Michael
DiBianca was just 26 years old when he opened Moro four
years ago, and the people of Wilmington, Del., have not
stopped salivating since. The chef-owner combines a blend
of whimsy, good taste, talent and a devotion to seasonal
ingredients, a passion developed as a teenager working at
a produce and fish market in his hometown of Flemington,
N.J. His talent was polished at the Culinary Institute of
America in Hyde Park, N.Y., and honed in kitchens at The
Ryland Inn, Whitehouse, N.J.; Darrel and Oliver’s
Café Maxx in South Florida; the famed Ajax Tavern
in Aspen, Colo.; and Restaurant 821 in Wilmington. DiBianca
labels Moro’s cuisine New American but he defines
that term as “anything I want to do.” So diners
at Moro find an ever-changing eclectic mix of dishes made
with ingredients from near and far that explode with intense
flavors. “I want dining at Moro to be exciting and
unpredictable,” DiBianca says. Refusing to rest on
his success, the chef is now casting his eye north toward
Atlantic City, aiming to open a restaurant in his home state. |