A couple of Fridays ago we decided to go to La Mamas in Carlton after work. La Mamas is a fantastic theatre in carlton which stages smaller and often more experimental theatre compared to something like the MTC - Melbourne Theatre Company (which a girlfriend and I are subscribers to), and also a lot more intimate as it is a lot smaller, so the actors usually make eye contact with you during the performance (which can be a little unsettling at first). The play we saw had one actor, some dolls, a pianist/ violinist and someone doing the lights, but I enjoyed it much more than the latest play from MTC... enough about that! After making plans to see a play, i deviously suggested that we try DOC, as i had read about it on other blogs and was rather interested in trying some fresh mozzarella and some reportedly good pizza...
So after our play we walked into DOC and asked for a table. After seating us, and giving us the menus, they then decided to tell us that we had to be out of there by 830pm. We are fast eaters so this was not a problem but I thought it was a bit strange to tell us after seating us. In the entry there was an old retro ham slicer with a massive ham on it that looked totally edible, and the room is one of those bare concrete walls and floors which while looking nice is not good for sound levels... as the night went on it got louder and louder, especially due to a table of very loud Italians near us.
The menu is printed on a large sheet of paper which on the back has a large map of Italy that points out where different food products in italy come from regionally. We are going to italy next year for our honeymoon so we spent some time planning our trip based on this information...
'ok, first we go to prociutto, followed by mozzarella and oooh, the anchovies and then maybe some parmagianna regiano...'
ok maybe not. Apparently the place is named after the DOC in italy- the Denominazione d'Origin Controliata which is the the Department responsible for setting the standards and controls for the control of cheese and wine and other food products, which is why the menu was focused on where each ingredient was sourced, which was a nice touch.
SO in true me style, we overordered in an attempt to try as many things as possible, seeing as they do not do half and half pizzas or change any toppings. For starters we got a lovely ball of Italian fresh mozarella, and chose as its accompaniment a shaved fennel, blood orange and anchovy salad. There was also the option of cured meats, salads and antipesto type sides but the fennel and anchovies where a perfect match to each other, and the cheese. They were also served with grissini sticks. This was a perfect starter, it was quite large and full of different flavours so it got us ready for the next course. It was also nice to see nathan enjoying the anchovies which he normally steers well clear of. The cheese was lovely, it would have been interesting to try the Aussie version, I guess it will be next time...
For pizzas we ordered a wild mushroom and truffle oil pizza, and a capricossa which had ham, artichokes, olives and capsicum as well as a salad of rocket, pear and pecorino. This was probably too much food for two but Nath always finishes everything up so i never feel too bad about over-ordering. The pizzas are fantastic - thin crisp base the way it should be and the toppings were not sparce but not over the top, allowing you to taste the flavours. Nathan found the truffle oil a bit too strong on the mushroom pizza but to be honest I didnt really notice it. The artichokes on the capricossa was a great touch, reminded me of an awesome pizza i ate in Rome about 5 years ago. Oh god i really want pizza now! The salad was a very large serve and had a lovely honey based dressing which paired well with the cheese. I had a glass of Red wine which I am so sorry to say i cannot rememeber what it was but it was Italian and was a very good match for the food... the waiter recommended it.
The service was swift if not maybe a little abrupt and the room was pumping when we left. The pizzas are a great alternative for i carusi and I wholeheartedly recommend it to all! Hopefully they buy some nice carpets or wall hanging to soften the sound a little but I must say, it is nice to finally have somewhere I want to eat in the Lygon street vicinity...
