Messy and Picky go to Foobooz fave Southwark and Picky gets the best plate he’s had all year, the barbequed smoked pork belly served with baked beans, wilted collards, and Birchrun blue cheese sauce. [Messy & Picky]

Derek Lee has his anniversary dinner in the kitchen at Talula’s Table. [The Best Food Blog Ever]

CE Phood experiences the Little Fish Sunday prix fixe. [CE Phood]

Maria Valetta breaks down the Whiskey King experience at Village Whiskey. [Sips, Bites and Sites]

Veggicurious finally makes it to Modo Mio and finds it a “delicious steal.” [Veggicurious]

Meal Ticket has the latest menu from Peter McAndrews’ Modo Mio.Among the items we’ll be considering the next time we hit up the Girard Avenue BYOB are:

• cannellono — crispy crab-stuffed prosciutto di Parma, asparagus & almonds
• gnoccho — crispy fried potato dumpling stuffed with foie gras and chicken liver, orange-fennel mostarda, shaved gorgonzola
• tortelloni — butternut squash-stuffed large navels, sage butter, amaretti
• anatra “all’apicio”— roasted duck leg, chestnut honey, spices, cunja
• guancia — braised beef cheek, salsa passito, crispy polenta, golden raisin gremolata

The menu turista , which features an antipasto, pasta, secondo and dolce for $33 is still available and one of the best deals in town.

Seasonal menu changes at Modo Mio [Meal Ticket]
Modo Mio [Official Site]

Modo Mio chef and owner Peter McAndrews gets a recipe for Sunday Gravy published on Esquire’s site. Special advice worth heeding? Prepare it as you drink a glass of red wine. [Esquire]

Positano Coast bartender Andres Sanchez is competing in GQ & Bombay Sapphire’s “Inspired Bartender Search” having won the regional round last week. He’ll be headed to Las Vegas for the national contest. He’s pouring his Shiso & Samba. Meal Ticket has the recipe. [Meal Ticket]

Alexandra Harcharek, a local college student and co-founder of afoodcoma.com is profiled on Epicurious. [Epicurious]

GQ adds a city guide of Philadelphia to their site. A host of spots to eat and drink are highlighted and we can’t really gripe about what’s included.  [GQ City Guide: Philadlephia]

Honest Tom’s Taco Shop is getting good early buzz at 33rd and Arch. [Feeding Frenzy, City Paper]

Meal Ticket has Pete Miller’s new menu for the P.O.P.E., plenty of vegan and vegetarian fare as well as beer inspired dishes. [Meal Ticket]

Wandering Billy Wong has made it to Warminster where he’s opened a BYOB, Billy Wong’s. [Table Talk, Philadelphia Inquirer]

Also in today’s Table Talk, the latest projected opening dates for a bunch of spring projects. [Table Talk, Philadelphia Inquirer]

Burn! Old Orignal Bookbinder’s owner John Taxin has spent $16,000 for four Phillies tickets this year despite money troubles at his landmark restaurant. [Philadelphia Daily News]

Wegman’s Downingtown begins serving beer today. There’ll be 500 brands available. [The Brew Lounge]

We’re not sure if this is the first time we’ve seen Modo Mio chef Peter McAndrews in a national magazine but we’re sure it won’t be the last. McAndrews’ red bliss potato salad gets Esquire’s attention in its May ‘09 issue. [Meal Ticket]

Latte whores, trashy magazines and a Tiffin meal from Barnes & Noble at Temple combine for a good Tuesday. [Living on the Vedge]

Adam Erace gives the Turista meu a spin at Modo Mio. [Blogalicious]

CE Phood gives Zahav a gold star for both its Restaurant Week performance and for its GoldStar Beer. [CE Phood]

At peak times it can take a half-hour to get your order at Tacos Don Memo but with authentic Mexican flavors it is a taste worth waiting for. [34th Street Magazine]

Penn Appétit is pleasently surprised by Thai Chef & Noodle Fusion [Penn Appétit]

And finally, Happy birthday Mac & Cheese. The blog, not the ubiquitous food, turns three and looks back at the last year. [Mac & Cheese]

Phoodie.info and Meal Ticket have plenty of options for The Feast of the Seven Fishes. [Phoodie.info and Meal Ticket]

Foodzings enjoys a shopping respite with some food from Black Sheep. [Foodzings]

Phillyist lists their top-ten missed opportunities for posting in 2008. Included are a couple of food related posts, including dinner at Modo Mio and authentic tacos at the Bourse of all places. [Phillyist]

It’s a vegetarian office party at Singapore Kosher Vegetarian. [Veggicurious]

Meal Ticket has photographic evidence of the second floor at the Institute. Yep, tall-backed booths with Nintendo Wii game systems. [Meal Ticket]

The Mad River guys are planning on opening Ladder 15 at 1528 Sansom this February. The menu will be designed by Little Fish’s Mike Stollenwerk. [The Insider]

Drew Lazor manages to pull a couple more details from Susan Schlisman regarding her non-Smokin’ Betty’s concept. It’ll be south of Lombard, west of Queen Village, an area we commonly refer to as Bella Vista. [Feeding Frenzy, City Paper]

Frugal and not quite discerning beer drinkers take note: Lionshead has a new look. [Brand Week]

Pub & Kitchen’s Jonathan McDonald and his Shepherd’s Pie is featured in the January 2009 issue of Men’s Journal. [Men's Journal (PDF)]

Northeast Philadelphia’s Rylei has moved to Richboro, Bucks County. [Table Talk, Philadelphia Inquirer]

A.D. Amorosi won’t give up on the dream of Silk City’s Beer Garden so neither will we. He reports owner, Mark Bee was spotted outside the diner jack hammering the beginnings of said beer garden. [Ice Pack, City Paper]

And yep, that was Georges Perrier dining at Girard Avenue’s Modo Mio last night.

Northern Liberties is getting another quality spot in which to fill your belly, a reader tips us off that Modo Mio is opening Paesano’s, a sandwich shop right across the street.

A quick phone call confirms that Paesano’s will feature Philly-style Italian roast pork sandwiches as well as beef and lamb sandwiches. There will also be a red hot of spicy smoked sausage with potatoes.

Best of all the opening is within a week or so.

The Daily Pennsylvanian’s 34th Street discovers North 3rd Street’s Modo Mio.

Our meal had incredible variety in taste. We tried everything from a morning “bruschetta” topped with a potato puree and smoked salmon, to a braised veal cheek accompanied by an over-easy egg, asparagus and truffled taleggio fonduta. We enjoyed a perfectly cooked scallop perched atop a flan-inspired patty, as well as the winter-ready spaghetti with lamb ragu. While the pepper skirt steak was not our favorite, the dessert that followed was a delicious tiramisu that complemented our espresso.

Have It Your Way [34th Street]
Modo Mio [Official Site]

This week The Bite takes you around town, highlighting great tastes at good prices from tasting menus at the likes of Matyson, Lacroix, Little Fish and Modo Mio.

The Bite: Tasting menus mean rare treats at bargain prices [Metro Philadelphia]