The Modern at MoMA

[rich]

I had one meal at The Modern and it was good, but not memorable. I think the bar menu/room is the way to go.

[Sneakeater]

Picking up on FFB, I think the cocktails there are fabulous.

[Nathan]

the cilantro-infused Tanqueray martini is fabulous (and I don't like Tanqueray martinis...prefer a smoother gin)...

[Sneakeater]

Yeah, the cilantro-infused martini is fabulous.

[robyn]

...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...

←

I smoke - and I can assure you that even a smoker can taste food that is oversalted. I think oversalting is one of the cardinal sins in restaurants everywhere - and in all price ranges - these days. I find it particularly off-putting in high end restaurants - where one would expect chefs to be more creative with herbs/spices. I have a drawer full of them - as well as lots growing in my garden. And I'm a mediocre home cook. I just don't know what the problem is on the part of kitchen staffs - but - on my part - it's waking up at 3 am and needing to down a liter of water because of salt-induced thirst. Robyn

[Bobbo]

The problem with the general public these days is that they dont know what properly seasoned food should taste like. the critical sin is not occuring in restaurants, it is occuring at home where no one uses salt properly. these leads everyone to believe when they eat at restaurants that properly seasoned foods are overseasoned.

Substituting herbs and spices is not seasoning food, it is merely adding another level to the overall flavor.

It is also a fact that smoking greatly inhibits your taste buds. So does soda and coffee and actually anything with caffeine. So, should all cooks stop drinking coffee? It is common kn owledge also that most fine dining kitchens are not allowed soda while they work, but how do you tell a guy who has worked the last 15 hours he cant have a cup of coffee?

[docsconz]

The problem with the general public these days is that they dont know what properly seasoned food should taste like.  the critical sin is not occuring in restaurants, it is occuring at home where no one uses salt properly.  these leads everyone to believe when they eat at restaurants that properly seasoned foods are overseasoned. 

Substituting herbs and spices is not seasoning food, it is merely adding another level to the overall flavor. 

It is also a fact that smoking greatly inhibits your taste buds.  So does soda and coffee and actually anything with caffeine.  So, should all cooks stop drinking coffee?  It is common kn owledge also that most fine dining kitchens are not allowed soda while they work, but how do you tell a guy who has worked the last 15 hours he cant have a cup of coffee?

←

I wouldn't take the comments here as being the typical "general public" having had a sense of the palates over time, but even so, I would have to question your assertion that I highlighted in bold. Granted it is difficult for kitchens to season for a wide variety of palates and someone who never adds salt to anything will be much more sensitive to it than someone who always pours it on. I like salt and have come to use it liberally, but I have found that the more salt I use, the more salt I need to use. I would suggest that "proper" use of salt really is an individual thing, but that if a restaurant is going to be financially viable over the long haul, they need to learn to season according to their targeted clientele. It strikes me that at least some of the people above complaining about the over-salting of food at The Modern are indeed their targeted clientele, or should be.

Additional discussion of this tangent could prove interesting, but I would suggest that if there is a desire for anyone to continue it or expand upon it that it be taken outside...to a topic of its own.

[mukki]

We had dinner in the Bar on September 19. Here are some of my impressions on what we had:

Tarte Flambee: pretty good. Frankly, I would have liked it a lot more if I weren't comparing it to.... Trader Joe's Tarte D'Alsace. Seriously, the latter is more flavorful than the version at the Modern with a better crust. At least I think so. And it's only $3.99. We even told our waiter about it, although I'm sure he was smirking to himself.

Liverwurst: excellent! I'd never tasted liverwurst before, but ordered it due to the recommendations here. I'd love to be able to make this at home, since I doubt store-bought liverwurst will be as good. Any recommended recipes?

Wild Mushroom Soup: another winner. A lighter version of others I've tried but with an intense mushroom flavor.

Sorrel Soup: a bit of a disappointment. Given some of the raves here, I was expecting more. Came across a little dull to me and certainly paled compared to the mushroom soup.

Charred Octopus: another disappointment. At this point, I can't remember much about it, except it just didn't do anything for me and I left most of it uneaten.

Sirloin au Poivre with spaetzle: a standout dish. Maybe I haven't been getting enough beef lately, but this dish really hit the spot for 2 of us. Perfectly cooked. The spaetzle (which appeared to be fried in butter until a bit crispy and nicely salted) elevated the dish even more.

[robyn]

You never had liverwurst before? Are you being serious ? Robyn

P.S. Liverwurst is one of those things that is so bad for you that it is almost always at least good - if not better - or excellent - no matter where you buy it. Robyn

Edited September 29, 2006 by robyn (log)

[Fat Guy]

Last week we dined in the formal dining room of the Modern, and had an exceptional meal. We were a table for seven with a time limit, so we weren't able to do a long tasting, and it was a business group so there was minimal sharing (though, by dessert time, the social barriers had fallen and I was able to try seven different desserts).

The best savory item I tried, and one of the best dishes I've tried all year, was the poached egg over wild mushrooms and mushroom veloute. A tiny bowlful of pure lusciousness -- definitely the next step up in flavor and refinement from the excellent mushroom soup served in the Bar Room. I remain mystified as to why the top New York restaurants don't do more with eggs.

Also excellent, I thought, was the hamachi braised in grapefruit juice, spice-crusted and served with all the fennel I'll need to eat until 2010. If you love fennel, this is the dish. Even if you don't love fennel, it's a great dish.

Even though we were tight on time, we managed to squeeze in a cheese course. The cheese guy made up two platters for the table, with a total of about 12 cheeses on each. Keeping with the Modern's minimalist theme, the cheeses are served ungarnished. It's getting harder and harder to impress with cheese courses in New York, because all the good restaurants are using the same few suppliers, however the Modern maintains a gorgeous cart with a lot of winners on it.

Besides the egg, the other highlight of the meal was the dessert course. I'm sure I've said it before, and I'll say it again: Marc Aumont is an incredibly talented pastry chef. Very few restaurants are operating at this level of technical proficiency. In addition to seven different plated desserts about which the only complaint was that we couldn't agree on which was the best, there's a generous selection of petits fours and mignardises -- in the past couple of years, in my meals out, only Ducasse has outperformed the Modern in this regard, and I think there are a few items the Modern does better than Ducasse, such as the macaroons.

[Sneakeater]

I remain mystified as to why the top New York restaurants don't do more with eggs.

←

I think that if you look around, you'll see that this is an emerging trend.

Several of the last menus I've dined off of in serious restaurants -- off the top of my head, Atelier Robuchon, Telepan, Picholine, EMP, Tasting Room -- have featured egg dishes.

Edited September 29, 2006 by Sneakeater (log)

[Fat Guy]

Also Denny's.

[Sneakeater]

Whoops. Forgot that one.

[mukki]

You never had liverwurst before?  Are you being serious  ?  Robyn

P.S.  Liverwurst is one of those things that is so bad for you that it is almost always at least good - if not better - or excellent - no matter where you buy it.  Robyn

←

Um, yeah, I'm totally serious. My mom never bought it while I was growing up and I've never been offered it before.

Looks like I'll try seeking it out locally. It seems to be similar to a pate.

[Nathan]

alas...liverwurst that's not from Bar Room at the Modern usually sucks...you'll see.

[Sneakeater]

Emerging Egg Trend

http://www.nytimes.com/2006/10/04/dining/0...html?ref=dining

[BryanZ]

Had a quick lunch at The Bar Room yesteray. This restaurant maintains its buzz to it and seems to be the most "exciting" of the USHG restaurants. Exciting not necessarily in the food but in terms of the energy of the space--and a different type of excitement than say the Tavern Room at Gramercy Tavern.

The waitstaff did a nice job of getting me my two courses and check in hand in 40 minutes, as I had requested. Service, in feel and literal time, was generally brisk across the room.

I had the artic char tartare. It was good, but I would've liked a bit more salt. The trout roe added a nice bit salinity, but I would've liked it slightly more aggressively seasoned. I think there was basil oil, too, which added some bitter green notes that helped cut the fatty fish. I liked it a lot but wasn't in love.

Next was the poached egg with roasted salsify, uni foam, and lobster. This could have been a great dish but fell just short. Still, it was very tasty, bordering on very good, but the lobster wasn't cooked quite properly or wasn't a great speciment. The flesh was a little stringy in parts and wasn't bursting with lobster-y sweetness.. A very nice dish, though.

[ulterior epicure]

And, BryanZ, the price tag for that lackluster, but satisfactory meal, if I may ask?

[BryanZ]

It wasn't at all lackluster. I really enjoyed it. It just wasn't awesome. It met my expectations but didn't surpass them. $12 on the char, $17 on the egg/lobster.

[ulterior epicure]

It wasn't at all lackluster.  I really enjoyed it.  It just wasn't awesome.  It met my expectations but didn't surpass them.  $12 on the char, $17 on the egg/lobster.

←

I guess that's what I would define as lackluster. $30, now that's pretty lustrous!

[Lenski]

Hello,

Just ate there last night (Bar) since we wanted to have a quick bite, see the Aitken's exhibit (impressive, by the way, urban drive-in experience) before heading out to see "Spring Awakening."

My party had the Torchon, the Tarte Flambee, the Egg in a jar, the Cannellini bean soup, the Tuna with Cauliflower and the Pork Belly.

They were all good (the Tarte was ok--big for one person--and I did not like the egg but I was alone in my opinion) but the standouts were the Tuna, very good, and the Pork Belly.

Only one dessert was sampled....3 beignets(served warm) with caramel, maple ice cream and mango marmalade. Delish.

The bill, before tip, $179. A good experience (I ate at the dining room last summer, good), fast service, very happening kind of place and good food given our limited time.

Questions ask,

L

[Gruzia]

So a couple of weekends ago, i decided to make a trip to NYC - after asking for recommendations in the MOMA area, so many responded with "The Modern, of course" that, despite wanting to avoid the obvious choices, I decided to try it for lunch.

We got this as an appetizer..this is the poached egg, lobster, sunchoke, and uni foam dish that was mentioned by BrianZ. Our lobster was pretty good - tender and sweet, and I liked the earthy note the sunchokes added but thought the uni foam was completely useless, pretty much overwhelmed by the other ingredients.

My friend had this - lamb tenderloin, I think, with a pomegranate sauce,an arugula salad, and a lamb terrine type thing. The terrine was good, the salad underwhelming, the lamb good (its hard not to like lamb), but I've had better.

This was my dish - duck confit with sauteed potatoes and a fluff of green. Again, good, but not great. A bit boring in view of the setting and the reputation.

Overall, I'm underimpressed. We were looking forward to this meal because of all the buzz about the restaurant so maybe our expectations were too high but while the food was good, it just didn't leave me with that glowing, i-had-a-great-meal feeling. Especially when you factor in the prices.

[Nathan]

you only had three dishes for two people?

[Gruzia]

you only had three dishes for two people?

←

Well, we also had a fruit tart and a mini baguette from Petrossian earlier in the day.

[Megan Blocker]

This was my dish - duck confit with sauteed potatoes and a fluff of green.  Again, good, but not great.  A bit boring in view of the setting and the reputation.

Overall, I'm underimpressed.  We were looking forward to this meal because of all the buzz about the restaurant so maybe our expectations were too high but while the food was good, it just didn't leave me with that glowing, i-had-a-great-meal feeling. Especially when you factor in the prices.

←

I had the duck confit last week for lunch, and while I agree that it's not a revolutionary dish by any means, it is one of a few "classic" dishes on the menu (the tarte flambee also comes to mind here), and I don't think that's such a bad thing. I thought it was very well done, that the sweetness of the caramelized onions clustered under the potatoes contrasted nicely with the sharper, crunchy shallots garnishing the duck, and that the dressing on the frisee pulled the dish together.

And, I would argue, for the neighborhood, the prices are extremely fair (I spend 10-11 bucks on a takeout salad at the deli around the corner; I'm ok with $50 for three strong courses).

That said, it does stink to have high expectations dashed...

P.S. - I also highly recommend the beignets - they are to-die-for, though I didn't care for the mango marmalade that came alongside the caramel and the maple ice cream.

Edited February 2, 2007 by Megan Blocker (log)