Silvio Ursini, an Italian who earned a business degree from Georgetown University in Washington, D.C., and served as creative director for jeweler and luxury goods retailer Bulgari, put two great things together in 2004 when he started Obika. The hip fortysomething was born and raised in Naple...
Silvio Ursini, an Italian who earned a business degree from
The hip fortysomething was born and raised in Naples, so he knew mozzarella. Then he went to Japan and discovered sushi bars and their counter seating, beautiful presentation and focus on ingredients.
Obika-- loosely translated, it means "here it is" in the Neapolitan dialect -- is what you get when you cross mozzarella with sushi bar style. The restaurant specializes in small, sampling portions of the soft white cheese, which tastes different depending on where it's from. Now there are Obikamozzarella bars in London, Kuwait City, Tokyo, Milan, Turin, Florence and Rome, and there's a kiosk in the
Neither the global economic crisis nor last year's contaminated mozzarella scare -- a few samples of cheese from the Campania region tested positive for low levels of dioxin, presumably from illegal toxic dumps around Naples -- have slowed the international march of Obika.
The chain does not serve cheese from the area around Caserta where contamination was found, even if it has the official DOP (denomination of protected origin) label. "Caserta has not done a proper job of monitoring production and separating the good guys from the bad guys," Ursini said.
"But the contamination was found in only a very small fraction of mozzarella. Anyway, if it were poison I would be dead because I eat it every day."
Obikagets mozzarella three times a week from dairies around the town of Latina in southern Lazio and from Paestum in Campania. Pasteurized to prolong the shelf life of a cheese best kept in liquid at about 60 degrees, Obika's mozzarella is never more than 4 days old.
Purists say the soft, white cheese should be consumed within two days of production and that pasteurization tends to homogenize the taste, which is why crème de la crème DOP mozzarella is rarely exported. In fact, it seldom leaves Campania.
But for people who can't get to Campania, Obikamay be the next best thing -- a place to sample different mozzarellas, paired with salmon, salami, prosciutto and green tomato marmalade.
Other delicacies include stracciatella di burrata, a soupy, sinfully rich combination of cream and mozzarella; pasta Sorrentina in tomato-mozzarella sauce; a dessert of buffalo ricotta with honey, pine nuts and orange peel; and hard-to-find sparkling white Asprinia di Aversa wine, an excellent accompaniment to fresh mozzarella.
Ursini has banned garlic and oregano from Obikabecause they overpower the delicate taste of the cheese. Even olive oil should be avoided when eating fresh mozzarella, he says.
