When my friend Beth texted an SOS on the first beautiful Friday of summer, I deciphered it instantly: Start Our Suntan. Five o’clock quittin’ time was looming and we needed a downtown patio on which to roll up the sleeves of our sweater sets and get a dose of much-needed Vitamin D, stat! I racked my brain, trying to think of a nearby destination with a mellow atmosphere, good food, chilled sparkling wine, and requisite aesthetically-gifted patio, when it hit me–-new kid on the downtown block, Nel Centro, had it all. Nel Centro’s beautiful patio is tucked into the center of the fashionably remodeled, U-shaped Hotel Modera on SW 5th Street, ensuring a private and tranquil setting, and is accentuated by striking rectangular metal fire pits filled with rugged chunks of amber-colored granite that blaze brilliantly when turned on at dusk. Sit back and share “Italian Riviera”-influenced cuisine like Warm Hazelnut Crusted Chevre with Piperade & Olive Tapenade and Roasted Halibut with Baby Artichokes and Preserved Lemon. Just so you know, the cocktails look dainty but pack a punch, and might leave you asking about hotel vacancies when the patio closes.
