Months ago, M., C., LW and I made a plan. That plan was to baptize M. into the wonders that are a Modo Mio meal. Our first proposed date for such an introduction was foiled by
L.'s sudden 30th birthday. Or, put another way, I canceled and the ladies were nice enough not to go without me. So we rescheduled for early December...but then C. couldn't make it, but somehow we weren't collectively willing to wait again...so C. just had to miss out, which is sad. So a few Fridays ago I met up with LW and M. for dinner, and oh what a dinner it was. At my suggestion M. brought a prosecco, which we promptly opened to celebrate our very presence in the restaurant while debating the relative merits of different menu combinations. The specials that evening were particularly compelling and I really need to remember to write that sort of thing down. While I thought up until the last second that I wanted to go with the regular menu item chicken liver bruschetta, at the last moment I decided the shrimp with marsella (sp?) sauce, dried cherries and a piece of soaked up with sweet goodness was a better option. This was surprising; sweeter than expected. The bread had a bit of a French toast feel to it, so saturated with the shrimpy, mapley, cherry-ness of the whole thing. The shrimp were nice and plump. Succulent even.
I agonized over going with the amatriciana pasta or the special (beef cheek ravioli with reduction sauce) but in the end I decided to go with the classic and hold off on a heavy meat until my main course. And this pasta, as always, did not disappoint. Just so good. I feel like I should be capable of making at least a close approximation of this dish at home, the flavors and ingredients are pretty simple - but the execution. I don't know. I'd screw it up. I was very happy.
You know what made me even happier? I will tell you. What made me even happier was when the Manager, Steve (though maybe it was Mike and too much time has passed for me to remember...I am a jerk), came over and formally introduced himself to us - noting that he had seen that I come in a fair amount. We shook hands. I told him my name too. It was a nice moment followed by his bringing out the special pasta of the night for us to try gratis. And that special. Oh my. I'm so glad he gave us the opportunity to try it, because I now know that we were missing out by choosing anything other than it. It was decadent. Rich. The mouth-feel was something not to be messed with. I soaked up some of the sauce with my leftover bread it was so delectable. I think I could have made it through all three raviolis by myself and then moved on to a heavier entree (originally my concern was that it would have been too rich and heavy to precede my steak choice), but it was nice just to have the one and still have the body space for what came next.
LW brought a really nice Chianti that we all enjoyed thoroughly.
Before our main courses came out, we were given yet another complimentary dish - grilled asparagus with a soft fried egg on top. This, too, was a marvelous little dish. I won't lie, I really appreciated the extras. It made me feel special and appreciated in a way that is hard to come by at most restaurants, mainly because you really do have to come to a place a whole heck of a lot to get that kind of little thank you and I just don't have the time or money to develop that kind of familiarity/closeness with multiple establishments. But Modo Mio definitely is a place I've frequented a fair amount since moving to Philly, and the entire front-end staff is exceptionally good at remembering faces and making you feel welcomed back. What is my point? That I was grateful for these little add-0ns and the attention that comes with the whole Modo Mio experience. Also, as usual it was someone's birthday and we all got to sing to them. I love that.
I went with the skirt steak with a number of yummy things, one of which was a sort of sweet and sour pumpkin. Man. I don't usually think of skirt steak as being a meat you can really dress up or make special, but Modo Mio has twice proved me wrong on that front. The meat was medium rare, had plenty of flavor and character and the sauce and pumpkin additions just made this whole thing waaaaay too good. I wish I could tell you about some of the finer points of the dish, but I didn't write down its description and their website menu is woefully out of date/not even working from the look of it. Of course at this point in the meal I was getting full, so I was able to keep myself from devouring the whole thing in one sitting.
After our entrees, the manager came out again and offered us fresh-made limoncello, which was very exciting to me, as my fresh-made limoncello connection is no more and I still like to get a fix from time to time. This was a nice one, more citrusy and not as sweet as those I used to enjoy. Do you see the glee in my eyes from the food, the wine, the company and the extra treats? If you don't see the glee, you are probably dead inside.
And finally dessert. LW decided to go with tirimisu and it was also decided that M. would take a photograph L. holding her dish up close to her face, kind of like she was modeling it - or wooing it. But what ended up happening was that as she was posing the tirimisu began to precariously slide off her plate due to the angle at which she was holding it. This went from being just kind of funny to very funny when the tirimisu entirely slid off the plate and onto the glasses LW had taken off specifically for the photo. Oh the hilarity. I really just couldn't not laugh and laugh. LW was a good sport about it and I think her glasses recovered.
I went with the saffron semi-freddo. Mmmm.
This was a particularly successful meal at Modo Mio. I really enjoyed each dish choice I made and didn't feel stabs of envy when I tried what M. and LW had on their plates, which is something that happens fairly often to me. The service, the company, the food. Oh my. My oh my. Just. Yum.
I agonized over going with the amatriciana pasta or the special (beef cheek ravioli with reduction sauce) but in the end I decided to go with the classic and hold off on a heavy meat until my main course. And this pasta, as always, did not disappoint. Just so good. I feel like I should be capable of making at least a close approximation of this dish at home, the flavors and ingredients are pretty simple - but the execution. I don't know. I'd screw it up. I was very happy.
You know what made me even happier? I will tell you. What made me even happier was when the Manager, Steve (though maybe it was Mike and too much time has passed for me to remember...I am a jerk), came over and formally introduced himself to us - noting that he had seen that I come in a fair amount. We shook hands. I told him my name too. It was a nice moment followed by his bringing out the special pasta of the night for us to try gratis. And that special. Oh my. I'm so glad he gave us the opportunity to try it, because I now know that we were missing out by choosing anything other than it. It was decadent. Rich. The mouth-feel was something not to be messed with. I soaked up some of the sauce with my leftover bread it was so delectable. I think I could have made it through all three raviolis by myself and then moved on to a heavier entree (originally my concern was that it would have been too rich and heavy to precede my steak choice), but it was nice just to have the one and still have the body space for what came next.
LW brought a really nice Chianti that we all enjoyed thoroughly.
Before our main courses came out, we were given yet another complimentary dish - grilled asparagus with a soft fried egg on top. This, too, was a marvelous little dish. I won't lie, I really appreciated the extras. It made me feel special and appreciated in a way that is hard to come by at most restaurants, mainly because you really do have to come to a place a whole heck of a lot to get that kind of little thank you and I just don't have the time or money to develop that kind of familiarity/closeness with multiple establishments. But Modo Mio definitely is a place I've frequented a fair amount since moving to Philly, and the entire front-end staff is exceptionally good at remembering faces and making you feel welcomed back. What is my point? That I was grateful for these little add-0ns and the attention that comes with the whole Modo Mio experience. Also, as usual it was someone's birthday and we all got to sing to them. I love that.
I went with the skirt steak with a number of yummy things, one of which was a sort of sweet and sour pumpkin. Man. I don't usually think of skirt steak as being a meat you can really dress up or make special, but Modo Mio has twice proved me wrong on that front. The meat was medium rare, had plenty of flavor and character and the sauce and pumpkin additions just made this whole thing waaaaay too good. I wish I could tell you about some of the finer points of the dish, but I didn't write down its description and their website menu is woefully out of date/not even working from the look of it. Of course at this point in the meal I was getting full, so I was able to keep myself from devouring the whole thing in one sitting.
After our entrees, the manager came out again and offered us fresh-made limoncello, which was very exciting to me, as my fresh-made limoncello connection is no more and I still like to get a fix from time to time. This was a nice one, more citrusy and not as sweet as those I used to enjoy. Do you see the glee in my eyes from the food, the wine, the company and the extra treats? If you don't see the glee, you are probably dead inside.
And finally dessert. LW decided to go with tirimisu and it was also decided that M. would take a photograph L. holding her dish up close to her face, kind of like she was modeling it - or wooing it. But what ended up happening was that as she was posing the tirimisu began to precariously slide off her plate due to the angle at which she was holding it. This went from being just kind of funny to very funny when the tirimisu entirely slid off the plate and onto the glasses LW had taken off specifically for the photo. Oh the hilarity. I really just couldn't not laugh and laugh. LW was a good sport about it and I think her glasses recovered.
I went with the saffron semi-freddo. Mmmm.
This was a particularly successful meal at Modo Mio. I really enjoyed each dish choice I made and didn't feel stabs of envy when I tried what M. and LW had on their plates, which is something that happens fairly often to me. The service, the company, the food. Oh my. My oh my. Just. Yum.
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