Delightful lunch at the bar: NYC’s The Modern, a Michelin starred restaurant

Well, I suppose I can say that in my continuing endeavors to live the good life, I’m here to report on another Michelin starred restaurant: NYC’s The Modern. It’s inside the Modern Museum of Art (MoMA), but I learned that you can also access it from outside. I suggest you combine the sensory amazement with art and cuisine in one trip. The restaurant is one of world-renowned restauranteurs Danny Meyer’s projects; I’ve got his books on my Amazon.com wish list. When it comes to hospitality, he’s the man! The restaurant has received accolades from all over the planet, including a coveted Michelin star.

Meyer has recruited Alsatian chef Gabriel Kreuther to create the cuisine of his native land in a fresh, modern way. The restaurant itself has a formal dining room, a bar room and eating at the bar itself. I decided to make things as approachable as possible — who wouldn’t be all jazzed up eating in an establishment with such a shimmering reputation? — by eating at the bar. It’s naturally lit, but shaded, so you can be cool, calm and collected.

Lots of restaurants boast fine wine menus, but their bar selection is ho-hum. Not The Modern! In several liquor categories — the apple spirit Calvados, bourbon, whiskey — they have some of the finest choices on the planet. They even have Pappy Van Winkle 23 year!

Being an Alsatian restaurant, they also have a fine collection of apple ciders from all over the Norman and Basque regions. I tried one from Normandy with an earthy, mushroom-yeasty and savory flavor. It went perfectly with food.

I started with Slow-Poached Farm Egg “In a Jar” with Maine lobster, hon shimeji mushroom, and Parmesan foam. It was foamy, cheesy, light but rich. The dish had multi textures with crisp haricots and sweet lobster. The presentation was in a vintage canning jar, so cute!

The next dish I tried was Alsatian Buckwheat Späetzle with yellowfin tuna paillard crudo, roasted foie gras, pine nuts and black pepper gastrique. I was willing to trust the reputable chef with this off-beat combo and I’m glad! There was a nice, generous piece of fois gras. The spaetzel picks up flavors of the meats, lending it a new life. The tuna goes well with the fois gras, because both were cooked perfectly. Because the tuna was so incredibly fresh, it had a mild flavor that went with rich fois gras. The cider goes great with the dish.

Another impressive dish is the Saffron Tagliatelle with cider braised rabbit, corn and fava beans. Rabbit in incapable hands can be gamy and stringy. In expert hands like Chef Kreuther’s, the rabbit is tender and sweet with cider. It’s seasoned with good black pepper: giving it mellow depth of flavor. The fava beans are cooked to tender. The sauce is rich and meaty. Because the tagliatelle is made with thinner noodles, they make for a lighter entree’. Don’t be afraid of having it for lunch! Little corn nuggets garnish the dish.

For a meat-centric small plate, try the beer-braised pork belly with sweet pea purée and
ginger jus. The pork belly is smoky and rich, but still has a meat depth of flavor. The two sauces — meant to be stirred together and eaten simultaneously — are perfectly complementary to the flavor nuances of the pork belly.