Modesto Again

I reviewed Modesto a few years back and I still have to say that it is one of my favorite all time restaurants and defininitely the best for Tapas. Right now, they have a great happy hour deal if you sit in the bar. You can order off the dollar menu. Most small bites range between 25 cents for a cheese or sausage ball to a dollar for a few of the more elaborate ones, anchovy on bread as an example. Recently, we decided to order two of everything and the bill came to only $17 and yet they brought it on a huge tray and we were completely stuffed at the end of the meal. They have drink specials too and you just cannot beat the deal.

Brunch at Bevo Mill

We were able to make brunch affordable at the Bevo with a Groupon. But it is normally $21 per person. It is an amzing spread however and one that is worth the cost. On the breakfast side, there are the usuals, bacon, sausage, grits, and waffles. They will custom make an omelette from the display of ingredients. It seems a number of the employees are graduates from Ecole Culinaire. But since it is being done by a catering service called Food Works, that makes sense.
There is salmon and shrimp, roast beef and ham. The lunch side had some German classics, brats and sauerkraut for one. The dessert trey was excellent, cannolis, chocolate cake covered with chocolate chips, pecan pie, cheese cake and a fruit tree where you can pull strawberries, melon, and pineapple.
They also serve bottomless mimosas or you can make your own bottomless blood mary. There is a table set up with all the ingredients you could ever want.
The building is still full of the same beauty and elgance that it always held. They have some outside seating set up and for a Sunday in mid-May, the place was hopping with graduation and christening parties. Make reservations unless you go early and only have a party of 2-4.

Review of Robust

Robust is one of our favorite lunch locations. We usually have a very late lunch or early dinner that leaves us feeling like we just took a vacation to Europe. There are a variety of cheese and meat plates that come with dried fruit and these garlicky bread sticks that are very special. But of course, it is a wine bar and the tastings are always excellent. Here are some of the great tastings we have enjoyed:

Cellar Arts tasting
D'Aragon Garnacha-deep cherry with hints of violet, followed by intense blackberry and tangerine.
Volante Merlot-supple layers of blackcherry and berry fruits, spicy vanilla oak.
Four Vines Zin-layers of berries and anise with hints of spice, blackberry, plum fruit, leading to a toasted oak.

Worldly Chardonnay tasting
2008 Domaine Talmard-Burgandy France-lemon oil, green nuts, hint of chalky salinity.
2007 Northfield Frog Rock Vineyard-Waipara Valley New Zealand-apple, nectarine with a hint of pineapple, toasted hazelnuts and spice with a creamy finish.
2007 Errazuriz Wild Ferment-Casablanca Valley Chile-citrus, pear and a nutty layer on the nose.

Appetizers
Clarissa from Sardinia Italy-goat cheese with natural rind, semi-firm moist with flavors of citrus and fruity notes.
Nieske's smoked duck-succulent rich duck, slow smoked over applewood ambers, producing a melt in your mouth tender sweet smoky flavor.
Amablue Minnesota cheese-rose cows milk blue cheese aged in natural cases, rich and full.

Review of Five

It was two weeks after the actual date before we were able to have dinner at Five and celebrate Carol's birthday. While the restaurant is located on the Hill, it is not particularly Italian but a celebration of the five senses with a focus on local sustainable foods.
We chose to go with the four course prix-fixe menu. We ordered a nice Cabernet Franc from the Chinon winery in France. It was very affordable. I started wtih beef carpaccio from Fruitland Farm. It was so tender and succulent, topped with local black radish, sottocenere al tartufo and black truffle oil. Olives and fleur de sel garnished the dish. Carol had the housemade gnocchi, that was made from braised Benne Farm pork head ragout and Baetje Farm goat cheese.
The next course included a carrot soup with toasted walnuts and creme fraiche and a salade topped with toasted housemade brioche, almonds, roasted red onion, stilton blue cheese, olves and balsalmic vinaigrette. And while each item was quite tasty, it was the gnochi that really nailed the meal's first courses.
As we heard that they had butchered a lamb earlier in the day and the meat was quite fresh, we both went with the lamb shank. The lamb was raised at the Praire Grass Farm. It was fall of the bone tender and came with a rich creamy polenta with Ozark Forest oyster mushrooms, quark cheese, oregano, butter and white truffle oil. It was too much to finish so we came home with enought meat for a second meal.
We finished off with a chocolate sampling and the decadent bread pudding. They brought us two complimentary glasses of champagne and we toasted to a wonderful birthday for Carol and a great new restauarant that supports our ideal of trying to eat more local foods.