My husband and I, and a couple of good friends decided to try a brand new restaurant in Breck named Modis. It was so good that I had to come home and write about it. If I had known that it would be that great in advance, I would have taken photos of the food, as the presentation was marvelous.
The restaurant is at 115 S Main St, in Breckenridge, in the space formerly occupied by the Horseshoe. It is owned by Eric, Ian and Chris, of Downstairs at Erics, and I understand the name came from Eric’s toddler son, who, when he wants more food, points to it, and says “mo’ dis”. Here is the review of what we ate tonight. (Just remember I don’t cook and I know nothing about food except that it tastes good or it doesn’t.)
To Start
We started with some bread that looked and tasted home made with a nice crust and soft interior. It came with regular sweet butter and it was delicious. The water was served in chilled glasses with lemon slices. The service was quick, unobtrusive, and attentive. I wish I had got our server’s name. All I know is that she was young, blonde and wore glasses. She did a great job.
We all ordered salads to start. Mine was mixed greens with grape tomatoes, cucumber, red onion, red pepper slices and carrot slivers in a light sherry vinagarette dressing that was very good. ($4). Lauren and Judy had Modis big salad, which served the two of them. It had mixed greens, avocado, cucumber, fresh corn, tomato, croutons, grilled asparagus, olives, blue cheese, and a honey mustard red wine vinigarette dressing. ($10) They said it was wonderful and they are gourmet cooks, so they should know! Jim had the Mozarella and vine ripened (yellow) tomato salad that came with extra virgin olive oil, balsamic essence and fresh basil for $7.
The Entrees
For my main course I ordered Yellow Fin Tuna ($20) with edamame cilantro risotto cake, steamed baby bok choy, pickled cucumber salad and sweet soy ginger dressing. It also came with ginger as garnish. This was the best tuna I have had in a long, long time! It was cooked just the way I like it; seared on the outside and very very rare inside. It was so tender that it fell apart. The risotto cake was good, with edamame beans mixed in with the risotto.
Jim had the Fresh Tomato Basil Fettucine for $12. He is not one to eat what he calls foo-foo dishes. That usually means that he either can’t pronounce it or he doesn’t know what it is. (Arugula and aoli fall into the latter category.) He likes fettucine and figures that it is hard to mess up. This fettucine had kalamata olives, vine ripened tomatoes, grilled vegetables (eggplant, portobello mushrooms and red onion), herbs, garlic and olive oil. He volunteered that it was good! Normally when I ask, he just says, “yeah, it was ok”.
Judy had the calamari steak appetizer as her entree ($8) and it was not the usual “rubber band” calamari. It came in a chili lime marinade with asian slaw and a sesame dipping sauce, and she was able to cut it with her fork. She said that she had not had calamari that good since she was in Spain several years ago.
Lauren’s choice was the Sauteed Jumbo Shrimp with herb linguini, lemon butter white wine sauce, capers, garlic, and gremolata. ($15). She also raved about it, and she knows good food. I should have asked her to point out the gremolata as I have no clue what that was. Perhaps that is why Jim didn’t order it!
The Desserts
We passed on desserts because we were full, not because they didn’t look wonderful. The choices were White Chocolate Lime Cheesecake, Vanilla Bean Creme Brulee, Lemon Tart, Banoffee, Pear Sachette, Flourless chocolate cake with vanilla ice cream and a Seasonal Pie, all for $7 each. Or, for $10 you can order an Artisan cheese plate. I am going to have to go back and try the Creme Brulee and the Flourless chocolate cake…..perhaps go for dessert only!
Of course, when I go back I will have trouble passing up the Salmon or the Halibut as I like seafood. If you are not a seafood eater, they have New York steak, Filet Mignon, Chicken and Duck on the menu too, so there is plenty from which to choose. As you can see from the prices I have quoted, they are reasonably priced for this type of food. Breckenridge has quite a stable of good restaurants but this restaurant in Breck is well worth a visit. I will certainly go back there again. Of course, next time, word will have spread about how good it is and I will have trouble getting in!
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