My birthday dinner

On my actually birthday we decided to try someplace new. My original thought was to drive around to the various taqueria joints in the area and have one taco at each. That seemed a little too daunting of task and since I had officially hit the 30 mark, maybe I should do something a little more sophisticated. So, I thought we'd try Il Moro in West LA. It's located in an office building less than a block from my office, and if you blink, you might miss it.

We thought we would share a few dishes so we could try as much as possible. We always go down this route thinking we're eating less, but it never works. Here's a walkthrough of our awesome dinner:

Salad:
Garga del Moro - Tender watercress leaves, hearts of palm, diced tomatoes, toasted pine nuts and avocado with shaved Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese. Dressed with a zesty lemon balsamic dressing. This was so good. Nice, light, and subtle. My personal bonus: after I had finished most of the salad, there was a huge piece of Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese on my plate. Yum!


Appetizer:
Carpaccio di Storione con Insalatina Fragole e Acetosa - Fresh wild sturgeon marinated with lemon and white wine served carpaccio style with Italian pancetta, chives, sorrel leafs, capers, organic fresh strawberry and an Italian extra virgin olive oil dressing. Fish and strawberries you say? Not the most likely combination, but this was heavenly. We could have stopped the meal right here and I would have been satisfied. But we had three more courses to go. Such gluttony!

Pasta:
Tortelloni d’Aragosta in Colata di Zafferano - Tortelloni filled with lobster and shrimps, bathed in a creamy saffron sauce. I'm a total sucker for saffron. I think it's the allure of such an expensive seasoning. This was incredible. The pasta is homemade and practically melts in your mouth...

Cheese Plate:
Cigarini Reggiano Vacche Rosse Parmiggiano / Cow
Brinata / Sheep
Bitto/ Cow,Goat
Cacio Di Fossa Di Sogliano/ Sheep
with acacia tree Honey, Italian quince, and balsamic vinegar jam, multi seed walnut raisin bread.

Dessert:
Apple Tarte - Cornmeal - Crusted, Balsamic Caramel. Most Europeans eat the cheese plate as the dessert course, and we normally would have. But our server's eagle eye noticed that some of our prior dishes were part of the prix fixe menu, which meant dessert was included.