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!

Birthday Magic Times c/o Modo Mio

Ever since my first Modo Mio experience with LB back in 2009, I have always thought that celebrating a birthday at the establishment would be a whole heck of a lot of fun. Even when just a guest with no particular reason for celebration, the meal is in itself just that. I also heartily enjoy the how the bustling space's patrons will all come together and sing happy birthday to a total stranger in a way far more authentic than you might come across at, say, TGIFridays. So when I started thinking about how I might want to mark my 31st year on earth, I decided enough was enough: Modo Mio it would be. I am so happy that a great group of folks were all able to make it and celebrate with me; I really just had the most delightful dinner and overall birthday night. So. To start. We were a table of 9, so there were plenty of opportunities to try other plates than my own. For example, this was the chicken liver creme caramelle with fennel apple jam, gorgonzola and crostini, which CP ordered. The liver remained a revelation free of that extra bite that can make liver go so wrong for some, but we both commented that we were surprised by the temperature of the overall dish, which was cold. Definitely on-purpose-cold, but I believe we thought it might have been better at room temperature. I wonder if the coldness had to do with keeping the liver in shape?

BC tried the beet dish, which seemed pretty satisfying in a more straightforward way than many of Modo Mio's options.

I believe this was a fried cheese concoction that LB enjoyed?

I had this delightful seared scallop, which was served with a potato torta, fontina, and a cherry vinaigrette. Perfectly cooked and tender. And that torta, which you can't see at all, was not your run of the mill potato accoutrement. Truly added its own signature mark on the overall dish. Pleased, was I.

I believe this is CP's goat cheese ravioli, which was really just so very good I don't have words.

R.'s lasagna?

BC's gnocchi.

My bucatini. Oh man. I love this simple pasta with its pancetta, pecorino and bit of spiced up tomato sauce/dressing. While one of the great things about Modo Mio is its oft rotating menu, I am always a bit relieved to find some version of this plate in their pasta section.

CP tried veal for the first time.

And I went with the grilled ribeye steak with aged goat cheese, chickpea crepe, boquerones and jus. By this point I was intoxicated on a combination of wonderful company, fantastic food, and BYO wine, but I still found the energy to make a marked dent in this element of the meal. So good. So very, very, good. The cheese. The chickpea. The jus! Golly oh molly.

Also offered were complimentary sambuca shots.

I think it was around this point, while drinking espresso, that I managed to get coffee on my nose, which lingered there for the majority of the rest of my evening. Literal brown nose.

And then there was dessert. We just ended up getting two sample plates of everything. And man oh man was everything just a wonderful show of how sweet can be mellow and how sweet can be neat. Why yes, it was a wonderful show.

Seriously. Thanks to BC, CM, LB, AS, BM, LW, CP and R for all coming out and making this such a truly special evening!

Lunch c/o In Riva

So the Saturday before last was relatively full of activity. The morning and early afternoon was given over to work. Then I drove over to East Falls to meet up with my visiting aunt MR at In Riva. MR was staying with her cousin in that general direction, and isn't very familiar with the roads of Philly, so I thought In Riva might be a good place to dine, as it wouldn't be too far from where her cousin lives, has a nice view, and is relatively hard to miss. We sat outside on what was a very nice and sunny day. The restaurant is located on Kelly Drive, just four lanes of traffic away from the Schuylkill. We had a nice glimpse of the river from our table, though you'll note that the bigger view was mainly one of a bike. MR was already there when I arrived but they had waited to seat her until I presented myself. So, once we were settled at an outside table (zero patrons chose to sit inside, though the interior doesn't have a terrible vibe to it) I ordered the Solari cocktail: limecello, amaro, cava, mint. Delightfully refreshing. Very pleased was I with this concoction.

MR and I both ordered starters. This was the carciofi fritti, fried artichoke with an olive tapenade in a pool of lemon yogurt. The lemon aspect didn't totally get into every bite, and the tapenade was definitely on the salty side, but all in all an enjoyable way to start the meal. MR had spicy mussels in a tomato broth, which were pretty great.

We then split the pepperoni pizza.

The dough was nice and crisp and the crust's char was well done I thought. They certainly didn't skimp on the cheese or pepperoni.

A great al fresco meal. Thanks to MR for the lunch!

Dinner c/o Amici's and Woods

So I broke the trip to Tennessee at my friend J.'s house. It took me about six hours to make my way down 81 and the most eventful things that happened were seeing two old men standing in a deep ditch with no clothes on, and the fact that there are a lot of 'self-serve' Dunkin Donuts spots in the south. Once I arrived at J. and V.'s she and I, and her two boys C. and G., went into Scottsville for dinner at Amici's. I waffled between the pasta three ways (lasagna, manicotti and something else) or the Penne Buttanesca. In the end I went the more adventurous route, but either way it would have come with salad. Pretty standard but it's always good to get some greens.

We all shared the calamari, which was nice and hot while still being crispy on the outside and tender within. I don't know why G.'s making this face because I'm pretty sure he enjoyed the calamari.

Creamy mess of pasta for me. Definitely rich. Though I took a bite of J.'s manicotti and actually enjoyed the simple red sauce that went with it a bit more than this cream-based sauce.

After dinner we briefly met up with J.'s husband and some of his friends before taking a look at some land J. and V. bought that they'll soon build a house on. The light was quite nice.

Woods.

Tiny toad.

Tiny toad.

A very nice evening indeed. And thanks goes to J. for the dinner.

Crab, Spaghetti and Veal Cheek c/o Modo Mio

After our beers at Frankford Hall, we made our way to Modo Mio for dinner. This was something I was quite looking forward to and - as usual - it didn't disappoint. I didn't recognize most of the servers on this particular night, but no matter; things still ran smoothly among the hustle and bustle busy-ness of the joint. When I asked our server whether she would choose the crab cake or - she cut me off before the second option and strongly recommended the ricotta and lump crab cake, which came with a fennel and green apple slaw as well as a drizzle truffle oil and black pepper. I've forgotten what I had been considering instead, but this did not disappoint. The cake was a tender pile of crab with not a lot of filler and the crunch of the fennel and apple really balanced it all out. Mmm. Good.

I forget exactly what this was, but it was akin to their Amatriciana dish, only with a little more kick as far spice...but I think pancetta was also involved? Some of Modo Mio's pasta dishes are so exceptionally rich and indulgent (re: the gnocchi or rabbit ravioli) but their lighter tomato-based sauces generally aren't quite as heavy. I think AS had the special pasta of the evening, which was beef cheek ravioli. I was happy to take a bite.

For my main course I chose the veal cheek, which of course I can't tell you much about because it's not on the online menu and I forgot to photograph the paper one. I did this in part because I had earlier 'tweeted at' the executive chef, Peter McAndrews, and asked him what he'd recommend from the newest Modo Mio menu and he/whomever is in charge of his twitter feed laid out one potential meal, which included the new escargot dish and perhaps the lasagna. In the end I went my own way for the appetizer and pasta, but figured I should take at least one of the recommendations. Otherwise, why even ask? But I believe it was breaded and on a bed of cabbage with maybe raisins in addition to a tomato element? Gorgonzola on top? AS and I were both definitely boozed up thanks to our consumption of a bottle of prosecco and our steady progress through a second bottle of white, and I can't deny that my focus on the food wandered slightly.

I think this is a pretty great photo of AS. I believe this is her happy face with a plate of pork loin below her.

After finishing our meals it was decided that espresso wouldn't be the worst thing, so we went ahead and had it. Or maybe AS had a cappucino and I had an espresso. Either way we both consumed straight up caffeine after10 PM or so. Risky.

I completed my meal with tirimisu, which had some sort of nice ice cream/custard element to it that I cannot recall. This sort of lack or recollection is so going to be a thing of the past now that I have my new little notebook!

This was another great meal and I'm so glad that it worked out for us (there was a little snafu with the reservation earlier in the day). Truly one of my favorite spots in the city.

M. Comes to Town and Modo Mio Ensues

So back in the earliest of 2012, I was hanging out with M. and the gang (that's totally how they would describe themselves), celebrating the new year, editing like a fiend, stuffing my face with pork and other tasty treats, whetting my gullet with fine Italian wine and... Yeah, the usual. The point here being that I once again brought up the fact that I would not rest until M. had tried Modo Mio, and A. too for that matter. The two of them were staying east for a while after the holidays, as M. was going to do fancy theater lighting stuff in New York. It was then loosely decided that M. would come to Philly some time in February in order to realize the Modo Mio dream. And that she did about two weeks ago. She arrived by train and I made the fateful mistake of trying to drive west on Market at 6 PM to pick her up on a Friday (don't do that it will take you 20 minutes to cross the river). Blah blah blah. The real point is that we arrived to Modo Mio in one piece. M. went into the nearby wine/liquor store to pick up some bubbly...I strongly believe that any meal at Modo Mio should start with some kind of sparkling wine. And M. went big on that one, coming out with a bottle of Moet, which we quickly popped once we were seated. Behold, this, a tasty dish. Sweetbreads with a sort of nutmeg flan custard thing, asparagus, crispy porchetta and a sage leaf. And I think perhaps a touch of balsamic reduction? This was no joke. The eggy nutmeg base was of such a silken texture and such an unexpected taste, but (as always) complemented the the saltier and heartier tastes and textures rocking the higher limits of the dish.
M. tried the chicken liver pate (I don't know how to make the little accent) cannoli, which was rich as all get out but, as usual, this place/chef/kitchen has figured out the perfect way to keep that chicken liver-y taste but to soften it a bit or inform it a bit so there's so much more going on. Also? They gave us a taste of the special appetizer of the night: clams! Tasty, tasty clams.
For my pasta I believe I went with the veal and beef cheek ravioli. I think. The one problem with Modo Mio's ever changing menu is that I always forget to write what I had down, and their menu online is totally outdated. Whatever this may have ultimately been, its key characteristic was tasty treatness. M. had the special pasta...buccatini with a cream and pepper sauce. Reminiscent of an al fredo sauce, but a little different.
For my main course I went with the skate with calamari, asparagus and white beans. Or I think that's what it was. This wasn't my favorite entree of theirs ever, but I think that's more just a question of my taste, not their execution.
In addition to the champagne, we also drank a bottle of Chateau Caroline. And for dessert, I chose a profiterole-like option. I forget what M. had. Then we concluded our meal with orangecello and glee.
Afterwards we ended up meeting up with LW for darts in Center City, and though I had every intention of getting LW to take a photo of M. and me together, I totally spaced on that. You'll just have to trust that I went to dinner with M. and that we hung out until late into the night. Trust it.