Sixth + Mill Pizzeria & Bar - Arts District dtla
I didn’t expect this to be more than a brief somethin’ somethin’, to show we went to the restaurant and appreciated the recs. After all, it’s a food board and reciprocating is what we do. But there are a lot of good things about Sixth + Mill and it was a really nice time.
My peeps had various cocktails and I started with the Pietra Rossa Lambrusco - Lambrusco being another wine previously overlooked by me, due to subpar offerings. You’re right @robert, it would have gone well with all my dishes. 
I’ve been burned by server wine suggestions before, but always feel it’s too much fuss to ask for a steward or somm just for one glass of wine. Thankfully our waiter, Philip, was knowledgeable. After discussion I sampled the Barbera d’Alba (acid, earth, minerals) and the Bibi Graetz Sangiovese (even, smooth, slight fruit, spice, acid) - I chose the Sangiovese. 
Polpette / Beef, Pork Meatballs, Tomatoes, Mozzarella
The Friday traffic made getting downtown a little problematic.
By the time we got to the table the meatballs had been ordered and 2 had been cut into toddler friendly pieces. I’m not sure whether said toddler enjoyed them, but the grownups agreed the dish doesn’t compare to Pizzeria Mozza and definitely not Jon & Vinny’s scrumptious meatballs. But it’s a nice sauce especially w/crostini, and If you like a lighter, fresher, tomato sauce vs. a richer, long cooked, red sauce this might appeal to you, but the meatballs weren’t memorable.
u’ vroccolo / Fried Cauliflower, Parmigiana Sauce
No picture of the sauce - tasty bites, lightly fried w/a thin, creamy, parmesan sauce for dipping.
Fett’unta / Toast, Mushrooms, Provolone, Reggiano
The bread (3 pieces) used for the fett’unta (toast & oil) was nice and lite, shrooms were springy, nice combo of cheeses. Tasty things on a crostini is normally my favorite way to eat, but I detected tarragon or something licorice-y in this, which is a me problem, I hate it, so…
Cacio e Pepe / Pecorino Romano, Parmesan, Pepper
First bite seemed too tart from the cheeses, but blended together it was just right and the 4 peppers made it nice and peppery. The spaghetti or bucatini in Cacio e Pepe dishes usually exceeds al dente, imo, but I’m coming to enjoy it very much. The Sangiovese was perfect.
Pasta al Forno / Meat Tomato Ragu, Béchamel, Mortadella, Caciocavello Cheese
I
this. It really didn’t look very exciting when presented and the portion was small, but underneath and inside the tubes (rigatoni?) was this luscious, beefy gravy. I would like to have eaten more to get all the nuances of the dish, but it wasn’t mine. 
Next time!
Spaghetti all’Amatriciana (Special) / Guanciale (pork cheeks), Tomato, White Onions, Pecorino Romano, Cracked Black Pepper, Crushed Red Pepper
This dish named for the Italian town of Amatrice has a delicious sauce w/guanciale rendered in as a flavor enhancer rather than a component like a meat sauce. It has a kick from the red & black pepper, then finished w/pecorino.
Sorrentina / Gnocchi, Tomato, Burrata, Regiano
(internet photo) I had one bite of this. I don’t know if it was potato or not, but it wasn’t heavy or starchy and the sauce was nice and rich. My vegetarian loved it.
Also ordered, but not pictured was the Capricciosa Pizza (mozzarella, ham, shrooms, olives, artichokes). I wasn’t in the mood for pizza and only ate a bit of the crust, force fed to me by the gracious and helpful toddler. His mama, who ordered it, said it was just ok.
Chocolate, Almond Torta
Zeppoline / Pastry Cream, Amarena, Powdered Sugar
(internet photo) I just realized we ordered the Ricotta Cheescake w/Poached Pears & Hazelnut Praline, but got this. Oh well…
Affogato / Housemade Vanilla Gelato & Espresso
My husband loved his Affogato! A smooth, but strong, dark, oily roast w/sweet vanilla cream from the gelato.
Our starters were slightly above passable and imo the desserts were just passable. But where they shine is with the pasta dishes. I still have my local favorite and the Felix lovers (I haven’t been) might judge the pastas by those standards with Felix coming out on top. But I would definitely go to Sixth + Mill again!
This is a very bright online photo, but we found it to have a cozy, warm atmosphere in the evening. The aisles are a little cramped, but we had a great table.
This helped with the love…
5 Adults including 3 males who eat a lot!
The parking was $10, but we parked for free on the street at 6:30p. The sign says no street parking after 8p, but by 8:30p nobody had moved their cars and none had tickets, so…
Even better than remembered 
In a good way, though, lol.