DOC Pizza and Mozarella

WHERE AND WHAT

THE D.O.C. is short for ''denominazione di origine controllata'', which denotes food and wine produced within certain regions of Italy. But all you really need to know is in the Australian vernacular, it means the good stuff. D.O.C. - pronounced dee-oh-cee - was opened in 2007 by Tony Nicolini as a place to find great pizza and artisan mozzarella. The name has now expanded to Mornington and a D.O.P. (focusing on superb house-made pasta) around the corner on Lygon Street. But this is the mother ship: a no-bookings mother ship with the usual angst about securing a table, we hasten to add.

WHERE TO SIT

Doing the Carlton people-watching thing is a weekend sport to rival the AFL and it's made all the better if you can do it alfresco. Try to grab a stool at the round timber tables on the street for a serious round of gawping. Inside it's jam-packed with individuals sipping espresso at the bar, families at the long tables and glammed-up couples on dates. It's a disparate crowd united by the feeling of superiority over the line of hopefuls spilling out the door. Respect the (usually Italian) waiters - they're the final adjudicators on the subject.

WHEN TO GO

At weekends, D.O.C. is open from noon until late: get there early as it's going to fill up and the wait can be interminable when you're hungry and forced to watch other people eat. Monday to Thursday it's open for dinner only, from 5pm.

DRINK

The wine list mixes its Italians with locals; there's also a BYO policy (corkage is $7.50 a bottle).

EAT

Let's start with the pizza, which is among Melbourne's best - thin crusts with the right balance of crisp and chew and pared-back toppings such as tiger prawns and chilli or chicory, piave cheese and lemon. Stretched-curd cheeses - Australian fior di latte or D.O.P. buffalo mozzarella - arrive on wooden boards, maybe keeping good company with San Daniele prosciutto, or in an insalata caprese (with tomato, whole leaf basil and good-quality olive oil). For dessert there's gelati, tiramisu and Nutella pizza.

WHO'S THERE

More Italian than a Fiat, D.O.C. is a favourite hang-out for local Italians of note. The preferred form of greeting is ''ciao''. The preferred form of leave-taking is ''ciao-ciao''.

WHY BOTHER?

A slice of Italy in Melbourne's not-always-reliable Little Italy, D.O.C. serves unpretentious food for a discerning audience that knows the good stuff from the ordinary.

D.O.C.

295 Drummond Street, Carlton, phone 9347 2998