The Modern at MoMA

[Fat Guy]

UE:

1. Let me try to do a better job describing that dish. Here's a photo from a slightly different angle, exactly as it's served:

The idea is that the centerpiece of the dish is a domino of green cucumber gelee lying flat. On top of that is a thin layer of something along the lines of creme fraiche, and on top of that are two thin cylinder-shaped items: one formed of Osetra caviar and the other a thinly sliced piece of eel rolled up into a tube. Also on the plate are riffs on creme fraiche and toast.

2. The smoke comes from sarments (sarments de vigne), aka vine shoots/clippings. Sarments are, needless to say, plentiful around France, so whereas in America we do pit cooking with hickory, oak, etc., in France they use sarments. I've heard tell of some great parties in the French countryside where meats were roasted over sarments. This dish is an haute twist on that tradition.

[Fat Guy]

Actually maybe this one is clearer:

[ulterior epicure]

FG, thanks. That is much clearer (both the description and picture) now.

[markk]

FG, that meal looks amazing!

[Sethro]

They have some awesome new plateware. Wonder where its from...

[AvsKick21]

Looks like it was a great time.

They have some awesome new plateware. Wonder where its from...

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I believe most everything up to the squab and lamb is Bernardaud and JL Coquet. The plates for the squab and lamb do look really cool.

[emsny]

At Marx's restaurant in Bages/Paulliac, some of the crockery, if it can be called that, is great fun - several dishes were served on what might best be called hollow pillows blown of thin glass. That makes them sound more free-form than they were, but it conveys the sense that the food seemed to hover a couple of inches above the table.

[oakapple]

FG, that meal looks amazing!

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Yes, exactly what you expect from a NYT two-star restaurant.

[ulterior epicure]

FG, that meal looks amazing!

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Yes, exactly what you expect from a NYT two-star restaurant.

Forget about the stars, for just the $$$$ alone...

[Nathan]

FG, that meal looks amazing!

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Yes, exactly what you expect from a NYT two-star restaurant.

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well...if any of that was on the regular menu......

[Fat Guy]

At least three of the dishes were nearly the exact same dishes I've had at the Modern on normal nights. From the Modern's regular menu:

- "Chorizo-Crusted Chatham Cod with White Coco Bean Purée and Harissa Oil"

- "Warm Watermelon Layered with Tomato Confit and Pistachio, Aged Balsamic Vinegar"

- And the "Modern Chocolate Torte" was similar to a few typical desserts I've had at the Modern.

I think the menu was about 1/3 Kreuther, 1/3 Marx and 1/3 collaborative -- that's just a guesstimate. In any event, I don't think the food we had was particularly better than what you'd get on any given night at the Modern. Kreuther is in my opinion one of the top chefs of his generation, fully on par with a chef like Marx. What made this particular dinner special was the combination of wine, food, uniqueness and exclusivity, not to mention the sheer quantity of everything. But the Modern is in my opinion a terribly underrated restaurant.

[Nathan]

ah...the torte I've had.

I think Ripert first paired chorizo and cod (in America anyway)....

[oakapple]

But the Modern is in my opinion a terribly underrated restaurant.

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Mine too, though I have far less experience with the place than FG does. As far as I'm concerned, Bruni's mis-ratings of both the Bar Room and the main dining room are the two most egregious errors of his tenure—even more so than the demotion of ADNY.

[sethd]

Let's not forget giving Roberts' Steakhouse 1 star: that was even more ridiculous than demoting ADNY.

Oh, the new Alain Ducasse restaurant is delayed until January.

As for the Modern, I agree that Kreuther is a great chef, but I enjoyed his food at Atelier much more than at a recent dinner in the formal room at the Modern.

[Nathan]

Let's not forget giving Roberts' Steakhouse 1 star: that was even more ridiculous than demoting ADNY.

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You think it should have two?

[sethd]

It should have less than zero!!!

[Nathan]

It should have less than zero!!!

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why? I haven't been but numerous sources report that the steaks are exceptional. indeed, Adam Perry Lang apparently has first dibs at Master Purveyors on the beef...and ages some of it up to 18 weeks.

[sethd]

Not that this is on topic. But, I have eaten there on numerous occasions. The steaks are good, but the service (not withstanding the scenery) is terrible, horrific, and unprofessional!!

[raji]

I think Roberts gets 1.5 Stars if you are a man, and 0 stars if you are a woman, unless you are the type that likes to go to strip clubs.

What Robert's lacks in service it makes up for in scenery. It's like the George Costanza theory when he starts eating delicatessen while having sex.

Anyway, I have a lot of respect for Adam Perry Lang and have had a great steak at Robert's.

Edited October 1, 2007 by raji (log)

[Nathan]

Jay McInerny writes up the same meal that FG had...here:

http://www.houseandgarden.com/winefood/blo...the-modern.html

[Nathan]

I went back to Bar Room at the Modern for the first time in a couple months.

there are several new and quite haute dishes on the menu, all of them very good:

squid wrapped in pancetta, pumpkin and chestnut soup and a new duck preparation. also a variety of seafood dishes that I didn't try this time.

finally got around to the famed farm egg with sea urchin foam, lobster and asparagus. I really wanted to like this dish but the parts just don't come together...

[kathryn]

Nathan, what's the new duck preparation?

More importantly, does it mean that the roasted Long Island duck breast with the peppercorned apples and pistachio dipping sauce is gone?

I'm going to the Bar Room tonight for a last minute dinner with out of town guests (8pm reservation for 4 available the day before is kind of a minor miracle) -- what else is new?

Having dined at the Bar Room 4-5 times already this year, I've fallen into a rut of always ordering:

Egg in a jar

Arctic char tartare

Seared foie gras

Long Island duck breast

Sage and garlic gnocchi

Beignets

What have I missed? I suppose the liverwurst. And the tarte flambee (which I've actually heard negative intelligence on recently)?

[Nathan]

the LI duck breast was new to me. get the liverwurst. tarte flambee is still good.

(I dined at the Bar Room about 10 times in 06 and only a couple times in 07 so some things new to me might be old hat to others)

[kathryn]

Ended up with:

Tarte Flambee (creamy, onion, maybe a little too big and heavy to start with, as I gave 3 pieces away to my companions)

Seared foie gras (amazingly good thanks to the fruit chutney and roasted nuts, as usual)

Pancetta wrapped squid (delicious black rice accompanying, tender and perfectly cooked squid, couldn't really taste the pancetta that well, though, but beautiful presentation)

Pistachio and strawberry filled macaron with strawberry sorbet (tasty and the sorbet was wonderful, the macaron was good but not great)

[ulterior epicure]

Pancetta wrapped squid (delicious black rice accompanying, tender and perfectly cooked squid, couldn't really taste the pancetta that well, though, but beautiful presentation)

I'm having a hard time conceptualizing this dish without the squid being stuffed. Were/was they/it?