I’ve been trying to get to Modo Mio for months and months, but circumstances keep thwarting me. When I finally made it, I decided to go with the menu turista – the “tourist” or pre fix menu – in order to sample as many dishes as possible. Above the the barbabietola, an antipasti of roasted beets, toasted almonds, baby arugula, anchovy (which they kindly left off for me) and a truffle vinaigrette. It was a revelation! Why haven’t I been putting truffle oil on my baby greens? I started at home immediately. Beets perfectly roasted, and everything salted a little extra (I suspect) due to the absence of anchovies. Perfect.

I could eat pasta all day, but limited myself to one course, the butternut squash tortelloni with sage butter. The butter was perfect, the filling perhaps a tad too sweet (more like pie than squash), but overall well executed.

You can never have too many vegetables. We added a side of broccoli rabe, which I’m usually not into, but was let bitter than usual, with a healthy dose of garlic and oil.

The pepperoni, a melrose pepper stuffed with polenta and served with a saffron mayo and a sprinkle of montasio (similar to queso fresco) cheese was lovely. Who doesn’t love a breaded and fried pepper? And it had never crossed my mind to stuff peppers with polenta. Now it will.

I’m usually uninterested in dolce, but it comes with the menu. I ordered a fig tart with marscapone. The figs were fresh, lightly glazed and delicious, but the tart crust was stiff and gummy. I ate the figs off, and left the rest.

Modo Mio is a small and very popular establishment, full even on weekdays. Certainly make a reservation if you plan to go, and enjoy the intimate space (and lovely antique buffet table that holds linens and serves as a giant bread board). And go ahead and order the turista menu – at $33 it’s a delicious steal. Add BYOB status, and I can’t wait to take friends and out-of-town guests!

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