Maybe Il Moro

It is graduation season and my friend Shelly is getting her B.A. next week, so we got together for a celebratory lunch at Il Moro as soon as she finished her last exam. Il Moro is hidden in a business park behind the world famous Krav Maga training center, but once you step into the restaurant you are a world away from traffic, work, and intense defense training. Since it was a beautiful day we opted for an outdoor table by the small brook, which effectively drowns out any ambient noise with the soothing sound of water flowing. Once we chose our entrees, we were presented with a basket of assorted foccacia, crisp flatbread, and sliced Italian bread. The glass on the left contained a quality balsamic vinegar with slices of red and yellow pepper, fennel, radish, and an endive spear, it was a nice unusual twist to the usual plain olive oil offered with a bread basket. A bottle of extra virgin olive oil was also brought to the table so we could nibble and dunk as we wished from the selection.

We decided to split a vegetarian pizza ($12) once we saw one delivered to a nearby table, but it was actually more of a very thin flatbread topped with a light tomato sauce, mozzarella, eggplant and asparagus. Tasty and fresh, but not a pizza for those of us who have been to Italy or New York.

The special of the day was Seabass with tomato and olive on top of mixed vegetables ($18). The delicate fish was expertly cooked, the light sauce added a nice sweet and acidic touch for a perfect balance, and the vegetables were crisp.



The only fly in the otherwise perfect Chardonnay of Il Moro was the service which was friendly but inefficient. After we ate, we were left completely alone, unable to find or flag anyone to get our bill, but once we put our money down, the waiter appeared instantly to pick it up. We asked for some of the remaining slices of pizza to be wrapped up and although he said, "No problem", it apparently was because we waited for 15 minutes for his return. We finally went up to find him and ask him about our leftover package, and he replied again, "No problem". After waiting for yet another 15 minutes we decided to leave rather than spoil a nice meal with an exasperating wait for food we were to full to eat in one sitting.

Maybe Il Moro has good service, just not with our waiter.