We have been to the pizza place and also recently went to B&B in Vegas.  So how would Osteria Mozza compare? We managed to obtain a difficult to obtain reservation when someone canceled.  We packed up a nice 96 Brunello ($20 corkage) and headed out.  Typical HW set up…loud, tables close together.  And they were playing 80’s rock.  We ate to foreigner and Blondie.  Funny.  Foodwise, started out great.  Starters were fried pig trotter, grilled octopus, and burrata on leeks.  Pig trotter was reminiscent of scrapple (maybe there is someone out there from philly who knows what I am talking about). It had a nice crust, creamy center.  Tasty.  Octopus was two chunks, seared nicely but a bit chewy from being overcooked.  Burrata was excellent, as was the grilled leeks it was set on. This was accompanied by a nice bottle of italian sauvignon. 

Great wine list, Italy well represented. Many interesting economical options.  The sommelier was great, but he was offset by how abysmal and apathetic our waiter was.  The wine service was odd…Both wines, the one we brought and the one we purchased, were both brought to the “sommelier’s table” and both were opened and tasted outside our view by the sommelier.

The agnolotti was the highlight of the meal.  Better than La Terza’s, it was a soft, delicate pasta filled with a delicious short-rib filling.  We also ordered the famous egg/ricotta filled ravioli.  Also a great dish, but the agnolotti was better.  Actually, it was so good we got a second order, knowing that we might wind up too full to eat the mains.  It was good we did. (note ominous foreshadowing)

At that point, we were discussing the possibility of repeat visits, but then they brought the mains.  We ordered a guinea hen in a “liver” sauce that was descibed as a whole hen over a crostini with a sauce made from duck liver and liver from the hen.  What came were some stew-like bird pieces (no bones) on soggy bread with a sauce that tasted of overcooked chicken liver and was somewhat bitter. 

The other main was a lamb shank which was quite ordinary and not particularly tender.

So final outcome? If we lived on that side of town and if it was easy to get in we would go hang out the bar and order starters, cheese, and pasta.  But no, it’s not worth the hype.