Mailbag: Moro restaurant still going strong, owner says
Moro restaurant owner Michael DiBianca wants to make it clear he is open for business and operating his Wilmington restaurant.
“I’m still open, have been open,” DiBianca wrote in a Facebook message to me Wednesday as he was preparing for the night’s dinner service.
I contacted DiBianca after several readers called and emailed after they heard the 1307 N. Scott St. eatery was shuttered. DiBianca said an online article in another publication incorrectly said the restaurant had apparently closed its doors.
DiBianca, a Culinary Institute of America graduate, opened Moro in 2002 after serving as a chef de cuisine at former Restaurant 821 in Wilmington. Moro is the Italian name for a blood orange.
Earlier, he was a sous chef at the Ajax Tavern in Aspen, Colorado, and had worked at the four-star Ryland Inn in New Jersey. DiBianca has been a semifinalist for the James Beard Foundation’s Best Mid-Atlantic regional chef award.
DiBianca changed the Moro restaurant concept in 2009 from New American to Mediterranean.
“It’s something new. I get bored very easily,” DiBianca said at the time as he unveiled new items, which included Italian-style ceviches and whole roasted dorado.
In 2013, DiBianca opened Satsuma Asian Kitchen & Bar in Trolley Square. The 1707 Delaware Ave. had been the 51-year-old home of the former Del Rose Cafe & Restaurant. The Big Fish Restaurant Group took over the location, and, this past March, they revamped it as Trolley Square Oyster House.
Some of DiBianca’s fans recently wondered if changes were afoot at his flagship Moro. Here is one of the queries I’ve received:
What is the situation at Moro?We have eaten there and enjoyed it quite a few times.
This last time, the wine list had everything but the expensive bottles gone, and the substitute, reasonably priced bottle, not from the wine list, was mediocre.
To make matters a little worse, our salads were not delivered before the entree, so we ended up canceling the salads. I don’t know if this was a waiter or a kitchen error.
I asked the waiter why Moro was out of all the reasonably priced bottles, and he replied, “I don’t know. Why don’t you send an e-mail?”
Joan Wylie
Kennett Square, Pennsylvania
Joan, I sent your letter to DiBianca. He wrote, “well, we had a few issues, but we have cleaned people out and [sous chef] Toby Braso and I are in the kitchen again the last few months. I stepped away to take care of some things and, let’s just say, people slacked off and were not focused.”
DiBianca said Moro is open for dinner from 5 to 10 p.m. Tuesdays through Saturdays. For reservations, call (302) 777-1800 or email moroinfo@aol.com.
Skyline Grill making a comeback?
Is there any rumors of something new moving into former Skyline Grill location? I saw a sign on door a while back saying something was going to open.
Greg Smith
Greg, I recently drove to Skyline Grill at 3542 Three Little Bakers Boulevard in Pike Creek. It had occupied the site of the former Three Little Baker’s Golf Course, near the Pike Creek Shopping Center, and has two large bars and a large deck.
During my afternoon visit, all was quiet and no one was around. The doors were locked, and no sign was on the door. I don’t have any more information at this time.
Contact Patricia Talorico at (302) 324-2861 orptalorico@delawareonline.com and on Twitter@pattytalorico