The Modern at MoMA

[kathryn]

Three baby squid of varying size, each one wrapped in a single ribbon of pancetta with just enough pancetta to cover the surface area. Then spear the squid with a sprig of rosemary in order of size. Place the speared squid upon a bed of black rice, add a light (and foamy) saffron sauce.

[ulterior epicure]

Three baby squid of varying size, each one wrapped in a single ribbon of pancetta with just enough pancetta to cover the surface area. Then spear the squid with a sprig of rosemary in order of size. Place the speared squid upon a bed of black rice, add a light (and foamy) saffron sauce.

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The skewer! The skewer! That is what was missing in my mind... it all makes sense now.

[Nathan]

there's a very flavorful spring poussin dish on the current Bar Room menu.

served with (lightly braised?) romaine and parmesan.

[flinflon28]

Had lunch at the Bar Room on Saturday and between the four of us managed to order a lion's share of the menu.

The lamb dish continues to amaze and I think is one of the best lamb preparations in NYC right now. Perfectly cooked loin and the crunchy spice crust is incredible.

The accompanying side manchego/shank cake or terrine is incredible too.

Very creative and at $20 a bargain.

The Rib Eye and it's blue cheese flan was also very tasty.

There's also a new "Fried Cod" dish that was really nice. Fried in a very light but crunchy and non greasy batter a very moist piece of cod is served over a micro-dice of green apples and celery and it's dressed with a tangy horseradish sauce and a little caviar. Very clean tasting.

The other standards (liverwurst, tarte flambe, shrimp w/cabbage slaw) are at the same level they've always been.

Service was fine too.

Edited June 2, 2008 by flinflon28 (log)

[sickchangeup]

I recently noticed that if I go here between 3:00p to 5:00p any day of the week, as a museum member I get a nice 10% discount. Motivated by this news, and having only ever eaten here once at dinner (I've always gone for the delicious meat board and tiramisu from the 2nd floor cafe when visiting the museum), I thought I'd check out the menu and plan for a late lunch next week. I also figured that in this economic climate, a bar menu would be a nice little money saver, until I saw...

Lo and behold, the $29 dollar HALF-ENTREE... lamb chop!? tadda!

Roasted Opal Farm Lamb Chop

with cumin-scented shank stew,

chick peas, and minted cucumber

salad 29.

(from the menu, it says "those on page three are half-entrée portions." This is listed on page 3)

Holy schnikes!! Anyone eaten half of this lambs $58 chop? By way of comparison, Harry Cipirani will sell you an Australian Grilled Lamb Chop for $59.95, and they are the ridicule of sky high priced lunacy the world around. Perhaps Opal Farms is the next level up from Elysian Fields lamb?

Anyways, I'm kind of poking fun here, cause the Alsatian Pizza was worth every penny when I ate it, and someone in the best dish ever thread just said their tartare is off the charts, so that's on my list - I'm still going, just not gonna order the lamb :-).

[BryanZ]

Indeed, I loved the Modern Bar Room when it first opened and went more than a few times in first several months. Indeed, I still think it's a great spot.

With that said, the slow price climb there has kind of moved it out of my budget for a light meal. It used to be even the items of the third section of the menu hovered in the $16-$18 range. Now $20+ seems to be the norm.

Your post gets at something that's been touched on frequently in many discussions of small plate restaurants. Restaurateurs can't charge $50 for an entree, especially now. Instead, people seem more than willing to order a starter for $14 and two $25 small plates. The restaurateur often times can come out ahead in this kind of transaction.

That's why I liked my meal at Damon: Frugal Friday so much. It really embraced the small plate ethos. I could order something, and if I didn't care for it, oh well. If I really liked, I could order another. And there you can get two orders of your favorite dish for less than the price of one at the likes of the Modern Bar Room, Maze, and even some Spanish places that serve small-main course-sized raciones.

[Sethro]

I would grant the Modern the benefit of the doubt on that lamb chop. I mean, I can't really think of a more fairly priced 3 star restaurant. Overall, the bar room is probably the most bang for your buck available in Manhattan. Plus, season to season and year to year the menu is consistently great. It must just be a killer lamb chop.

[ulterior epicure]

On the current "Spring Awakening" prix fixe at The Modern (dining room), one of the first courses is "Gyromitre Soup with Peas and Herb Salad."

Now, perhaps the alteration of one letter might change the game entirely, but, if I'm not mistaken, aren't gyromitr*a* mushrooms toxic? They're the morel look-alikes, no?

[AEK]

Gyromitra is a genus of ascomycete mushrooms found in the northern hemisphere. The most famous member is the controversial false morel (G. esculenta). Highly poisonous when raw, it is edible and sought after in Scandinavian countries when cooked.

From wikipedia so it's guaranteed to be true.

Edited April 28, 2009 by AEK (log)