la.foodblogging

It’s always fun to find restaurants that are tucked away in a corner where you’d never expect one to be. My moment of enjoyment came when I found Il Moro, which is on the ground floor of an office building on Olympic Blvd. Because of its secluded location, one might expect that Il Moro would have trouble attracting customers. Additionally, the fact that it is next to a Powerhouse Gym also doesn’t add to the restaurant aura. However, when I arrived, the entire restaurant was packed. Luckily there was a table that had just opened.

The décor has a very chic feel to it. The kitchen is open air and you see everything that the cooks do. Additionally, there is an expansive outdoor area, which is ringed by a set of bushes as well as an artificial waterfall. There are heaters so even in colder weather, one can enjoy the fresh air.

The food itself is very very good and rather innovative. To start off, rather than giving you olive oil to go with your bread, you get a dollop of diced olives mixed with spices. I mixed this with some olive oil and balsamic and applied it to the bread. To say that the combination was good is an understatement. The addition of actual olives helps to bring out the olive taste that I personally love.

I was also delighted to find that Il Moro doesn’t just serve the typical pastas, like linguine, penne, etc. Rather, they use types that I have never heard of, such as Bucatini, which is like spaghetti, only thicker and more chewy and Picchiatelli, which is like skinny seashell shaped pasta. They also advertise that they use only organic meat and also buy their seafood from fisheries that are dedicated to sustaining the seafood habitat. This was definitely a plus to know they are cognizant of the fact that we should not let our desire for meat overshadow treating nature with respect.

My dish was the Bucatini Mare Nostro, which consisted of wild tuna and Italian anchovies mixed with the pasta and tomatoes, served over some broccoli. Bucatini is similar to spaghetti, but had a thicker diameter and was chewier. I was surprised that the dish worked out as well as it did. The tuna’s texture was similar to that of canned tuna and whenever I used canned tuna in my home cooking, I wound up with disastrous results. However, the combination of the tomatoes and tuna was a great marriage.

My companion had the Picchiatelli al Ragu, which is Il Moro’s Bolognese pasta. However, instead of beef, the chefs use veal and chicken. Additionally, the sauce does not have that heavy tomato taste that one usually finds in Bolognese pastas. Instead it had a smoky flavor that allowed the flavor of the meat and the tomato to come out in harmony.

Now of course for a meal this good, it will cost more than if you went to the Olive Garden. The appetizers run between $11-16 while the pastas are between $15-20. There are also salads and regular entrees to choose from. For drinks, they have a nice assortment of wines. However, I found that the best deal has to be the iced tea. It has a slight fruity flavor and comes with unlimited refills, all for $3. I must have gone through six glasses of iced before my meal was over.

There’s valet parking in the front but at that time of night, there is so much free parking on Olympic that it is worth it to walk a block or two. So, if you want something different from the typical Italian fare, try out this secluded restaurant and get ready for a unique dining experience.

Il Moro
11400 West Olympic Blvd.
Los Angeles, CA 90064

By Jeff (see more of his posts).