When I come to St. Louis it is primarily for my meal at Niche and to attend the opera. Yesterday, I had a matinee and evening performance and always look for spots near the opera house in Webster Groves. While they offer terrific picnics to buy there (which I will do tonight), great dining is not prolific in this area. About 4-5 miles east is a neighborhood called "The Hill" which has many spots known for traditional dining. Limos, doormen, and dress codes can be the norm, so it's not the kind of spot I usually seek. At the end of this strip of dining spots on Shaw Ave is MODESTO (www.modestotapas.com) located about 15 minutes from downtown and is just the right spot for any kind of meal you desire before or after the opera...or anything else. It has been there more than 8 years and has a huge following so much so that at 530pm last night the place was 1/2 full and by 6pm there were only several empty tables. The decor is simple with wooden floors, tables and chairs, orange and yellow walls along with exposed brick a large bar in the front and yes, as it fills up, the place can get a bit noisy.
Most everything on the menu is $5-11 with exceptions being the Fried Lobster Tail in Chimichurri for $15 (which I skipped). My deliciously handsome server, Scott, went through the entire menu with me and I pondered the not too huge list for a while then chose. Sadly, I chose too much as these tapas portions are HUGE and could easily feed 4 people when sharing, not the usual 2 we think of back East! I ordered a glass of the white wine on special which Scott said was outstanding; he was so right. XARMANT ARABAKO TXAKOLINA 207 from the Pais Vasco in Spain has a minerally essence at first with intense grapefruit and lime flavors,yet it is crisp with a long nice finish; an amazing summer wine indeed.
My first tapas was BOQUERONES con ALUBIAS which was about 8 or so tasty large marinated WHITE ANCHOVIES with WHITE BEANS and RADISHES, The fish was not too salty and was ideal in the 93 degree heat to start. What was amazing was how well the Txakolina (white wine) went with the vinegar from the marinade. I think I may have found a new wine to pair with any dish with vinaigrette!
There were numerous fish and meat dishes A LA PLANCHA or simply grilled. Since I was in Missouri, I chose the superb MISSOURI TROUT. An entire 1/2 fish filleted perfectly and grilled with just some oil and minimal seasoning; it did require a bit of ground pepper.
Third came COLIFLOR REFRITA, a dish I shall seek in other tapas destinations. The CAULIFLOWER was cooked to perfected with tasty seasoning and served in TRUFFLE OIL.
I switched to a nice SALNEVAL ALABARINO 2007 from Riax Baixas which was nice, but not the intensity and depth of the Txakolina. It paired well with the more intense dishes to follow: PULPO CAN PATATAS - again a huge portion of at least 8 Roasted Baby Octopi with Potatoes & Bacon in a Sherry Vinaigrette, which only suffered slightly from a bit too much vinaigrette. The pulpo was tender and tasty with yummy crispy tentacles.
My last tapas was the MEJILLONES con SALSA di CIDRA or MUSSELS steamed in hard cider with Chorizo and peppers. At first, I did not care for the dish as the mussels seemed bland. I then figured out the secret of how to eat the dish. I took the mussels out of their shells and placed them in the small round soup spoon that Scott had brought with the dish and scooped up some of the broth with Chorizo and peppers ( a bit too much on the peppers for me) which gave each mollusk the flavor it needed as the sauce was lost if you just ate them from the shell.
A cup of superb, if not too hot coffee and I was off to La Boheme (which by the way, paled next to the matinee of Salome!).
