Modo Mio: Veni Vidi Vici
t says: Yes, g and I write about Melograno … a LOT. We just had not experienced Italian fare as delicious as Melograno at a similar price point … Well, let me rephrase … Mercato is equally as delightful, but a bit further away from us, and yes, Amis, Osteria, and Vetri all have wonderful refined-meets-rustic food, however, these have higher prices when you take into account the smaller portions and BYO-lessness. Well, there was one BYO that we had heard of that promised to deliver delicious food at a reasonable price with a classic Philly BYO atmosphere: Modo Mio. a and v had wanted to go for some time as well, so we joined forces and trekked on over to NoLibs (I kind of hate that name the more I say it …).
11/2010, Friday 9pm, Party of 5. We showed up precisely at 9pm – we could not have planned it more perfectly if we tried. I had a bottle of red ready to go, having been decanted for an hour, and our dinnermates brought a few of their own as well. This was going to be fun … eventually. As soon as we got there, we were told that they were running behind and that they were trying to free up our table. I figured, “ok – maybe there’s a party that just hasn’t gotten their check yet”. But then the minutes started flying by … At fifteen minutes, we had watched the hostess seat a few couples/parties that had been waiting before us, but there were still a fare number jammed into the tiny little “holding area” (there was one door leading to the outside and one door leading to the dining room). We were a little irritated. g, on the other hand, had resorted to handing out gum as appetite suppressants – our party was hungry. I coped pretty well, as I had eaten a late lunch, and thankfully I did because no one wants to be around a hungry t. g suggested that I give them my “starving-child-from-a-poor-country-on-tv” look, but no one deserves to see that …
At the half-hour mark, the hostess came out and started handing out wine glasses to members of parties other than ours (she kind of pretended we weren’t there), apologizing for the wait – nevermind that we had waited longer than anyone else. What was funny was that she actually ran out of glasses to hand out, forcing some of those people to share – I guess the kitchen was still trying to clean up some glasses in the back?
At the forty minute mark, v confided in us, “guys – don’t say anything – I’ll handle it – I’m really good with Comcast …” Apparently v has had ample past experience in negotiating with Comcast for free channels and cheaper rates (I think she calls every 6 months or so); she felt that her negotiating skills would be able to get us some free food or cheaper rates, I suppose. Personally, at that point, I was wondering if we were actually going to eat there at all that night!
At 55 minutes, we were promised a table “in three minutes”. And sure enough – we were shown to a table with five seats at 10pm. Yikes – a one-hour wait despite having a reservation? In retrospect, I realize that we were never actually told an estimate of the amount of time it would be until we got a table – it always seemed like “a few more minutes” – even though the hostess never actually said that until the very end. Hmmmm – I wonder what would have happened if they said, “that’ll be an hour wait” up front? I guess we’ll never know, now …
As we sat down, a and v formulated “the plan”. “The plan” was that v was going to have a word with our server about our wait and whether something could be done to compensate. For the life of me, this did not sound like an idea that would produce a positive result – after all – we did wait for them even though we technically had the option of leaving … I felt that they should be giving us free stuff without us even having to ask – but of course, that only happens in fairy tales and at Sampan.
Then, a plate of bruschetta hit the table, compliments of the chef, because of our wait. a looked at v and said, “oh no – this doesn’t make up for anything.” (Actually, a might have not have said “anything”, rather, other choice words … I can’t remember … but we’ll keep it clean.) So, none of us touched the bruschetta until after v had a word with the server. Now, I have no idea what v said. She was very quiet about it, which perhaps the server and restaurant appreciated. And to be honest, it sounded kind of like the server was less-than-willing to give us anything for free – clinging to the usual excuses of “we’re really sorry about that – it’s just really hard when just one table takes too long then it throws everyone off, yada yada yada.” But somehow, v did work some magic! The server came back from the kitchen and said that the chef will send out extra courses with our meal. That sounded pretty good. The kitchen would get to use up ingredients they couldn’t save ’til the next day, and we’d get free food – excellent!
Amidst all of this negotiating, a noted that the place was VERY loud. Actually, it might have been the loudest BYO that I’ve ever been to. a, who’s not a very quiet person by nature, was using his full-on “outside voice”, and v, who normally has to rein him in for being too loud, remarked, “you know – in here, he’s actually not loud at all!”. I guess we found a place for him to really let loose. My favorite a-isms for the night include his version of speaking fluent Italian and shouting at the top of his lungs the first and last names of a politician interspersed with curse words.
How was the food? Well, we sampled a LOT of dishes – the five of us each got the “tour” deal (4 courses for $33). And then add on the “extras”. I’ll list the ones I had/remember and let the others take over at their convenience …
The grilled calf tongue dish I had was quite tasty, however, the tongue, itself, was a bit tough. I guess I imagined it would have had a similar texture to the veal tongue I had at Zahav, but grilling is different than braising, so that’s my fault. If nothing else, it was yet another cut of meat that I can now say I have had!
I had the gnocchi pasta which was very nice. The gnocchi, itself, was a solid performer – softer/more luxurious than at Gnocchi, but not quite the cloud-like consistency of Osteria’s potato gnocchi. The gorgonzola sauce was intensely rich – I couldn’t finish the dish – and this was surprising to me because they don’t give you a huge amount of pasta – but I was definitely crying uncle by the end.
g had the crab-ricotta cake. It was funny because normally people brag about how their crabcakes have “no fillers, all crab”. But not here. It was like “yea, we have crab and ricotta … got a problem with that?” Actually, it was delicious. On one hand, it was very decadently crabby – the ricotta didn’t mask any of the crab. Instead, the ricotta brought a nice flavor and texture of its own – I think this combo needs to be put together more often!
g also had the bucatini amatriciana. I sampled some and was quite impressed with the flavors – they weren’t quite as smokey-salty-prosciutto-y or as spicy as at Melograno, but there was some sort of richness with the tomato that was seductive. The pasta might have been a bit more al dente than I’m used to, but I liked it!
g and I both had the braised lamb cheek as our mains. The sauce was quite good with cherries, some other sweet-n-sour fruit, and a nice savory meaty taste. The lamb cheek itself was very good in taste, although I felt that it wasn’t the most tender piece of braised cheek I have ever had. On one hand, maybe lamb cheek just doesn’t get that tender, but I find that hard to believe. The meat was also streaked with glorious, glorious fat – but even that wasn’t quite as melt-in-your-mouth as I was hoping. Texture aside, the taste of the dish, itself, was quite good. I wish I knew all of the components that went into the braise as it was a combination that I’d like to try at home with some short ribs!
a says: I believe Lolita is the loudest/cramped byo that still produces food worth returning for – modo mio is a close second. a must also admit that v is certainly his better half and handled this situation with aplomb. A restaurant should, without prompting, rectify a mistake this large, but a doubts this would have happened without v’s thoughtful intervention.
Overall, none of the wines a provided blew him away. There was a mediocre pinot grigio (2009) and a decent Monastrell from Bleda (2008).
For starters, the capesante had a scallop cooked to perfection resting on a small salad but the Prosciutto di Parma seemed misplaced. The pasta course, gnocchi, was thick without being heavy, however, paired with a Gorgonzola-cream sauce, seemed too rich. My secondi was duck wrapped in prosciutto which is a dish I doubt could be bad, anywhere. The duck was good, not great, and I believe the proscuitto was used as “bait” – much like bacon or butter, it will be enjoyable on any dish but does it complement the main ingredient, bringing it to a higher plane. Similar to the capesante, I think the overall result was less focused.
The highlight of the evening, oddly enough, was an “extra;” their homemade lasagna topped with a fried egg. The lasagna was complex and delicious, and only made better with the yolk of the egg. Supplying us with the entire dessert menu was appreciated and a nice touch. The tiramisu stood out but after that much food, I can’t say much else.
The menu turista is definitely one of the best deals in the city, if you don’t mind a bottle-of-wine wait for your table (possibly).
t says: In retrospect, I suppose that it’s clear that Modo Mio was not a flawless restaurant. There was “the wait” and also some hiccups in the food … but for some reason, I would definitely want to try it again. Was it the company? Was it the wine? I don’t know – but the food, even with the flaws, still had these decadent strokes of genius throughout (e.g. that egg-on-the-lasagna was my favorite dish, too!). All in all, it was definitely worth the price of admission …
Aimee headed back home (i.e. Philly) …
t says: Aimee Olexy will be heading back to her rightful home, Philadelphia. Ok, I understand that that may not be a completely factual statement, as I have no idea where Aimee’s actual “home” is – but who cares – she’s coming back to Philly! Yay!
BUT, I must express some reservations, as she is partnering with Mr. Starr, which makes me uneasy. I suspect that gone will be the days of the tiny, cramped BYO that had originally attracted us to them; Stephen doesn’t really “do” low-key like Django. And that Washington Square space, while very cool, was more chic bawler than farm-to-table – of course, we’ll see what they do with it. Maybe this is a grown-up farm-to-table concept (like JG Domestic) – one that requires money and that people want “to be seen” in. Nothing’s set in stone, and you bet that g and I will be there to give it a whirl!
The Truth … about Samoas
t says: When it comes to Girl Scout cookies, everyone loves Thin Mints. Thin-Mint-this and Thin-Mint-that. Well you know what? I think Thin Mints are mediocre. Shazam. I went there.
Are you still reading? I hope you are – there’s a chance that with the above statement, I have angered about 75% of readers to the point of immediately closing down their browser windows never to return to adsz again … thanks for your continued patronage through these dark times …
Back to the story at hand … I will admit that there is one cookie that I attempt to stockpile every Girl Scout cookie season but fail miserably as they are so good that if they are in the house, I will consume them five-at-a-time: Samoas.
(As an aside, I want to note that these are sometimes called Caramel deLites as well, and the different name is determined by whichever bakery is licensed to manufacture the cookies (or so wiki claims). Personally, I prefer to call them Samoas because the name for some reason makes me think of tiny little animated characters … that I get to eat. Where this thought comes from, or why it would make me happy to eat a tiny little animated character … I have no idea.)
Ok, so back to Samoas … They are incredibly delicious, featuring a cookie covered with caramel, coconut, and chocolate. There really is not a thing I’d change about them … and I’m not even that huge a fan of coconut! And when Edy’s releases the Girl Scout Cookie ice creams – the Samoas themed one is also oh-so-delicious! But the one thing that cheeses me off about Samoas is this: the limited availability. Once a year! Come on Girl Scouts – would it kill you to peddle your cookies more often? Alternatively, why hasn’t anyone else ever made a successful Samoa clone? I mean, yes, in general, clones of cookies suck (e.g. look at every knock-off of an Oreo, ever – yuck!). Consequently, I have no other conclusion to reach than thinking that they must be made utilizing some sort of super-secret ingredient that only the Girl Scouts had access to (e.g. Girl Scouts). Until now …
So, I’m not sure why/how the Keebler Elves are allowed to straight-up rip off the Samoa, but they most certainly did. There isn’t even the tiniest bit of trying to hide the similarity … orange coconut, fudge stripes, ring-shaped … There really is no reason for me to put up a pic of a Samoa because it’d look the same …
Upon close inspection, I will say that there are some subtle differences between this Keebler clone and the original. The cookie is slightly thicker than a traditional Samoa, but it is also smaller in diameter. The result is a slightly higher cookie:caramel ratio. Also, there seems to be a slightly less coconut flakes (i.e. a lower density of larger flakes) on the Keebler version, and the intensity of the orange color is toned down. How does it taste? Keeping in mind that I only have memory to work off of (although I have probably consumed around 50 boxes of these in the past 6 years), the Keebler one tastes pretty damn similar. Texturally, these are a a little less “chewy” than the original (i.e. more crunchy/crumbly cookie-esque) and the quantity of chocolate is toned down, but if I close my eyes, it might as well be January, already (i.e. Girl Scout cookie season). Unlike all of those nasty Oreo clones, this one is a winner! It might not be perfect, but it’ll keep me satisfied for the other 10 months of the year when I don’t have Samoas …
So if Keebler could have done this – why now, after all these years? Maybe those elves have also been experiencing tough times recently and decided to stop playing Mr. Nice Elf … Girl Scouts be damned! The result: 15 cookies for under $3!! And I even think there are some online coupons for these floating around, making it less than $2!! For this price, it took a lot of willpower to not just buy two [or twenty] more bags than the one that I did buy – but I exhibited enormous self-restraint, much to g’s surprise.
But wait! What about the title of the post! What is the truth about Samoas? The truth is that they are sadly not magical, mystical cookies that only the Girl Scouts can sell – the Keebler Elves have managed to put out a very respectable copy of my favorite Girl Scout Cookie. This means only one thing – they obviously must be sharing a common secret ingredient! Are the Keebler Elves using 100% real Girl Scouts? Or perhaps the Girl Scouts were actually using tree-dwelling elves this entire time? Or maybe the Keebler Elves, when the cross-dress, are the original Girl Scouts! Why else would Ernie adhere to always donning that less-than-flattering green jackets (i.e. Girls Scout Vest?) at all times?
Napa/SF: Day 5
t says: Alrightie-then. Our third-to-last day!! We started off our Saturday in SF as every single guide-book to SF suggests: Ferry Building Market. We hiked on over to check out what is apparently the combination of a food mall and an outdoor farmer’s market. Overall, it was a rather interesting food-centric attraction, however, I’m not sure if it was the end-all be-all of awesomeness. I was expecting something that could not be described by words – but there it is – I described it. Now, I will say that if we had more time in SF, like if we were visiting some friends and cooking a meal together, then yes, the Ferry Building would have been far more fun because we could have indulged in shopping for the various produce and meats and things … next time …
As we walked around, we got kind of hungry. But we had an inside tip: cm told us that we had to go to Blue Point Oyster Company for their New England Clam Chowder. It was going to be unlike any clam chowder that we had ever tasted and would completely blow our minds. So we were ready to have our minds blown … except that we couldn’t find it. There was a “Hog Island Oyster Company” – but surely this is not what he had meant because aside from “Oyster Company”, the two names bear zero similarity. Perhaps this was some sort of imitation and Blue Point was the “real deal”, while this one would suck. So, we decided to skip it and instead went for what I felt was a somewhat oxymoronically named vendor:
There was this stand there which was run by a small army (family) of Spanish-speaking people (minus the two thin white girls who gave you your food – not sure if they were somehow related, or just the hired eye-candy). There was a line about 6 people deep. And every book on SF food kept talking about chilaquiles – we had never had one before, but we figured this would be a good place to at least find one representative sample. It was actually quite delicious. The combination of egg, tortillas that were fried and cooked in some kind of tomato-based mixture, beans, cheese, and sour cream. Simple, satisfying, and fried – what a great way to start the day.
So, where to next? Fisherman’s Wharf of course! We got on a cable car, took our seats, and waited as more people boarded. Then, alluvasudden, a group of “kids” came on and said …
Girl: “Hi – we’re here for a college trip doing a scavenger hunt. One of our missions is to get people on a form of public transportation to sing our dorm song.”
Girl: “It goes like this – ‘When I say ‘Who’s house?’, you say C’s House … Who’s house-”
Disgruntled passenger: “SHUT UP”.
Yea, that’s right. The anthem ended right then and there. You see, there was a rather disgruntled passenger on board. She had been cursing at random people (including the voice of the car operator) just before the kids had come on. She did not appear to be a tourist, rather, an SF local. Judging by her appearance, I’d say that she was one of SF’s homeless population, but maybe she was just really really unkempt. She apparently did not want to join in the dorm song. Thank goodness. I didn’t want to sing it, either, but she gave us all a reason not to not say a peep. We rode in complete silence from that point on … except for the random shouting at fictitious people from the disgruntled lady.
We rode the cable car the 4 minutes it took to get to Fisherman’s Wharf and realized that there were a lot of tourists there. We simply wanted to go just to say we went, but we really didn’t know what else to do. So we did what all tourists do … we booked a tour of the city! It was some of the best money we spent on the trip! The tour took us all throughout SF (including Golden Gate Park and the Bridge and Presidio and a bunch of other places all around the city) on a converted cable car. Our guide had a sense of humor and kept altering the route so he could avoid traffic … but then, because of construction, he’d have to double-back and just go the original route, anyways. The result: a bonus hour of touring! But it was great because it gave us an overall view of the entire city and exonerated us from having to spend the time to get to and visit places that would have been interesting for approximately 15 minutes (looking at you, Presidio). Definitely a great tour, operated by Grayline, but not that double-decker bus one.
After the tour, we felt obligated to eat some Dungeness crab at the Wharf – so we did. We went to Tarantino’s … for no other reason than we saw an open door and suspected that there was proper seating (i.e. a calm lunch vs. the chaos of the Wharf). Actually, the place turned out to be a fairly relaxed atmosphere to enjoy lunch with nice views (on the second floor) and rather dated decor. I had the crab and clam chowder soup and g went for the crab salad sandwich. Nothing super-remarkable about the food, but for what we wanted, which was a quiet place to break away from the madness that is Fisherman’s Wharf, it was splendid. It was also pretty reasonable as far as the cost of Wharf food is concerned.
Next, we set out for Ghirardelli Square. g and I have an honest question to ask anyone who is contemplating taking children to Ghirardelli Square. Why/How would that ever be a good idea? There’s absolutely nothing good about it for your family. It is packed – there’s no room! There’s really not much to see/learn, as it is a giant sugar-filled tourist trap … meaning that children will turn into absolute animals covered in chocolate and ice cream, therefore driving their parents insane. Couple all of this with the obligatory price increase of visiting/eating in a tourist trap, as well as dealing with the children running around that aren’t your own … To quote my mom, “This is not a vacation.”
But wait … why did we go? Two words. Kara’s Cupcakes. Yeah, that’s right. I found me some more Fleur de Sel chocolate cupcakes. I bought one to eat there (and a banana caramel one for g – she’s not into super-rich chocolate like I am), and I bought two more to take back to the hotel [for me … for later … when g’s asleep]. They … were … so … good. Just yesterday I had a Brown Betty’s PB and Chocolate cupcake (and some of the Red Velvet cupcake), and it’s just no contest: I miss Kara.
We eventually got back to our hotel (we took a cab back – a cab that was accosted by someone else who wanted to hail it who didn’t realize we were sitting in the back, so he just thought the cabbie didn’t want to drive him) and relaxed/recharged. Dinner was coming …
We went to Kiss Seafood for dinner. This place is run by the absolute cutest Japanese couple. Go ahead and call them up right now and listen to the answering machine with the husband on it – it’s so cute! But man is his place tiny. It fits like 12 people, total. Actually, when we got there 5 minutes before our reservation, we were told by the lady that there was no space for us. g mistook her and thought that she had meant, “oops, we’re overbooked for tonight – get out”, but I understood that she actually meant, “could you occupy yourselves for 5 minutes and come back?”. And that’s what we did. Unfortunately, there really isn’t much to do in that part of Japantown at 8pm – so we just walked around the block and looked at the houses. We contemplated picking up some wine, but knew that it wouldn’t be the right temperature for dinner. Darn.
We returned to Kiss Seafood and our table was ready. We didn’t score a seat at the sushi bar, which would have been cool (so we could watch the husband do his sushi thing), but we did enjoy how we could see the entirety of the restaurant. It was tiny, bright, open (you could see into the “kitchen” behind the sushi bar), and it was absolutely 100-percent spotless. g remarked that if my parents had a restaurant, this is what it would be like. Nothing flashy – just minimalist, and clean. I noted that if my mom ran a restaurant, that that’s the way it would be … dad would somehow manage to stick “Native American heads and vintage coke machines” in it (inside joke).
How was the food? Well, I went for the omakase, while g went with the sushi (she was a little full still from lunch and her cupcake). Now, I didn’t just go “omakase”, I went for their premium omakase, which included toro. The fish we had was absolutely sublime. It has actually made me a little snobbish about sushi lately – as places that I used to think were “pretty good” before are now under the “only ok” column. Yes, the other food at Kiss was very good (and a unique experience, including this one concoction that was layered from top to bottom with a scallop, a broth, an egg custard, and some kind of poached fish), and the omakase was a wonderful experience, from the pickles in the beginning to the orange slices at the end (this place doesn’t do dessert … thankfully, I had a cupcake at the hotel, so I was ok with that), but it was the raw fish that demonstrated supreme deliciosity. If there’s a next time, I’m getting one chef’s special sushi platter and one chef’s special sashimi platter, because the raw fish there was the most mind-blowing raw fish I’ve ever had (up there with that one piece of eel sushi I got from Morimoto. The toro was obviously delectable – there’s something about the fattiness and the taste that you just can’t really get in another fish. But, there was one sea creature that tasted even better [to me]. Baby sea bass. That’s it. Baby sea bass. Nothing fancy. But it was creamy and mineraly and fishy (not in a bad way) and clean, with that perfect amount of give as you chewed – it was that ideal of piece of fish that other fish want to be. I had it once as sashimi and once as sushi throughout the meal. So good. Actually, it was so good that it wins the “t’s San Francisco’s Best Bite Award”, as it was the single best bite of food I had on our entire trip.
All in all, this was another superb day of our trip. We got to see the city, taste something new, taste something obligatory, and taste something old done extraordinarily well. Fantastic!
Davio’s: Sad Salad, Poor Pasta
t says: I had the opportunity to go to Davio’s this week … for free! It was a work-related event with a large group of people. In retrospect, I’m thankful that I didn’t have to pay anything for it – but I am sad that someone had to pay for it …
It’s actually not worth a full-on review …
Props: The main dining area looked nice – fairly upscale. We were seated in a separate dining room on the penthouse floor with beautiful views of the city.
Slops: The server made it very apparent that he was not working for a tip (we had a large group, so tip was included) – he was short on words, spared no pleasantries, and sounded as if he had drawn the short straw for the night by having to wait on us. Suck it up, dude. There was a limited menu that featured a salad (which was a sad, plain, boring plate of greens and cucumber), a pasta, and tiramisu. The pasta was supposed to include “braised veal, beef, and ____ bolognese” (I forgot the third meat). Yea – it was totally ground hamburger meat – no taste of veal whatsoever, and not a single shred of actual meat (e.g. had they actually braised a hunk of meat). While I’m sure what they did was technically a braise, I’d say that the use of such a word is misleading when talking about the preparation of ground meat as it is akin to me saying that I poached the Wegmans brand spaghetti that I made for dinner tonight. Fortunately, the tiramisu tasted like tiramisu – woohoo – but it still gets listed under slops because the strawberries they coupled it with were mouth-puckeringly sour (like unripe sour).
While I’m sure that I might get flamed for flaming Davio’s, especially when I didn’t have any of the steak at a “Northern Italian steakhouse”, I stand by my comments and final judgement. I still feel that any Italian restaurant needs to have good pasta – is it not one of the courses that you eat in Italy regardless of whatever else you’re eating that night? I mean – I could be wrong (I’m no Italian), but silly me – I thought pasta might be an Italian staple. And what better way to compare Italian cookery among restaurants than to look at the ever-so-simple pasta bolognese?
Vinitaly 2010: Philadelphia
t says: a and I went to Vinitaly at the Union League this past Wednesday. It was quite fun. Basically, jam a lot of people into two rooms with food and wine and this is what you get! Some notes/observations:
1) Union League requires jacket and tie. Whoa. Crazy! It’s one of those places that I doubt I’ll ever see the inside of again. There is, however, a restaurant in there … but I’ve never heard of it. It must be a secret Union League restaurant.
2) Going to Vinitaly is tough when you can’t speak Italian. That would have been useful. A lot of the producers were real Italians, so communication was sometimes hindered.
3) A lot of people in a small place … yea, it was very warm in there. It did cool off as people cleared out, but I was sweating up a storm in the beginning!
4) There were a lot of wines that you don’t hear a whole lot of in your basic liquor stores. I’d venture to say that the more recognizable wines like Chiantis, Barolo/Barbaresco, Brunello di Montalcino were the minority – but that made it fun because I never quite knew what to expect with any given wine. There was a substantial amount of bubbly there – g would have liked it a lot! (however, she would have hated how crowded it was).
5) We met some of the owners of a restaurant called Avril in Bala Cynwyd. a then attempted to excuse our ignorance of Avril by saying that we lived in Philadelphia, and not “the ‘burbs”. They attempted to claim that Bala Cynwyd is not a suburb of Philly. I decided to not help a at all – it was a fun conversation to watch.
6) The food featured your run-of-the-mill pastas (gnocchi in tomato sauce, rigatoni bolognese). It was good because I still believe that Italian wines are food wines, and the ones I tasted were consistent with this idea. There were some cheeses and antipasti (I think), but by the time we got there, they had been completely devoured.
Overall, it was a fun time. It was made especially awesome because it was free (CSW hook-ups). Next time, we’ll bring the girls with us …
after dinner sneeze 