The Modern at MoMA

[murkcury]

Yes, the Mansion was definitely open in '05. Del Posto, on the other hand, another restuarant nominated in the "best new" category is a bit fishy. In fact, I remember reading the nominations on the night they were released and this glaring bit of self-enriching political favortism jumped out at me. I think Del Posto had been open for a week or two at that point (certainly not enough time to be judged, for better or for worse). The Beard Awards are all too often a joke. When you're a member in good standing (i.e. Batali/Bastianich) life is good. For outsiders it's impossibly unfair. This, is not to say that the winners don't deserve their accolades. For the most part the nominees (and subsequent winners) are all highly talented individuals. The system, however, is the problem. Play by the rules and win the approval of the club, you'll win. Do things your own way, good luck.

[robyn]

This choice certainly smacks of a NYC bias, which in an organization that purports to be national in scope is wrong...

Well of course it's a New York bias. Even when you evaluate the categories outside New York - the nominated restaurants are where people from New York go when they travel. New Orleans is "in" these days - Florida is never in (except perhaps for South Beach - where almost everyone agrees the food isn't very good - and the only other places people from New York go to are where their parents live - like Broward County - where even ok food is hard to find). That's why you almost never see a southeast best restaurant nominee/winner from Florida these days - even though we're by far the largest state in the south - and there are some very nice places once you get off the beaten New Yorker tourist path.

Or - in other parts of the US outside NY - a fair number of nominees are simply 10 years out of date. It's kind of a shame - because - in my experience - there are really excellent restaurants outside NY that could use the prestige of a nomination/win to avoid losing their chefs - or going out of business (my favorite example these days is Mosaico in Miami - perhaps the best restaurant in Miami in recent years - which recently lost its excellent chef - Jordi Valles).

In any event - it looks like we'll have some free time around the 4th of July (my dad is going to visit my brother) - and we're thinking of taking advantage and taking a little trip to New York. Haven't really kept up on what's happening in New York in terms of higher end dining the last couple of years. If we're looking for one really nice meal at a newer restaurant we haven't been to - are you all kind of "cool" when it comes to the Modern? If you are - what would be relatively new and more exciting? I am particularly interested in places that have a "sense" of New York (when I travel - I like to dine at restaurants that capture the essence of a place). Robyn

[robyn]

Here's my guess at what goes on inside the black box:

"Hmm, Alinea, I hear the food there is weird and that guy Grant Ay-shats seems kind of cocky. No way a restaurant in Vegas can be good. Danny Meyer, now that guy is a mensch, and everybody says that French dude is a good guy. The pictures I saw of the restaurant look really nice. The Modern. Check."

Actually it's probably a little different because that ballots contain more choices and both the nominees and winners come out of that larger pool. If it's anything like the journalism awards, the nominees aren't actually nominees. Rather, they're the top three choices listed in random order, and then the top choice from that same selection is announced at the awards ceremony. It's a way of getting extra PR out of the same process. Clever.

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There are sillier things than that. Scott Peacock's place as a nomination for the best place in the southeast? He isn't even in the top 5 in Atlanta. But he did take care of that nice old senile Edna Lewis (a relationship that everyone at the NYT gushed pages about - even though her relatives - and many ordinary people like me - thought the whole situation unseemly).

Perhaps you know - how do the people at the Beard Foundation pick the people who pick the places that are nominees/winners? Robyn

[robyn]

I haven't eaten at Alinea yet (a situation I hope to rectify within a few months) but I've eaten at The Modern twice so far. It strikes me, however, that Alinea by virtue of being Avant-Garde style dining doesn't constitute a "meal" in as much as an "experience" in the traditionalist sense of what constitutes fine dining. I would be hard pressed to say one could walk out of Alinea being completely satisfied from the perspective of a "meal"...

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By the same token - one could say that eating at a traditional Japanese kaiseki restaurant wouldn't satisfy the usual western notion of a "meal". It is very ascetic food presented in a very exquisite manner - many fewer calories per dollar than you'd get in the west. But is that any reason to say it isn't a real meal? Robyn

Edited May 11, 2006 by robyn (log)

[Jason Perlow]

I think Kaiseki is a good analogy to Alinea or a place like El Bulli in terms of the aesthetics and the progression of tiny tastes of things. Although somehow I think that walking out of a Kaiseki Ryori meal at an exclusive Japanese inn would still result in a more satisfying experience than a meal at Alinea, but that's just me.

Edited May 11, 2006 by Jason Perlow (log)

[robyn]

I think Kaiseki is a good analogy to Alinea or a place like El Bulli in terms of the aesthetics and the progression of tiny tastes of things. Although somehow I think that walking out of a Kaiseki Ryori meal at an exclusive Japanese inn would still result in a more satisfying experience than a meal at Alinea, but that's just me.

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Perhaps the main difference is that traditional kaiseki is basically vegetarian with perhaps a small amount of fish. A typical dish we had was grilled bamboo tips (unfortunately - no butter no salt). It was interesting cuisine - but I was very ready for a rich dessert when the meal was completed (and had to go elsewhere to get it!). Robyn

[BryanZ]

Having done both, I can say that they're both immensely more satisfying than The Modern, no disrespect intended.

[docsconz]

MODERATOR'S NOTE

Since the Beard award we have had some interesting tangents on this topic, however, from here on in please limit the the discussion to that which directly involves The Modern. If anyone is still interested in discussing the general workings of the Beard House selection process, general comparisons of food around the country or the world or Japanese kaiseki, please do so in more appropriate threads. Thank you for your understanding.

[Jason Perlow]

I recently interviewed Danny Meyer and spoke to him about his career as a restauranteur, the upcoming Big Apple Barbecue Block Party, and THE MODERN:

Click for Podcast: Danny Meyer, Union Square Hospitality Group (Off The Broiler)

[Jason Perlow]

Ya-Roo Yang, "Bond Girl" interviews THE MODERN's chef de cuisine Gabriel Kreuther on Off The Broiler:

Gabriel Kreuther, THE MODERN (Off The Broiler Podcast #15)

Edited May 22, 2006 by Jason Perlow (log)

[oakapple]

Ya-Roo Yang, "Bond Girl" interviews THE MODERN's chef de cuisine Gabriel Kreuther on Off The Broiler:

Gabriel Kreuther, THE MODERN (Off The Broiler Podcast #15)

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It's a wonderful piece. Kreuther is fun to listen to, and Ya-Roo is a superb interviewer.

[Bond Girl]

You are too nice!!! Thank you.

[daisy17]

Enjoyed a stellar lunch at The Modern today, in the dining room. I'd been slightly underwhelmed with the Bar Room on previous visits and was looking forward to going back and sampling the cod I've heard so much about.

My appetizer was a lobster risotto with fresh corn and pancetta. Amazing - the creamy risotto was perfectly cooked, studded with golden kernels and crunchy pancetta and topped with succulent, tender lobster. Summer in a bowl.

The chorizo crusted cod with white bean purée and harissa oil lived up to its reputation. Everything about it worked. This is a dish I will be dreaming about. Starting tonight.

Service was excellent, what you'd expect from Danny Meyer. The only misstep happened before we actually arrived at the restaurant. I'm not going to get too into it, but I was disappointed that the reservationists were completely clueless about the menu (several times, on separate calls). Can't understand how they could describe the lunch menu as primarily prix fixe. It almost steered my host away from going, but my powers of persuasion worked. Luckily, because now I get to dream about cod.

[Sneakeater]

Fat Guy is right: the Bar at the Modern is right up there with Bouley Upstairs as one of the great NYC dining values. What a great thing to have available.

[rich]

Had dinner at The Modern last night (formal dining). Service was exceptional - food was very good, not spectacular, but certainly acceptable. The cheese cart, which they get from Artisnal, was excellent. Some nice offerings on the wine list.

It's a place that you may or may not return, the bar menu was probably better and worth a separate visit.

Not a ringing endorsement, but not a "take a photo" place either.

[Nathan]

Ate again at the bar the other day....I'm amazed everytime at the quality/price ratio...

[Indy67]

My husband and I were in NYC for the July 4 weekend for a wedding. We stayed a couple of extra days to visit museums and celebrate a milestone anniversary. Friday night we ate at the Bar at the Modern, Sunday we ate at Babbo, and Monday we ate at Jean Georges. (It's a no-brainer to figure out which day was our anniversary.)

We thought the our meal at the Bar was lovely and we'd be happy to eat there again. Admittedly, we're also glad it was our first meal out of that trio of restuarants. A couple of the dishes were sublime and overall it was very good; however, it suffered in comparison to Jean Georges. Babbo's food isn't the same style so there's no useful comparison.

Both my husband and I ordered the Charred Octopus. I also ordered the Sorrel Soup with Foie Gras and my husband ordered the Alsatian Country Sausage. For entrees, my husband had the Duck Confit and I had the Swordfish. The Sorrel Soup was the highlight of my meal followed closely by the Octopus, easily the most tender version we've ever eaten and that includes Babbo's Grilled Octopus in Limoncello Vinaigrette.

Since the tables at the Bar are closely spaced, our meal was somewhat marred by the constant complaints of the husband of the couple seated next to us. At first it was annoying. The husband fancied himself a foodie, but his comments seemed clueless both in real time and upon further investigation.

Our experience was excellent: interesting, well-prepared food and attentive service. By the time the husband leaned over to our table to advise us on what to order for dessert -- the beignets but to make sure they bring whipped cream and tell them to hold the mango marmalade -- we could barely keep from laughing.

Indy 67

[flinflon28]

My husband and I were in NYC for the July 4 weekend for a wedding. We stayed a couple of extra days to visit museums and celebrate a milestone anniversary. Friday night we ate at the Bar at the Modern, Sunday we ate at Babbo, and Monday we ate at Jean Georges. (It's a no-brainer to figure out which day was our anniversary.)

We thought the our meal at the Bar was lovely and we'd be happy to eat there again. Admittedly, we're also glad it was our first meal out of that trio of restuarants. A couple of the dishes were sublime and overall it was very good; however, it suffered in comparison to Jean Georges. Babbo's food isn't the same style so there's no useful comparison.

Both my husband and I ordered the Charred Octopus. I also ordered the Sorrel Soup with Foie Gras and my husband ordered the Alsatian Country Sausage. For entrees, my husband had the Duck Confit and I had the Swordfish. The Sorrel Soup was the highlight of my meal followed closely by the Octopus, easily the most tender version we've ever eaten and that includes Babbo's Grilled Octopus in Limoncello Vinaigrette.

Since the tables at the Bar are closely spaced,  our meal was somewhat marred by the constant complaints of the husband of the couple seated next to us. At first it was annoying. The husband fancied himself a foodie, but his comments seemed clueless both in real time and upon further investigation.

Our experience was excellent: interesting, well-prepared food and attentive service. By the time the husband leaned over to our table to advise us on what to order for dessert -- the beignets but to make sure they bring whipped cream and tell them to hold the mango marmalade -- we could barely keep from laughing. 

Indy 67

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Thanks for the great review but I feel I should say that comparing the Bar Room of the Modern to the main dining room of Jean Georges would not be very fair to either restaurant seeing as how the price points and objectives of each room are so different. Perhaps a more apt comparison would be the Bar Room of the Modern and Nougatine as they may share more similar characteristics.

[Indy67]

"Perhaps a more apt comparison would be the Bar Room of the Modern and Nougatine as they may share more similar characteristics."

You're absolutely right. Still, I meant that Jean Georges and the Bar Room of the Modern share an eclectic approach, as opposed to the single-cuisine approach of Babbo. The next time we're in Manhattan, we're going to try Nougatine.

Incidentally, our anniversary restaurant choice came down to a choice between Daniel and Jean Georges. First, we tried to get a reservation at Daniel since we've enjoyed DB Bistro Modern in previous visits to NYC. Our biggest hesitation about Daniel was that we aren't part of the in-crowd, and we'd read about two-tier treatment there. However, my husband particularly wanted to enjoy the opulence of Daniel for our milestone anniversary. Our decision was overtaken by events when we discovered Daniel would be closed July 3 and 4.

We have pleasant memories of a wonderful meal at Vong in Hong Kong four years ago so it was an easy switch to Jean Georges. More important, they would be open.

I'll keep this brief since I'm in the Modern restaurants thread, but our meal at Jean George was sheer perfection. The food was simply the most amazing food we've ever tasted. The combinations were interesting without being bizarre. There wasn't a single item in either tasting menu that we would have ordered if we had been choosing from the a la carte menu. Ultimately, we decided to experience the chef doing his thing so we selected the Summer Tasting menu. We were amply rewarded; each dish was fantastic.

The wait staff was attentive and pleasant with no trace of two-tier treatment. A family including three little girls -- ages five to ten -- was in the last stages of their meal when we first arrived. After we had experienced the adventuesome combinations of several courses of the Summer Tasting Menu, I couldn't imagine what the girls might have eaten. I asked the waiter about children at the restaurant. His response was typical of the attitude-free experience we had. He said that the restaurant was prepared to modify anything on their menu and if that weren't enough, they would bring in -- albeit reluctantly -- something from the hotel's room service kitchen. He added that the palate of many of the children who eat at Jean Georges was more sophisticated than his was at their age. "Some of them even scare me when they come in demanding certain ingredients."

Another example of the warm and charming service: I'm lactose intolerant so I travel everywhere with Lactaid. That way I don't need to ask any questions about recipes or restrict my choices in any way. Our waiter noticed I had some packets of Lactaid next to me on the banquette. When he set down the fish course -- fish in a buttermilk vinaigrette -- he said I'll tell you if there's any milk in any of the other courses. I'm lactose intolerant, too, and I need to be careful."

Indy 67

[therese]

Dinner at The Modern two Thursdays ago with my husband, fellow eGulleteer FabulousFoodBabe, and her husband.

We were visiting from out of town (from Atlanta), our second visit this year (once without children, once with). First visit to The Modern for all of us.

Fabulous booked dinner early, as Mr. Foodbabe works nearby. The original plan was dinner at 6:30 following drinks at the Four Seasons, but either Fabulous inadvertently booked us at 6:00 instead, or The Modern decided that we'd be hungry early. In any case we showed up on time, and were ushered to our very nice table, a very cushy upholstered black booth that afforded all of us lovely views of the garden on the other side of the two (maybe three) story glass wall that runs the length of the restaurant. The view was particularly cool that evening as it featured very loud, very exciting storms all evening.

Despite the early hour the bar was hopping and the dining room already busy. We all had cocktails (a sidecar for me, ensuring that I can't recall every last detail of the meal). Cocktails were accompanied by pumpkin seeds and something else. I think. Maybe Fabulous can help me here.

Three amuses were next, all plated together. One was a sort of pasta/rice paper demilune (no recall whatsoever of the filling), the second was a beet something other (called a tapenade?) on toast (described as crostini, except that the server was describing it in the singular, so one of those very slightly jarring grammar moments), and the third was a small skewer of several items, among which I recall watermelon and feta. This last item was described as a "broo-sket-ta" and at this point I became very confused indeed, as the only thing on the plate that looked anything at all like bruschetta had already been described, and the item in question looked very much like a brochette.

And then I realized that our server (or somebody instructing him) had confused bruschetta (frequently mispronounced in the U.S. as "broo-shet-ta") and brochette (correctly pronounced as "bro-shet). So, at least an A for effort, even if I did end up so confused that I'd begun to question the wisdom of ordering a sidecar on an empty stomach.

For dinner proper I started with seared foie gras with cherries, followed by lobster with corn, and finally milk chocolate dacquoise.

The seared foie gras was excellent, and the milk chocolate dacquoise was absolutely fantastic. I don't usually have chocolate after a meal, but since I particularly like milk chocolate and also particularly like dacquoise I got it anyway, and it was lovely.

My main course was problematic, though, and under different circumstances I would likely have asked for a replacement. It was too salty. I like salty food, and if anything sometimes find upmarket food to be a bit undersalted, but this was just too salty. Not inedible, but not great, and certainly not what I expected in this setting.

Turned out Mr. FoodBabe's main was also too salty, but in the end neither of us brought it up with our server, instead discussing the possible effect of smoking on the palates of the kitchen staff. Or maybe nobody was actually tasting the food.

Somewhere along the line (after dessert, I think) we were brought little cones of sweet stuff (hmm, something with berries?), and then a large assortment of petits fours. Our server actually suggested that might take these home, and for the first time ever we did so, as a treat for the children. These were nicely boxed up for us to pick up at the hostess stand on our way out, along with small loaves of cake for breakfast the next AM (though these turned out to be a lot more like babas au rhum than banana bread, so maybe not the breakfast of champions).

So, very nice evening all around. Service very attentive, if a bit "young", and decor/ambience excellent. Food uneven, but more winners than losers, and had I brought it to our server's attention I'm sure it would have been remedied immediately.

[Sneakeater]

Ya know, I wish you lived here so you could write these great local reviews all the time.

[therese]

Ya know, I wish you lived here so you could write these great local reviews all the time.

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Thanks. Maybe I'll just make a point of visiting NYC as often as possible. Bajillions of restaurants yet to try...

[ulterior epicure]

Thanks. Maybe I'll just make a point of visiting NYC as often as possible. Bajillions of restaurants yet to try...

Bajillions, indeed... and The Modern is one of them! Thanks for the report, hope to make it soon.

u.e.

[FabulousFoodBabe]

Fabulous booked dinner early, as Mr. Foodbabe works nearby. The original plan was dinner at 6:30 following drinks at the Four Seasons, but either Fabulous inadvertently booked us at 6:00 instead, or The Modern decided that we'd be hungry early.

I still have no idea how that happened.

Despite the early hour the bar was hopping and the dining room already busy. We all had cocktails (a sidecar for me, ensuring that I can't recall every last detail of the meal). Cocktails were accompanied by pumpkin seeds and something else. I think. Maybe Fabulous can help me here.

I still have no idea what we had. I don't think it was shots of something with foam, because my memory would be of you with said foam clinging to your upper lip.

Three amuses were next, all plated together. One was a sort of pasta/rice paper demilune (no recall whatsoever of the filling),

Salmon

Turned out Mr. FoodBabe's main was also too salty, but in the end neither of us brought it up with our server, instead discussing the possible effect of smoking on the palates of the kitchen staff. Or maybe nobody was actually tasting the food.

I had their interpretation of "surf 'n' turf" -- the monkfish with chorizo. Loved it, but honestly wonder why people go so berserk over it. I went much more berserk over the desserts: Chocolate for me as well, and those were little cones of strawberry ice cream. And, of course, the little tray of chocolates and the little tray of jellies and cakes ...

We still recall fondly the bread man, tongs in hand, silently but intently stalking the tables, head swaying as his laser-sharp vision spotted a small round dish to the left of a diner, with nothing on it. He was the Terminator of empty bread plates, without the cool sunglasses. Did he really say at one point, "I'll be back?"

Probably the best 10 and tonic I've ever had, by the way, and the tea loaf was a nice breakfast chez FB, as well. (Yes, yes, some people still mess up a gin & tonic. Not here! )

In all, a wonderful night. The room was gorgeous, the company scintillating (and snappily dressed), and the wine nice (though expensive). That bar was hoppin' when we left! Too bad Mr. FB is an early to bed, early to rise sort ...

[DutchMuse]

I've had some outstanding meals at The Modern, but on two occasions I have had to send courses back because of the salt. One of them, I tongue in cheek told the server it was like a "salt lick."