Mortadella Pizzetta at Mesa - Costa Mesa

Mozza. Ortica. Il Dolce. Pielogy. Yadda. Yadda. There's a lot of pizzas out there. And a lot of them are good. A lot of them are great. But you know what's my favorite pizza right now? The one you see pictured above, offered and served not by a hyped-up or Naples-certified pizzeria that touts its wood burning oven or the Batali behind the curtain, but a hip, small plate restaurant that has been hip for a long time now.

Yes, it's Mesa. And their pizza is friggin' awesome. That pretty much summarizes what I said when I bit into the first slice. "This is friggin' awesome," I said to my tablemates. And they agreed. The crust is perfect--not soggy, not tough, as thin as those hand-tossed pies from all the places I mentioned, but tender, more pliant, and still in possession of that bubbled-burnt edge that I like to savour slowly at the end, especially when the crust is this good.

And the toppings? This one had mortadella, sharp parmesan, blubbery burrata, red onion, sofrito and something called "finishing oil"; but it matters less what they are and more that whatever it is, it's infused, melted in, incorporated, at one with the crust. I really have no other way to describe the pizzas at Mesa that what I said a paragraph ago: it's friggin' awesome.

Mesa
725 Baker St.,
Costa Mesa, CA 92626
Phone:(714) 557-6700
www.mesacostamesa.com

THIS WEEK ON OC WEEKLY:
Four Sea Restaurant - Irvine