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!

Restaurant Week Dinner c/o R2L

The last two weeks have been Philadelphia's Center City Fall Restaurant weeks. This means that a whole slew of dining establishments in Center City are offering three course meals for $35. People in the foodie world have different perspectives on these weeks. A lot of industry folk grumble about it: folks come into a restaurant where an entree is usually $20 and expect the same level of service/food at quite the discounted rate, don't tip enough, etc etc. Which is all fair and good to note. But for those of us who aren't made of money but appreciate good food, restaurant week gives us the opportunity to at least get a sense of what these finer dining destinations have to offer, and whether we'd like to come back for a special occasion and pay full price. So when it came to choosing a spot or two to try out for the first time, I aimed at places I thought were pretty interesting but definitely outside of my normal budget. In previous years this led me to meals at Buddakan, Tequilas, and Union Trust. This time around I scheduled two outings. The first was to R2L with LW. I had been to R2L ever so briefly when my Childhood Friend, K. and I had dinner at Alma de Cuba and then K. suggested we at least take a look at R2l...even though they were very much closing for the night. But this time around they were in the swing of things. When we arrived and took the elevator to the 37th floor, we were quickly greeted and ushered to the bar while a table was set for us. There I ordered a dirty Stoli martini and requested three olives, which were happily provided by our friendly and attractive bartender. LW ordered a drink that involved those fancy marinated cherries, of which she requested extras and, again, the bartender was happy to oblige. Soon after our cocktails were in hand, we were seated. I was pleased that we were given a window seat, which allowed us to determine just which direction we were looking in: west. We kept trying to find landmarks and for the longest time really couldn't. Then after finally saying, yes, that is west, we realized that the most obvious landmark - 30th Street Station - was most clearly visible and in front of us. It was a 'duh' moment.

R2L's lighting is dim and moody, which made getting decent photographs a bit of a challenge, so forgive the rather less than perfect quality of the photographs that follow. I chose to go with the shrimp cocktail for my appetizer. They were plump shrimp with a nice spicy cocktail sauce to go along with them. LW chose the chicken liver and foie gras mousse, which was delicious.

For my main course I chose the "R2L Style" veal stew, which was veal three ways: meatloaf, breast and tenderloin. I'd never heard of veal/cow having a 'breast' before, but I was quite pleased with the presentation and taste of this dish, especially the tenderloin.  LW ordered the flounder fluke paella, which also seemed to be a hit.

We both chose the roasted pears with concord grape reduction and buttermilk panna cotta. I wish one of my wider shots had come through so you could better see the presentation, but lighting conditions prevented a decent shot. My favorite part was most certainly the bites of panna cotta with concord grape essence. I could have gone for just a bowl of that grape stuff. Yes indeed.

The place seemed to be doing a brisk night of business for a Sunday, but no server seemed totally overworked or harried.

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.

Fantastic Fantabulism c/o Modo Mio

A few weeks back K. came to town. I was only going to have her in my hands for one night and one day, so I wanted to pack as much eating into that time period as I could. I picked her up from the hotel at which she had stayed for a smartsy conference and took her to New Jersey. Obviously. And I got an iPhone. Then we returned to Philly and I brought her to Village Whiskey. I forgot my camera when we started the day, so there isn't any proof of the burger...except on my iPhone, but they aren't very good photographs. After some down time, it was time to bring K. to the second eating experience of her life: Modo Mio.
This was a pork salad kind of dish. It was good.
Their special pasta for the night was a raviolo with housemade ricotta and farm egg yolk inside, with a truffle pepper oil with parmesan. It. Was. Delicious. Really, really, really delicious. I want another one right now. Right now!
K.'s main dish was the eggplant.
I had the crispy veal with fresh mozzarella and tomato sauce. It was tasty. I love what they do with tomatoes.
And at the end, complimentary sambuca.
Sambuca?
Mmmm. Profiterole.
K. had an apple (or pear?) tart with cheese. It was a little savory I think she said.
We made friends with the couple next to us, who were from out of town. They were just as taken with their meals as we were.

Dinner of Magic Madness c/o Modo Mio

So, a while back I made a date with L. and her bf C. to have dinner at Modo Mio. But as the reservation date grew nearer, L.'s taste buds continued to be in utter stealth mode. And there really isn't anything sadder than going out to a nice meal and not being able to actually enjoy it. Ok. There are sadder things. I could name a few. But that would bring the tone of this post down. L. and I decided that we'd go to Modo Mio some other time, but I also decided that I didn't want the reservation to go to waste. So I asked C. if she might like to come and she heartily said yes. We were there on time and seated quickly. For my first course I went with the squid and arugula salad with capers, green olives and other tasty magic wonderful. Last time all my photos were too dark, so this time I went with a flash. Now all the photos are a little too bright.
C. went with the shrimp starter. It was beautiful to look at and good in the mouth as well. Why does half of anything I write sound dirty?
I had long been eyeing their veal and rabbit ravioli for the pasta course (long = since the last time). And it was good....
Though I actually found C.'s hollow spaghetti with tomato sauce more enjoyable, which worked out well since she actually liked the ravioli more. This was a moment in our friendship that really just rocked. The moment when we admitted our preferences and just changed plates. It was another magical moment.
The sad thing is I have no remembrance of my main course. Not that I was blotto drunk, just, I don't know. That's the thing about Modo Mio. All the food is good. The atmosphere is fantastic. And if you go with someone you actually like, then the food just complements the good time you're having. Maybe C. will be able to tell me what this was. I know I liked it.
C. had the short ribs. They were awfully tender.
Though we didn't order them, we were awarded to free sides. A very refreshing and delightful salad and broccoli raab with sausage. There was hardly room for them in my stomach, but I made it happen.
We finished off the evening with cappucinos and the dessert that comes with their ridiculous $33 4-course dinner.
This was called something like 'fake orange.' It was rice pudding with a chocolate hazelnut sauce and it was ridiculous. C. had a chocolate cake, which was good...but this was even better. An older gentleman stopped by our table and said that he and his dining companion had had the same desserts and then said they were just horrible. But he was joking. I like old men. Not to date. Just to talk to. What? Shhhhhh.
Oh what a fabulous meal. C. had been in Prague for a while, so it was nice to catch up with her. Afterwards we trekked back to our own hood and had some beers with C.'s bf R. and his friend whose name completely escapes me.

Oysters and Veal Shortribs c/o Noble

A while back I purchased a Groupon for Noble. My first visit there had been inconclusive as to whether I was a huge fan or, well, meh. Earlier this month I finally got around to using it. At first I thought I'd go with a friend or something, but then I realized I'd have more spending power if I went by myself. I'm selfish. And not afraid to dine alone. It's a winning combination; one of my best traits, really. So, finally I went and took advantage of the thing. I sat at the bar and the bar tender was very personable. I started with the oyster appetizer and a glass of Ca' del Solo Estate Vineyard Alberino. The oysters included cucumber 'pearls' and a miso kind of dressing. The texture of the cucumber balls was a nice touch and the miso was a whole different thing from the typical mignonette, but in a really natural way. It worked.
I chose to go with the veal short rib with okinawa sweet potato, bluefoot mushrooms, red wine miso. While I was a fan of how tender the meat was, and flavorable, I was less impressed by the potato and mushroom elements. Somehow I didn't feel like they were doing the veal any favors and weren't, independently, all that exciting. I had a glass of Ray Station Cabernet with the main course. They have a nice intimate bar set up, and a few happy hour deals that I might try at some point.

Dinner c/o Miel

Another day, another sunset walk back to the hotel.
Later that evening, my father and I went to Miel for dinner. I started with a glass of sparkling wine, the name of which (of course) escapes me. Oh wait, maybe I do remember it. Well, on the receipt it says 'Poema.'
Forgive the color casts, please. The amuse bouche.
Dad chose to go with the $30 prix fixe menu, which included a soup or salad option, choice of three entrees, and dessert. I went a slightly less economical way and ordered the Osso Bucco. Before our entrees arrived, however, we snacked on fresh bread, creamy butter, lovely marinated olives and some of the best soup either of us have had in quite some time. The soup, pureed sunchokes with caramelized onions, was nice and hot. Oh man, and delicious. Did I mention the delicious-ness quotient? It was quite high. Quite high indeed.

Dad ordered a bottle of 2008 Domaine Faury Syrah. This was a fine, fine wine. Nicely balanced and mellow. I ended up drinking more than my fair share, and its buzz was a generally optimistic expansive kind.
The Osso Bucco came with polenta and a little toothpick with which to scoop out the marrow of the huge chunk of tender goodness's central bone. I have no doubt I will one day write far more on this meal and methods - in terms of the context of this meal - but for the time being I'll abstain from too much intellectualization of my food and simply say that it was quite rich, but delightful.

Dad's meal ended with sorbet. I don't think I tried much of it, but it also looked great.
The final touch of the meal was a plate with two dollops of honey splaced on silver spoons. This was entirely appropriate, as 'Miel' is the French word for honey. I believe this particular honey was relatively local, and it definitely had more depth that your usual honey bear variety.
Just a great, great meal. Service was a little wacky. When we arrived, the front door was locked because the host had gone into the back and felt it best to keep any potential customers out of the foyer...weird. Our waiter was generally on top of his game, though I picked up on a certain 'I am not just a waiter and resent being considered such' vibe from him, which I, as a former service worker, understand but could have done without.

Also, on an entirely unrelated note, though chronologically relevant:

On our return to the hotel, L. called my cell phone. Dad went on up to the hotel room while I spoke with her in the hotel's back parking lot area. It was during this conversation that I saw the pants-less man. Or, as my cousin K. called him when I told her about it, the 'Nash Villain.' Heh. I just can't quite get over it. I mean, it was a well-lit and traveled parking lot, and not too late at night, and yet I turn my head and see a naked butt receding from my view? Where did he come from?! Why no pants!? These were, of course, questions I immediately started to discuss with L. I can only imagine that the pants-less man heard these queries and thought it best to return to show me the view from the front (which didn't really answer any of the questions). I can't tell you a thing about his face, so distracted was I by his pink tee shirt, longish gray hair and, oh yes, the 'junk.' When did people first start referring to male genitalia as 'junk'? Well, I guess I can now cross 'see naked man's scrotum and penis in a Nashville hotel parking lot' off my bucket list.