Bad Photo l Felicia D’Ambrosio

Apologies for the horrible photo of the amazing braised beef cheek.

Peter McAndrews, the young chef/owner of Modo Mio BYOB (161 W. Girard Ave.) always employs seasonal ingredients, changing his entire menu every four to six weeks.  His latest iteration uses autumnal flavors like butternut squash, chestnut honey and candied olives to bring sparkle and a twist to classic Italian preparations.

Choose to order items a la carte, or as a four-course “menu turista”, which takes the diner on a tour of McAndrew’s culinary sensibility with an antipasto, pasta, secondo and dolce for a bargain $33.

Highlights of our dinner last night included the montecato antipasto, a lush blend of whipped salt cod and mashed potato topped with lemon cream and roasted fennel, and the guancia secondi (pictured), a super-tender braised beef cheek topped with a golden raisin gremolata and crispy polenta, sauced with delicate salsa passito (braising liquid and vegetables “passed” through a strainer).

After the jump, Modo Mio’s seasonal menu, which is so new it’s not even on their Web site yet. Hit up the ATM before you go; the teeny restaurant is cash-only.

Modo Mio’s Autumn Menu

Antipasti, $8 each

montecato — whipped salt cod and mashed potato with lemon cream, roasted fennel and bruschetta

cannellono — crispy crab-stuffed prosciutto di Parma, asparagus & almonds

torta — crispy potato pancake, balsamic grilled octopus, arugula pesto, oven-roasted tomato

zuppe — Italian onion soup with bruschetta, aged provolone and snails

gnoccho — crispy fried potato dumpling stuffed with foie gras and chicken liver, orange-fennel mostarda, shaved gorgonzola

barbabietola — roasted beets, baby arugula, toasted almonds, marinated anchovy and truffle vinaigrette

panelle — crispy chickpea crepe, rosemary grilled shrimp, sambuca cream

cotechino — rich housemade sausage, fried cream, poached egg, red wine mustard

cozze — mussels, your way, red or white, spicy or not

Pasta, $11 each

bucatini — thick hollow spaghetti “Amatriciana style”, pancetta, spicy plum tomato, pecorino

maccheroni — fresh square spaghetti, spicy lamb ragu, candied olives

spaghetti — rock shrimp, olive oil, garlic, breadcrumbs, ginger

lasagne bolognese — fresh pasta sheets, classic meat sauce, besciamella

gnocchi — potato gnocchi, porcini, gorgonzola cream

tortelloni — butternut squash-stuffed large navels, sage butter, amaretti

(Gluten-free pasta is available as a substitute)

Secondi

bistecca Siciliana, $18 — breaded and grilled ribeye, aged provolone, fried egg, soppressata, anchovy caper butter

vitello, $17 — veal scallopini, chicken liver crostini, apple fennel relish

animelle, $18 — crispy veal sweetbreads with long hot pepper and sun-dried cherry agrodolce, prosciutto di Parma and balsamic maionese

anatra “all’apicio”, $17 — roasted duck leg, chestnut honey, spices, cunja

guancia, $17 — braised beef cheek, salsa passito, crispy polenta, golden raisin gremolata

miale, $16 — Milanese-style pork loin, peach mostarda, radicchio, almond and shaved grana

pesce, $MP — whole fish, chef’s choice

razze, $17 — skate wing seared with apricot brown butter, almonds, capers and lemon

cernia, $17 — red snapper fillet, black olive relish, salsa verde and roasted eggplant

pepperoni, $14 — stuffed melrose pepper with polenta, saffron maionese and montasio cheese

Contorni, $5 each

goccia — Italian spaetzle, fennel, Parmigiano

patate — roasted potatoes, rosemary

broccoli — bitter broccoli, pepperoncino, garlic, lemon

rucola — arugula with raisins, pine nuts, pecorino and lemon

This entry was posted on Friday, October 9th, 2009 at 11:27 am and is filed under Menu Time. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.