Busalacchi’s A Modo Mio
3707 Fifth Ave. (Hillcrest)
619-298-0119
Happy Hour: 4:30 to 6:30 Monday through Wednesday and Fridays and Saturdays; 4:30 to closing on Thursdays and Sundays
Come on Get Happy! | Dr. Ink
When restaurateur Joe Busalacchi opened A Modo Mio a couple years ago, he veered from standard American-Italian dishes and declared he’d be doing things “my way,” just as the restaurant’s name translates into English. This isn’t to say the menu lacks in wine and pasta. It simply offers brighter and more top-quality choices.
If you haven’t yet dined at A Modo Mio, daily happy hour provides a candid introduction to the experience, beginning with wines by the glass available for half off.
As Busalacchi’s affable son Joey explained, “We don’t offer the crap stuff,” referring to those bulk wines we oftentimes see listed as “select” on other discounted menus around town. Here, you can dabble in an uncommon Riesling from Australia or a richly textured Cabernet produced by family growers in California’s Knights Valley Appellation for $4 and $6 respectively during happy hour.
My companion, who walks out of places serving labels such as Yellowtail or Beringer, chose Chianti Riserva by Frescobaldi Nippozanno, discounted to $6.50 a glass. He rated it as “fruitier than most, and with good tannins.” An equally generous pour of house-labeled Malbec ($4.50) for me was mildly fruity in comparison, but with a food-friendly dryness that struck a solid marriage to our food.
Appetizers on the regular dinner menu are also half off during happy hour, which extends to closing time (around 9 p.m.) on Thursdays and Sundays, opposed to ending at 6:30 p.m. on all other days. From a dozen listed, the Juliettes pesto crepes in an Alfredo-like cream sauce are ridiculously delicious.
“These Italians are giving the French a good run for their money,” said my companion when biting into the cotton-soft crepes blanketing thin layers of vibrant green pesto inside. I was a couple plates away, still forking through juicy, sun-kissed heirloom tomatoes with burrata cheese and potato cakes crowned with shredded rib meat and crème fraiche. From my first taste of the crepes, to washing them down with red wine and then scraping the smooth sauce off the plate at the end, I completely concurred.
The three dishes we chose were substantial, well-presented and each priced below $7. And the good part about happy hour at A Modo Mio is that you can plant your caboose anywhere in the restaurant, which includes a stylish patio, cozy bar and a two-section dining room.
Additional deals include half-price wines by the bottle on Mondays; three-course pasta dinners for $25 on Tuesdays; and half-price martinis on Wednesdays.
RATINGS
Drinks: 4
Happy hour features just over a dozen worthy wines by the glass, none of which you’ll find flooding commercial store shelves.
Food: 5
The discounted appetizers we tried were excellent enough to prompt us into returning for dinner. If you choose only one, go with either the pesto crepes or the potato cakes with short rib meat.
Value: 4
Wines by the glass and appetizers are half off, meaning that anything you order is $8 or less.
Service: 5
The suited wait staff is professional and never in short supply.
Duration: 5
Daily happy hour includes all-night bonus days on Thursdays and Sundays.
