Sounds good. Very fond of “classic” myself.
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Umberto makes his own digestif. It tastes like prune juice and chocolate, with a touch of salty licorice. An amazing, elusive flavor.
(Rest of report tomorrow, I’m sleepy from pasta and wine.)
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Ha! What time were you there Bookwich? I did a quick dine and dash around 7pm before a concert.
No pics. Only two servers including Umberto, with only four tables full upon arrival and service is very slow. By the time we left the restaurant was much busier. If you get the waitress, be very specific on the wine as she gets confused.
Had only three dishes: Spinaci salad (good), tortellini al tartufo (didn’t love the texture, filling a little dry, but lots of of black truffle from Le Marche which for not being the season were very pleasant and affordable), lasagna (wow, perfect portion, would be too small for some, but nice pasta multi-coursing, would come back for just this dish). Two 6+ tops in motion and wonder if this impacted the kitchen a little. A terrific neighborhood gem. Definitely look forward to trying more when I’m in the area.
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Oh yeah? Well, well… I saw Harrison Ford at the Apple Store yesterday. So there.
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It is the season for summer truffles (Tuber aestivum), which are not as expensive as winter black (Tuber melanosporum Vitt.) or white (Tuber magnatum Pico).
Melon and prosciutto.
I love the cocktail toothpicks. I had brought a melon of my own, so Umberto cut it up and we compared his and mine and we decided neither was very good. 
He plans to bring some melons back from his visit to Italy in a week or so.
The prosciutto was chewy and I really liked it, different from the usual unctuous, thinly sliced prosciutto one usually gets (which is great), but this was a fun change, like a tender ham jerky.
Walnuts.
These happened to be on the counter right where I was sitting, so I cracked a few while waiting for my food. Proustian moment. They were cured beautifully, soft and sweet, and slightly tannic from the skin.
Tagliolini con Tartufo (Butter Noodles with Truffles)
As @chewchow mentioned, the truffles were fragrant, considering the season, and generous. I very much enjoyed this dish, especially considering the price point.
Olive oil used to finish the pasta.
The bill. 
As @ipsedixit said, this is not the “fashion-forward” refined Italian food available all over our fair city, nor is it the casual California-Italian we eat all the time, this is different. It’s a small neighborhood restaurant owned by a cool Italian couple that enjoy food and wine. It’s like a trattoria you may stop at during your summer of motorcycling through Emilia-Romagna.
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I actually almost ran him and Calista Flockhart over about 5-10 yrs ago at Westwood and Missouri. I assume I must’ve been either going to Cal Chicken Cafe or Pink Orchid.
I’m too much of a pagan heathen to know what it’s like to motorcycle through wherever, but the place sounds great. Thanks for also including the description of the prosciutto. Prior to reading the text, I was able to ask if the proscuitto seemed a little… THICK.
Thick = Rustic and Generous
Is it just a different thickness, or is it cured a different way? The reason I ask is b/c, when I’ve had thicker prosciutto (when it was incompetently sliced at a previous iteration of 800 Deg), it was nearly inedible b/c it was TOO chewy.
There are Australian winter truffles in season now, June 5, 2018 - Italian Black Summer Truffles and Australian Black Winter Truffles are now available!. I haven’t tried them yet, but they are supposed to be just like those from the Perigord - minus the castles, rivers, and forested hills.
It is ridiculously hard to find melons in California that are anywhere near what an Italian would consider ripe. I used to know one vendor at a couple of inconvenient farmers markets who had them, but they retired and the new owners started picking green like everybody else.
This can have a different connotation…
Go to Armenian markets for great melons.
What does this mean? Are they different from the regular melons available in L.A.? Sincerely curious, especially because we seem to be limited to a very few varieties, whether regular markets or farmers’ markets.
I’m not a melonologist per se… but our shops have better, sweeter, more aromatic melons… both in the type that’s common (different sources, probably more ripe, maybe less warehouse ripening) as well as types that aren’t common in american shops. central asian varieties are especially good
get some field tomatoes while you’re there and you wont care about heirloom since these are 1-1.5 per lb
Back to Casa Modena. I finally got to visit Modena last year and it was amaaazing
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True for the produce and melons found at some Persian Mom&Pop bodegas too…
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Emilia Romagna is really fantastic. It’s been about a decade for me but it was so much more friendly, relatively quiet, rustic and delicious compared to many the more popular spots in Italy. Same could be said for Umbria and the less touristy spots in Sicily. Though I suspect it is all a lot more crowded nowadays.
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Correct. I should have said “not the season for great truffles”.
I haven’t had an Aussie truffle I thought was superior to a European truffle yet. Always has a sort of petrol nose. But here’s holding out for the hope of year round amazing truffle.
That’s how small towns always tend to me. We got in Venice, out of Rome … couple days each, but then spent 13 days in the country… so nice… taking day trips TO bigger towns like Modena, instead of out.
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