Il Moro Restaurant
Where the Menu Change Every Season
By Albert Hayashi
It isn't to often you will find a destination restaurant of quality which is located on the ground floor of an executive financial building. Although hidden away of the main street thoroughfare, when I finally parked and entered Il Moro (“the Moor”), I discovered the journey to this “Westside” restaurant oasis was worth the drive. Situated off Olympic Boulevard (entrance on Purdue Street), this Northern Italian style restaurant serves the traditional menu of anti-pasta, pasta, soups, salads, but it is the seasonal menu items which captivate the senses. Residing in a large open space with cathedral ceilings, the restaurant is divided into the bar, main dining, wine room, patio, and private party room. The patio tables overlook a beautiful lake/river creek with one of the largest waterfalls I’ve seen in a restaurant setting. As opposed to selecting dishes from a permanent “laminated” menu, one always knows a “real” restaurant when 150 bond paper is used. By changing the menu on a seasonal basis, Chef Davide Ghizzoni is able to create a variety of new fresh entrée’s during the year. Il Moro Italian restaurant currently captures the food and flavor of the Emilia-Romagna region of Northern Italy in their new Fall menu.
I started with the Salsiccia Casareccia in Umido con Polenta Fresca followed by the 2nd course (longest menu entrée name I ever seen), the “Carpaccio di Manzo e Insalatina, Carciofi Croccanti in Odore de Aceto Balsamico”. Soup (Zuppe) of fresh pasta filled with braised beef in a tasty chicken broth soon followed. The seasonal specialty Pumpkin Tortelloni served in a hallowed pumpkin shell was the highlight of the evening. This autumn dish consists of tortellonis stuffed with pumpkin, fruit mustard, nutmeg and crushed amaretto cookies. These pastas are served two ways: in a creamy veal and chicken Bolognese sauce. We continued traveling gastronomically through Northern Italy tasting the tube egg pasta sautéed in a lean delicious rabbit ragu (Maccheroni al Pettine al Ragu de Conigilio), chicken rissotti and a rich tortellonia filled with lobster and shrimp in a creamy saffron sauce (Tortelloni d’Aragosta in Colata de Zafferano). I closed the evening with a desert sampler plate which included crème boulette.
I now understand why Italian restaurants are so descriptive with the entrée descriptions. The care and patience put into buying the freshest produce, selecting the meat, poultry and fish, preparing the dishes and making the sauces (e.g., 8 hours for the rabbit ragu) deserves the detailed explanation. Although most of the patrons on this Tuesday evening where from the surrounding executive office complexes, there were also many diners who made the special trip to Il Moro (evident by the line at the Valet). If you are looking for a consistent culinary Italian experience at a reasonable price, Il Moro is worth exploring.
11400 W. Olympic Blvd.
Los Angeles, CA 90064
310-575-3530
www.ilmoro.com
It isn't to often you will find a destination restaurant of quality which is located on the ground floor of an executive financial building. Although hidden away of the main street thoroughfare, when I finally parked and entered Il Moro (“the Moor”), I discovered the journey to this “Westside” restaurant oasis was worth the drive. Situated off Olympic Boulevard (entrance on Purdue Street), this Northern Italian style restaurant serves the traditional menu of anti-pasta, pasta, soups, salads, but it is the seasonal menu items which captivate the senses. Residing in a large open space with cathedral ceilings, the restaurant is divided into the bar, main dining, wine room, patio, and private party room. The patio tables overlook a beautiful lake/river creek with one of the largest waterfalls I’ve seen in a restaurant setting. As opposed to selecting dishes from a permanent “laminated” menu, one always knows a “real” restaurant when 150 bond paper is used. By changing the menu on a seasonal basis, Chef Davide Ghizzoni is able to create a variety of new fresh entrée’s during the year. Il Moro Italian restaurant currently captures the food and flavor of the Emilia-Romagna region of Northern Italy in their new Fall menu.
I started with the Salsiccia Casareccia in Umido con Polenta Fresca followed by the 2nd course (longest menu entrée name I ever seen), the “Carpaccio di Manzo e Insalatina, Carciofi Croccanti in Odore de Aceto Balsamico”. Soup (Zuppe) of fresh pasta filled with braised beef in a tasty chicken broth soon followed. The seasonal specialty Pumpkin Tortelloni served in a hallowed pumpkin shell was the highlight of the evening. This autumn dish consists of tortellonis stuffed with pumpkin, fruit mustard, nutmeg and crushed amaretto cookies. These pastas are served two ways: in a creamy veal and chicken Bolognese sauce. We continued traveling gastronomically through Northern Italy tasting the tube egg pasta sautéed in a lean delicious rabbit ragu (Maccheroni al Pettine al Ragu de Conigilio), chicken rissotti and a rich tortellonia filled with lobster and shrimp in a creamy saffron sauce (Tortelloni d’Aragosta in Colata de Zafferano). I closed the evening with a desert sampler plate which included crème boulette.
I now understand why Italian restaurants are so descriptive with the entrée descriptions. The care and patience put into buying the freshest produce, selecting the meat, poultry and fish, preparing the dishes and making the sauces (e.g., 8 hours for the rabbit ragu) deserves the detailed explanation. Although most of the patrons on this Tuesday evening where from the surrounding executive office complexes, there were also many diners who made the special trip to Il Moro (evident by the line at the Valet). If you are looking for a consistent culinary Italian experience at a reasonable price, Il Moro is worth exploring.
11400 W. Olympic Blvd.
Los Angeles, CA 90064
310-575-3530
www.ilmoro.com