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!

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!

Dump Dinner c/o Sansom Oyster House

Weeks and weeks ago C. and I both came across Oyster House's 'Dump Dinner' Tuesday special and determined that we wanted in on such a feast of seafood. We made a date. It was at least two weeks in advance of our actually going, which was nice because it gave us something to look forward to. I forget what the beer special of the day was, but I had it. I also ordered two of the Delaware Bay 'buck a shuck' oysters for good measure.

So. The dump deal is this: a huge bucket of mussels, clams, sausage, crab and shrimp with potatoes and broth for $19. We made good progress through our shared bounty and I believe we left nothing behind except shells. I had forgotten just how time consuming and difficult it is to extract crab meat from the little legs and carapace and what not. Carapace? One more reason to love soft shell crab season...so much less work!
After that we went on a small bar crawl. First to the Happy Rooster and then to Good Dog.

Oysters, Oysters, Mussels and Baby Fish c/o Oyster House

My father came into town the Thursday before Christmas. After I finished my work day we proceeded to the Sansom Street Oyster House for dinner. We were in time for the 'buck a shuck' deal, though I forget the specific oyster it was. This is because I ordered half of the 'buck a shuck' and half of the Shibumi...which I liked very, very much. Why is it that West Coast oysters are usually so much prettier? And often littler...I'm thinking of Kumomotos as well, which aren't usually very large, or at least not in my own experiences with them. Anyways, I was glad to meet another variety of oyster or two.
We shared the steamed mussels with fennel. Pretty good. Though I'm not an overly big fan of fennel, I still took care to sop up some of the broth with the provided toasted baguette.
We also tried the oysters fried up, which I also found quite to my liking. Very juicy still, the breading didn't mask the oysters' salty selves as much as encapsulate them in a loving embrace. Man, this is why I don't try to write too deeply about food. What does that even mean?
Dad also wanted to try the fried baby fish. They were definitely fried, and they were definitely baby-sized. Neither of us enjoyed them all that much. Salty and crispy were their defining characteristics.
Thanks to Dad for the dinner!

Mussels, Mushrooms and More c/o Bucks County and New Jersey

Apologies for the lack of narration. Some pretty major shittiness is going down in my neck of life. I can't help but try to keep up with all the photographs I have taken (Seattle was quite cathartic). I have no doubt that at some point I'll be a bit more open about where I am right now, and why. But this evening is simply not that point.