I would give 6 stars if it were possible!

Raz was ravenous, so I found us somewhere close to home. Fortunately, we had been to M'Tucci's on Coors, so I didn't have to work extremely hard to convince Raz to eat Italian food. It is vastly important to note here that this is not a "chain," but several restaurants owned by the same restaurateur. The menu is different at Moderno, the structure and ambiance are sleek and modern compared to the much more homey and traditional style of the Restaurant on Coors. 

The staff is every bit as knowledgeable, professional, and friendly at Moderno as I would expect with the M'Tucci's name. Even though we were pretty certain that staffing was tight/short at our visit (the bar tender and manager traded off as our wait staff) the team running the house worked together so smoothly that we can only remark with pleasure at getting to meet more than a single server.

Now to the food!
We started with the Fried Brie and Spinach Fonduta appetizers. Then Raz ordered the Grilled Hand Cut Hanger Steak, and I had the Affumacato Pizzeta and cup of Cream of Wild Mushroom Soup. We finished off with the Chocolate Tiramisu and Bombe. We would come back for every single one of these dishes independently, even were this restaurant farther away!

That being said, there were still dishes that stood out as unreasonably awesome. I list them here in the order I tried them.

1) Fried Brie - a risky move doing a crunchy breading and frying this traditionally baked cheese, yet it managed to have extra crispness in that breaded shell. The brie inside was seriously creamy and had that impossible to describe depth of flavor that sings quality to your tastebuds. No extra greasiness or oily flavor from the frying, and a perfect pairing with tart apples and strawberries. The drizzle of truly fine basalmic vinegrette just elevated this humble appetizer to a whole new level.

2) Cream of Wild Mushroom Soup. This is the new standard by which I will judge all creamy mushroom soups and bisques. Every bite was homey, savory goodness.

3) Crispy Red Potato Hash - a side with the Hanger Steak, these dreamy little cubes are externally crispy to a point just short of potato chips, then soft and creamy as whipped potatoes inside. They defy rational explanation and amaze the palate all at the same time.

4) Bombe - The chocolate shell took a couple whacks to crack, but when it did, the magical custard-like interior exploded my tastebuds and blew my mind. The lightly candied rings of orange  hidden under the domes of chocolate and creamy/dreamy wonder added a final punch of perfect citrus counterpoint and made this my new favorite dessert of all time.