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!

Cocktail and Lobster Two Ways c/o Route 6

When you've got a good thing going on, it's not insensible to really commit to it. In this instance, LW and I had a good thing going on as far as going to Route 6 on Thursdays to take advantage of their October Lobster Month. A week after our first visit, we returned with the best of intentions and a bit of a menu game plan. I hadn't determined the cocktail I would enjoy, but once seated I was drawn to the Ward 8, which is Bulleit Rye with orange, lime and house made grenadine, as well as preserved cherry magic times. It wasn't too sweet, though you might think it would be.

We had determined before our arrival that we'd check out the fried mini lobster tails with green tabasco aioli. I think we were both rather surprised by how mega the mini tails were. Far more meat than expected. Also, they somehow lightly breaded and fried both the tail meat and the tail shell, which actually made the shells themselves edible, which I enjoyed. I learned from my father the habit of occasionally eating a shrimp - tail and all - at some point in my life, so I was at first unsure whether it could be done, but found that it was. My only complaint was that the aioli didn't have much of a green tabasco major note for me. The sauce is certainly milder than original, but it still has a wee bit of heat in its original form, which was lacking in the dipping sauce.

LW decided to try the buttery lobster roll, while I decided to try the 2 pound lobster, but wood grilled instead of steamed. While this lobster was apparently larger than the last, the grilling technique somehow made it seem like there wasn't as much meat. Also, the smaller legs, which when steamed give a certain pleasure when sucked, were far less satisfying. That sounded rather dirty. My point is that the steamed lobster from the week before, I was able to suck a little lobster juice and the occasional teeny bit of actual meat from the legs. In the grilled form the legs were liquid free and not especially compelling. And because it was split, I also found the tail meat not to be as succulent. In fact, the most apt adjective I think would fit would be 'mushy,' which, you know, isn't really what anyone wants in a lobster tail, half off or not. So my conclusion from this experience was to never order a lobster wood grilled again. While there were a few minor 'misses' here as far as how my preparation choices led to a less moist and delicious lobster, the deal was still good and I was glad for the meal out.

Martini and Lobster c/o Route 6

When LW and I went to Alla Spina a few weeks back, it was because I foolishly had said that we could enjoy a meal at Route 6 without a reservation. We wanted to have a meal at Route 6 because in the world of arbitrary/promotional calendars, it was "Lobster Month." For Route 6 this meant that pretty much every menu item that included lobster was half off the original price. A pretty sweet deal. Unfortunately, when we showed up it became quite apparent that walk-ins weren't really going to get anywhere, and so we went to Alla Spina and determined that we would try the lobster festivities the next week. And this time with a reservation. So about two weeks ago that's just what we did. Though we arrived on time, things were a little behind, so we sat in the bar area for a small amount of time. I ordered a dirty martini, which was delightful, though I would have enjoyed it even a tad dirtier.

I rationalized getting the shrimp cocktail by thinking of all the money I was saving on the lobster, and I'm glad I did. These were some succulent and tasty shrimp, perfectly chilled but still tender. You know how some shrimp can become rubbery or strangely listless? Neither was the case here. Just well prepared shrimp with a bit of cocktail sauce.

LW and I both ordered the steamed 1.5 pound lobsters. We were given the option of them being broken down for us or doing the dirty work ourselves, we both chose to get our hands properly lobster-y. Of course I was so excited that I completely forgot to take a photograph before I started separating the lobster into its main components, but you can get a basic sense of the presentation even though it is in mangled form as opposed to its pristine arrival format (lobsters have formats, don't doubt me). We wore bibs and took slight advantage of the crackers (what's the proper term for that device you use to crack open the claws?) and mallets, but even when 'doing the work' the restaurant kind of cheats and pre-breaks the main parts so it's not nearly as labor intensive as it would otherwise be. This was especially the case with the tail.

A good and satisfying lobster it was. LW seemed to enjoy the lobster but expressed a desire for a heavier one in the future; she said she was still a little hungry even after finishing the meal. I was more generally pleased with the amount of meat I got for my buck, but I also had the shrimp as an extra component of my meal.

As far as made up special months go, lobster month at Route 6 was definitely a success. The place was packed, but service was quite good, as was the food and overall ambience. Definitely a place to return for future meals. And my goodness, lobster is always such a treat!

Brunch c/o Kittery

Saturday was spent by me working, working, working while L. and Fat T. went out into the greater world to look at a house upstate. Eventually they returned and our evening began. I didn't really take any good photographs of food I ate that evening, but the highlights included my having a separate trip to see S. and T. from ye olde high school days before meeting back up with L. and Fat T. for a pig roast party. Hijinks ensued and the evening went late. The next morning I had to do more work and L. and Fat T. met up with E. and K. to look at apartments in Brooklyn. Eventually our schedules dovetailed through brunch at Kittery. I ordered a virgin bloody mary and enjoyed it.

And the fried clam roll, which was buttery to an extreme. The coleslaw that accompanied it wasn't so interesting, but the chips were decent.

Seafood Country Days

After CPM, R. and Brutus departed I futzed and fiddled around the house and woods and consumed a whole lot of Divergent and Insurgent. If you are a teenage girl, or have one lurking inside of you, you should really read these books. Eventually I realized that eating would probably be a good thing, and that's when I remembered that in addition to the salmon I purchased at a suburban Whole Foods, I had also seen the rather unlikely option of soft shell crabs and had gotten two. So I took care of that whole thing. Seasoned the breading with salt and pepper and accompanied the crabs with lime because I had no lemons at hand. They were generally good for previously frozen crabs. I was glad to have them at such a late point in the summer.

The next night S. stopped by and I decided to try a slightly different approach to another fillet of salmon. This was farm raised salmon instead of the more fancy Atlantic salmon, and I usually am a hater of that kind of salmon...but I will say that this version of salmon was actually a bit better. In this rendition I sliced up a sweet onion, one lemon, three stalks of lemon grass and some garlic and thyme and created a bed on which I could put the salmon. Then I salted and peppered the salmon itself and filled the baking dish up to the base of the salmon with a white bordeaux. No lie, it was really good. The salmon I made the other night was good, but this was definitely better. I don't know if it was the aromatics of the lemongrass or the fat content of the farmed fish, but it definitely was pleasing to the taste buds.

Crab Cake c/o Surfing Crowd and Philadelphia Roof Party

Ours was a Saturday to Saturday rental, so we all pretty much got on the road by eight the next morning. I drove up through Virginia, across the bay into Delaware and then hit traffic. Stupid, dumb traffic. I'm not sure I'll be able to get to Cape Henlopen for my annual beach/camping/oyster fest of previous years, but I knew that I wasn't far from it when I hit that snag of serious traffic. Though the stopped flow of cars moving north were surrounded by fast food joints and the like, I decided to take it as a sign that my need to eat warranted a detour. And with that decision I began wending my way east through some pretty good country roads for about 20 minutes in order to arrive just about on the doorstep of the Surfing Crab. I was right. It was worth it. Much like my last visit, I was on the early side and there weren't but one other family sitting in the establishment. I knew before I sat down what I was going to have and barely looked at the menu before requesting it. Sometimes a good thing is a good thing.

Still a good crab. I ordered the sandwich but ignored the bread entirely.

I arrived home around 3 or maybe 4 and spent a few hours trying to reorganize my life (I failed and have continued to fail ever since; my room is a disaster). I knew that M. and D. were having a party that night, but I wasn't sure I was up to heading out so soon after returning home. In the end after a number of hours reading a book on my deck and fixing some damage wrought upon my plants while I was away, I decided to put my party face (and dress) on and join LW, CPM and R. on their walk to the part-ay. There we enjoyed numerous finger foods, nice seats on their roof, copious beer and a few new conversations. It was a good night that didn't end in disaster. This was due, at least in part, to my decision not to join the party's bandwagon to go dancing, where I'm pretty sure only madness would have followed. I do sometimes wish when I had been 22 I was the type to understand what fun it could be to go dancing. It's never too late to know it's fun, but often the fun doesn't start until it's too late for this 31 year old to want to mess with. I am an old fogey. Let's move on.

The next day I had a number of errands to run, including a trip to Target, a need to make a stop at the Headhouse Farmer's Market, and an attempt to find soft shell crabs at Reading Terminal Market. The soft shell crab search didn't work out, but I did try a Dinic's roast beef sandwich with broccoli raabe and provolone cheese, which was good though not as amazing as I had expected.

Dinner c/o Paper Canoe in Duck, NC

At one point the idea was had that all 20 of us might find a way to go out to dinner as a group. This was a lovely theoretical plan, but it did have a few glitches. The largest glitch was simply that there weren't many restaurants that could cater to such a large party, and those that did could only seat us at a time that would conflict with a desire to get all the kids in sleep mode before 11:30. But the idea of going out - sans kids - still appealed to one and all, which led to a plan of shifts between the parents and grandparents of the youth. Dad and I weren't really on kid duty, but I think we ended up in the 'late shift.' We went to the Paper Canoe. We were a little early so we sat at the bar for a second for a warm up cocktail. I went with a dirty martini with three olives.

We were then seated with a lovely view of the sound/bay enhanced by a not-yet-set sun, the rays of which delightfully played across the olive oil we were served along with bread. We

Dad also ordered a bottle of wine with crab in its name and though I took a number of photographs of the bottle, I took none with the label facing entirely towards me. The laughing crab? The hesitant crab? The happy crab? One might never know.

We also ordered one of the specials of the night a mushroom, duck and brie puff pastry served with a bit of pesto and red pepper coulis. I think it was coulis. It was coulis like in any case.

It was definitely above average. The mushrooms were perfectly seasoned, the pastry flaky and not so doughy or heavy, and just the right amount of brie to pull it all together.

I leaned towards the crab stuffed shrimp for my main dish. And they were not bad. The crab meat itself was a little too shredded overseasoned for my lump loving purist self.

Dad had the scallops with an Asian-ish bent to it, with sesame soba noodles and a rich broth. The scallops were tender and perfectly seared. Nice work.

It was a nice meal and much quieter than the many shared with such a rag tag group of folks. Both are good experiences, but very different from one another.

Crabs c/o Crackpot

Last year Dad and I both were excited about the opportunity of having crabs after a day at the races, and we ended up at Crackpot, which was much to our collective liking. While our Black Eyed Susan day lineup was different than last year, crabs were still on the agenda. D. and R. couldn't come, as they had the drive back to Silver Spring to keep in mind, but V., L., Fat T., my father and I all happily made the trek to Crackpot. It's a pretty nondescript place from the outside, tucked into a strip mall in Towson with an attached liquor and wine store, but inside the restaurant's walls are laden with maritime themed doo dads and painted fish and the vibe is decidedly chill and knowing.

We were on top of it enough to have made a reservation for a table and two dozen jumbo crabs, so when we sat down most all of our decisions were already made. What wasn't made, however, was the knowledge base L. and Fat T. needed for their first ever (ever!) experience with blue crabs. I found this a bit surprising, but then I realized that while I don't very often feel like a Marylander, I was one for the first half of my life simply by the geographical location of my birth and childhood...and that comes with certain inalienable rights: like knowing what it is to sit down at a paper-covered table and dive into a pile of Old Bay laden hard shelled blue crabs...something Long Islanders like L. and Fat T. simply wouldn't have been as exposed to during their respective youths. But no worries, my father was happy to expound his own crab wisdom to new ears.

I had a Fat Tire beer with a hammer chaser.

And then the crabs arrived.

Beautiful, beautiful crabbies.

L. took to seducing hers.

Another more hands-on tutorial.

I would say that it was a success. Fat T. and L. seemed to very much enjoy the process and the result.

T. was very triumphant over a portion of shell that he had helped turn into a mountain.

Detritus.

Lovely, lovely meal. I was very happy about it. While I realize that I have to make sure that I get my soft shell crab fix soon (tis the season), it was good to remember the far more labor intensive process that is deconstructing a crab that hasn't shed its shell. All around good time.

Pre-Pimlico Racing Weekend Meal c/o b.

 A few weekends back it was time for the annual running of the Preakness. The big race - The Preakness - is run on Saturday, but the Friday before - known as Black Eyed Susan Day - is also a relatively big deal, especially in Baltimore. Historically my parents, the T.'s and a few others would do both days of races, driving up from Silver Spring each day and then driving back down at the end. Last year we all stayed in our cousin V.'s house in nearby Towson and it was decided that my father, me, and L. and Fat T. would do so again. L. and Fat T. couldn't arrive until Friday morning, so it was only me who arrived late Thursday afternoon. The drive was solid, nothing surprising. After a bit of chatting on V.'s delightful porch, we set off to the Bolton Hill area of Baltimore to enjoy a dinner al fresco courtesy of b. Bistro. The Bolton Hill area, as far as I could determine, has a pretty similar vibe to my own Art Museum/Fairmount Philadelphia neighborhood, and is not unlike Cobble Hill or Carroll Gardens in Brooklyn. All to say that its lined with buildings I think you could refer to as brown stones, which often enough have nicely landscaped front stoops and streets that include the occasional shade bearing tree. It's cute, is what I'm saying. b. was also cute. The evening was lovely, temperature-wise, so we weren't the only ones sitting outside, enjoying the not-too-hot, not-too-cold environs. We started our dinner with a bottle of wine and fried oysters. The batter around each oyster was thick and crunchy, so much so that at my father's first bite there was a moment where we heard a sound that initially seemed to signify tooth against shell bit...but upon closer and careful mouth inspection on my father's part, it was determined that no, it was just an especially fiesty batter morsel. Oysters were nice and sweet and succulent inside their new battered shells. And the greens and dressing that accompanied them were also solid. I could have done with perhaps a little more of a lemon element, but that's my only complaint.

 Dad and the wine.

I chose the Organic Salmon with crispy skin pan roasted, green onion polenta cake,
sauteed spinach, and fire roasted red pepper coulis. The fish was excellently prepared, tender and not dry at all. I enjoyed especially the crispy skin element and the polenta cake, an element of some plates I really could take or leave, was a little more interesting than many. The coulis was also a nice touch.

Dad had the special fish of the day with a crab risotto with English peas and corn, which was also nicely executed. V. ordered the scallops and the bite of said dish I had was proof positive that the folks in the kitchen know their way around seafood. Everything was just on point.

What a wonderful first meal for the racing weekend. Thanks to V. for the suggestion and Dad for the meal itself.