Modo Mio Dinner With The Ladies

I couldn't possibly leave Philadelphia without a last visit to Modo Mio, which I think is perhaps the restaurant to which I returned over and over again during my time in the city. Well, outside of McCrossens and other neighborhood bars. My companions for this meal were entirely fitting and some of my favorites: LW, CPM and L. L. and I discussed a few weeks beforehand my growing worry about actually being able to productively pack up all my stuff...and she was generous enough to offer me her assistance and oversight, which truly was invaluable. But also, it was just important to get to see L. one last time since I wasn't able to make it up to Brooklyn before my departure. So on a Friday about two weeks back we first gathered at my apartment and enjoyed some prosecco before heading out into the cold night for a most epic and lovely of meals. We were seated at the same table as my birthday dinner and our server for the night was one of my favorites...even though I haven't been able to make it to Modo Mio as much in this last year as I did in the years prior, she immediately recognized me/us and that is always a very gratifying experience. I shared my plans with her - re: my imminent departure from the city and plan to travel across the country for a new adventure, and she made the meal quite the send off. So much lovely food. So much lovely company. Just lovely, lovely, lovely. So what did we eat? Well, this first dish was L.'s and was a taleggio cheese, mushroom and maybe balsamic antiapasti...so oozey.

Then we were gifted the appetizer of the day, which I kind of totally forget the ingredients of, but thoroughly enjoyed.

I chose the mussels, white and spicy and was entirely happy with them. The thick crusty bread they provide at the beginning of the meal was perfect for soaking up the delectable broth once most of the mussels were properly consumed.

This, too, is a bit of a mystery to me...I think it may have been another of the specials of the evening, and alas I cannot tell you exactly what it was about...maybe roasted pig of some kind?

Now, years back when KH was in town, I took her to Modo Mio to show off how freakin' good it was. On that particular night, our server strongly encouraged us to try the night's special pasta, which was a delectable and unforgettable raviolo. Since that evening every single time I've gone to Modo Mio, a little part of me has held out the hope that the raviolo will appear again...and while so many other wonderful meals have certainly been enjoyed, it was not until this final Modo Mio meal that the raviolo made its second appearance in my life. I think perhaps its accoutrements weren't entirely identical to that dish that lodged itself in my brain in 2011, but it was awfully darn close and just as satisfying.

I don't know if this would strike someone else as tasty-looking or disgusting, but to me this screams 'I am luscious and delicious!' so I'm sorry if it screams something else at you.

I think that CPM had veal with mushrooms and eggs...

And in another kismet-ic move, the special of the evening was also almost tailor made for my culinary proclivities. Creamy polenta topped not only with pork tenderloin but a soft shell crab as well, ll in a caper tomato sauce so fresh and popping with all things right in the world.

Our server also hooked us up with additional sides. The chickpeas with greens were slightly bitter in an 'on purpose' kind of way ad the roasted brussels sprouts with perhaps leeks were just straight up good to consume.

I'm honestly not entirely sure what this is...maybe L.'s duck.

Another angle of my dish.

Then we split the array of desserts that our server brought us. All so good. So. So. good.

While this, sadly, is not the most flattering of photographs of me ever taken...my expression is entirely accurate, as variations of that face could be seen from the initial introduction to the specials all the way through dessert and coffee.

Thanks to LW for having the common sense to take photographs of people...I managed not to get a single photo of the four of us together and I regret it. Such wonderful ladies with whom to spend one of my last weekend evenings on the east coast!

Country Cheese Plate

About two weekends back I once again made my way to the country, this time with my cat, Zul, in tow. I must say I always feel a mix of accomplishment and guilt any time I manage to trick him into a false security and hustle him into his carrying case without his first hiding underneath the bed and my grabbing repeatedly for him at an odd angle. The day I drove up was such a day of accomplishment and guilt. Cat knows how to wail, but I do understand. Cats in general are not big carrying case fans, and Zul has a particularly good reason not to associate the case, or driving, with anything good. Well, in any case, we arrived safely. I then went on a grocery run to get the necessaries for the dinner I planned on cooking for myself and L. I had suggested that L. and Fat T. drive on over from Brooklyn to join me, but it was rather last minute and I didn't entirely think that they'd be able to. And in one sense I was right, as Fat T. did not come. But that just meant quality girl talk with L. without worrying about boring Fatty. After my shopping run I gathered my gear and went back out to the field to read. I've taken a break from the young adult fiction series I've been reading to start Margaret Atwood's newest book, the third in the Oryx and Crake series. It wasn't quite strapless dress weather anymore, but with a few layers and the sun staying mainly in place, it was still lovely. L. eventually joined me, but not before arriving without my noticing. I had texted her to tell her to come to the field upon her arrival, but her trickster phone did not allow her to see that message so there was a moment's gap between her arrival to the house and her arrival to the field. In any case. A lovely time was had in the field. We debated the merits of haunted houses (she, pro. Me, con) and generally enjoyed the slightly brisk, but still good day. Eventually we made it back to the house and got to snacking. L. had brought a few cheeses with her, as well as a baguette. Delicious cheeses. The names of which I'll need to ask her about. There was an Idiazabal that we both thought wasn't quite as nutty as some we'd had, a particularly nice goat with an ash component, and the third cheese's name entirely escapes me. I also had a bit of truffle paté to contribute. I started a fire and we sat by it while eating cheese. L. remains one of my favorite people and it's always nice to get to spend some quality time with her.

Bachelorette Night in Columbus

As is often the case in my life, now is quite a busy work time. This results in a further slacking off in blogging, not to mention a very bad case of the 'I will not respond to your emails or phone calls in any semblance of a quick turnaround time.' So even though it's mid-September, I must still share with you some photos from K.'s late August bachelorette shin dig, which I organized (well partially organized) with a lot of help from Cuz K.'s friends A. and S. The night began in at Columbus's newest Hilton, which I must say was quite fancy. There was a little problem at check-in, which resulted in a different room that originally planned, but also resulted in the staff knowing that we were a bachelorette type deal, which resulted in a complimentary bottle of champagne being sent to K. So the evening began in part with some toasts.

I asked Cuz K.'s friend to do a fancy braid in my hair and she did a great job. You can't quite see it here...

But you can here. I wish I could do such things. It was so even and flat and perfect I refused to take it out for days afterward.

We started our evening at Camelot Cellars. I spent the morning before the event running around and picking up supplies, and this included a run to get a slew of fancy cheeses. A. also made a delightful veggie plate.

Veggies!

And then everyone arrived.

Gifts were given. Note the kid in the background of this photo. He later came inside with his friend because they recognized one of Cuz K.'s friends as their former middle school teachers. It was very awkward for the grown women, but I think the kids were high so they didn't really care.

I printed out a 'bachelorette scavenger hunt' list, which mainly asked for photographic evidence of a slew of silly things. One of which was, take photograph with other bachelorette. Done.

So basically K. got a whole heck of a lot of lingerie and a few other boudoir-oriented gifts.

And her photograph taken with a teenage nuisance.

The next stage of the evening took place at Mickey's. The remainder of the evening was predominantly focused on karaoke and crossing other things off the scavenger list.

This was the bride getting a dude to let her write her name on him in permanent marker.

This was J. hugging a tree. Check!

This was S. getting her photo taken with a guy with weird hair. I think it's up for debate whether this was really an instance of weird hair.

I believe L. had to ask this guy whether he was wearing boxers or briefs. I believe boxers.

Of course there was much singing.

And a little shimmying.

The end of the night found us going back to the hotel and falling into bed. The next day it was agreed that it had been a successful evening in which plenty of fun things happened and really no disasters. Best of the bachelorette experience:)

Country Evening Starters

After our sandwiches we spent the rest of the day enjoying the wonderful weather and scenery with a walk. Or maybe that was in the morning before the shopping? In any case the remainder of our day was predominantly spent reading. I was reading an Anita Shreve's All He Ever Wanted, which is a book that I wouldn't necessarily recommend but that I didn't hate either. CPM made some serious progress in the last available book in the Song of Ice and Fire series (ie: Game of Thrones). I really need to re-read that last book to remember many of the details that have, at this point, been momentarily forgotten. We were also waiting for R. to show up and join us. I put out a cheese plate in the expectation of his arrival so that the cheese would be ready for consumption, and once he did turn up we popped a second bottle of Prosecco and retired to the outside for conversation, cheese, grapes and prettiness.

I think this was an aged gouda, a cow's milk triple cream and then I forget what the last cheese was, but it was nutty in a good way.

Smoked Salmon, Goat Brie and Other Treats (With More Catan)

Another day with more floating, sunning, reading and playing. For another outdoor game I put together a little smoked salmon plate with goat brie, cornichons, capers and red onions. A perfect accompaniment to the game and location.

Modo Mio Makes the Meal and Unibroue Brings the Brew

It came to my attention at some point in May that it had been far too long since my last meal at Modo Mio (I think I've been writing the restaurant's wrong since forever....Modomio?), which had been in December for my birthday. I don't know what happened exactly. Funds were tight. I wasn't really going to many restaurants on the whole? LW also felt that it had been too long since her last visit, so we combined forces, made a reservation and began anticipating what magic things might be in store for us. The meal began as it usually does with a little amuse bouche. This time I believe it was a fig, gorgonzola, balsamic little treat. I can't remember if I'm making up a pancetta element or not, but it might have existed.

Modo Mio, in case you didn't already know, is a restaurant where one goes for a four course meal (appetizer, pasta, entree, dessert) at a set price. You can order a la carte, but the portions and plates of each course are usually just the right size. This means that mapping out your meal necessitates tough choices. You might be drawn to three different appetizers, but you can only have one...so for me I think I was debating the crab cake, the scallop and the pork carpaccio-ish dish. LW also was weighing her pros and cons. In the end we made our choices, but our server - one terrific lady named Marie - ended up gifting us an extra plate of magic to try....and that was sauteed escargots with capers on a crusty melty cheesy piece of bread. This was LW's first snail experience, and I think it went quite well. The snails themselves were so tender and the combination of herbs with the saltiness of the capers and the ooooooozy loveliness of the crusty cheesy (provolone?) bread all worked together in a very pleasing fashion.

The appetizer I chose was the thinly sliced pork on a small bed of arugula with dried cherries, fennel, and I think gorgonzola cheese...I meant to take a photo of the menu so I wouldn't be approximating quite so much, but alas between opening our bottle of vinho verde and agonizing over my menu choices, actually documenting what those choices were slipped my mind. What I can tell you is that this was a very nice and relatively light way to start the meal, especially given my next two courses. The vinaigrette really perked things up and the pork itself was almost dainty in its texture.

I think this photograph illustrated how we felt about our first courses. We most certainly became members of the clean plate club for this round of tasty treats.

I had another internal debate when it came to the pasta. I love what they do with the rather simple amatriciana-like preparation...thick/hollow spaghetti with a vibrant tomato sauce and pancetta and sometimes a little kick. Oh man. It's just so good. But I also eyed the ravioli they had on that particular day, which was a rich ravioli with artichokes and ricotta all sauteed in an almond butter. I shared my teetering decision with our server and she suggested branching out, and so that is what I did. The ravioli was rich and happy making. See proof below.

And then there were the main course options. I had arrived thinking that I would choose a beef option, but when we were informed that one of the specials of the night was their take on a 'surf and turf' only with soft shell crab as surf, and sweetbreads as turf, that original idea went out the window. You'll see in later posts that I was already primed for soft shells, and so this became the first fresh crab I had for the season but certainly not the last. Sauteed instead of deep fried and only very lightly (if at all) breaded, it still had a crisp note to it while better displaying the overall crabby goodness. The sweetbreads were hearty and yet creamy.

LW used her camera to take this photograph...thus the completely different color cast. This is what I look like when I'm so happy I'm almost miserable about it.

We also had the opportunity to try the asparagus with over easy egg. A nice addition for sure!

And then there was dessert and esperesso. Oh man. Dessert. This I think was a walnut/strawberry panna cotta with maybe a savory element to it. I really have to write things down. I'm the worst.

And this was sort of like a trifle with blueberries, cake, and basil. There was also tirimisu in the mix, which LW declared the best.

The meal, the service and the overall ambiance was, as it always is, just fantastic. We made temporary friends with the couple sitting next to us and discussed how much we collectively loved the place. There was a birthday, but the birthday boy or girl had requested no singing...so that was sad for me since I love singing happy birthday to strangers. But not if they don't want me to:)

I had every intention of ending my night after the meal. When something is so good, it's best to call it a day instead of trying to do more. LW, however, had plans on meeting up with Jerry the Unibroue brewer. You see, it was also Philly Beer Week and LW and Jerry usually meet up to say hey at one Unibroue event or another. Since the location for the event was pretty near my place/in my neighborhood I did make a different decision once we got out of the cab, and joined LW and Jerry to try a variety of specialty brews he'd brought with him from Canada.

It was a good night full of fanciness, new tastes and good times.