Obikà is Rome’s, and probably history’s, first mozzarella bar. Since it opened about five months ago, at Via dei Prefetti 26a, near the Pantheon, it has been doing a brisk business.
“People are tired of pasta and pizza,” said Andrea Corsetti, one of the owners. “Mozzarella has always been considered a poor food. But we said it should be valued. It represents Italy.”
“Now it’s become a status symbol,” he said. “Cheese is fashionable, and mozzarella is the cheese of the moment. It’s prêt-à-porter.”
Òbikà’s most popular dish is the buffalo mozzarella sampler, which consists of three softball-size portions. But there is also the burrata, a creamy, even buttery mozzarella served with cherry tomatoes and spicy Calabrian salami on the side. Also popular is a fiordilatte mozzarella, made from cows’ milk, sliced and served on a platter next to sushi-style mixing bowls full of onion or fig marmalade. A sort of buffalo mozzarella wrap around salmon and arugala also has its fair share of fans.
Meats and vegetables, on the other hand, have been relegated to sideshows, while the only course that is bereft of the mozzarella ball is dessert.
https://www.nytimes.com/2004/09/22/dining/22MOZZ.html