ITALIAN
INCOGNITO
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.
Address: 11400 W. Olympic Blvd.
Executive
Tower
Los Angeles
,
CA
90064
Phone:
310-575-3530
Lunch:
11:30 AM- 3:00 PM (Mon-Fri)
Dinner:
5:00 PM-10:00 PM (Mon-Thu)
4:30 PM- 9:30 PM (Sat)
Late
Night Menu: 10:00 PM-12:00 AM (Fri, Sat)
Happy
Hour: 5:00 PM- 7:00 PM (Mon-Fri)
Valet
Parking
Dinner
for Two w/wine: $70.00
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