The Mozzeria blog, which debuted on December 17th, 2011, explores the husband-and-wife team of Melody and Russell Stein’s love for pizza, and Melody’s determination to become the third generation restaurateur in her family. Blog postings present an intimate look at the Stein’s desires and efforts, shares latest developments, and chronicle their endeavor to launch their San Francisco restaurant. Melody did an extensive study tour in Italy earlier in the year taking cooking classes in Rome, Sorrento and Positano, has been conducting extensive research locally and held tasting events to gather feedback and input on their specially developed recipes. An extension of the blog is their newly opened San Francisco-based restaurant — Mozzeria and as a deaf Asian-American female, they have hired servers who can actually sign and it is one of the reasons I ended up discovering the place.
An old high school friend was passing through and one of her new ventures is learning to sign in order to become an interpreter. Who knew that this was a skillset that was lacking around the country? On top of it, she is vegan and wheat challenged, so off we went to Mozzeria so she could practice signing, I could discover a new restaurant in the Mission area and we could share as many salads as was offered on the menu. If you don’t have food restrictions, go for their fabulous pizzas, which is what the restaurant is known for: Neapolitan style of course. And, according to their blog, they’ll be doing “duck” pizzas every Friday, served with Hoisin Sauce, Spring Onion, Roasted Cherry Tomatoes and Eggplant and Goat Cheese. Yum!
If duck isn’t your thing, try a pizza with caramelized onion, fresh thyme and point reyes bleu cheese, proscuitto with wild arugula and mozzarella, or roasted grape tomatoes, eggplant and goat cheese.
Other things on the menu worth noting are their appetizer-portioned meat samplers, such as porcini salame with a sherry jelly, prosciutto and pickled cauliflower and hot coppa with garlic stuffed olives, all available for $6 a pop. They also have a great cheese selection, including my favorite: pecorino, which they serve with almonds. Additionally, you can go for the humboldt fog with hestnut honey, farmhouse cheddar with amarena cherries or the fromage blanc served with bergamont oil and cracked black pepper.
I wasn’t hungry enough to dive into their pastas, but if you are, they have two interesting sounding ravioli dishes: a crab ravioli or the wild mushroom ravioli, both served in a cream sauce. Frankly, I think they should offer an alternative for those who don’t particularly want the calories or artery killers that cream is known for; thankfully when I did ask for something else, the chef said he’d do a traditional tomato sauce. Note to self for next time.
Renee Blodgett is the founder of We Blog the World. The site combines the magic of an online culture and travel magazine with a global blog network and has contributors from every continent in the world. Having lived in 10 countries and explored nearly 80, she is an avid traveler, and a lover, observer and participant in cultural diversity.
She is also the CEO and founder of Magic Sauce Media, a new media services consultancy focused on viral marketing, social media, branding, events and PR. For over 20 years, she has helped companies from 12 countries get traction in the market. Known for her global and organic approach to product and corporate launches, Renee practices what she pitches and as an active user of social media, she helps clients navigate digital waters from around the world. Renee has been blogging for over 16 years and regularly writes on her personal blog Down the Avenue, Huffington Post, BlogHer, We Blog the World and other sites. She was ranked #12 Social Media Influencer by Forbes Magazine and is listed as a new media influencer and game changer on various sites and books on the new media revolution. In 2013, she was listed as the 6th most influential woman in social media by Forbes Magazine on a Top 20 List.
Her passion for art, storytelling and photography led to the launch of Magic Sauce Photography, which is a visual extension of her writing, the result of which has led to producing six photo books: Galapagos Islands, London, South Africa, Rome, Urbanization and Ecuador.
Renee is also the co-founder of Traveling Geeks, an initiative that brings entrepreneurs, thought leaders, bloggers, creators, curators and influencers to other countries to share and learn from peers, governments, corporations, and the general public in order to educate, share, evaluate, and promote innovative technologies.
