specialty item that you can get to-go? Bring that item home for dinner tonight, pair it with something homemade and some good wine and you're set.

Sayeth the teenager via text: "Word."