New York's Best Restaurants: The Modern

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Parent Category: Travel Info

Category: Places To Eat

Published on Monday, 15 February 2010 16:58

Written by Brad Balfour

The Modern
Cuisine: American Nouveau, French
Location: Midtown 
 
Though situated inside the Museum of Modern Art, The Modern is no mere adjunct to the Museum -- but a work of art in design and cuisine. Inspired by the Bauhaus movement of the '20s, this haute café from Restauranteur/proprietor Danny Meyer is adorned with furniture and tableware from the modernists, with a focus on the Danish style.

The Modern is actually two environments -- the Bar Room and Dining Room. A little more casual and abuzz with energy, the bar offers an abbreviated version of the dining room menu with an array of over 30 savory dishes. While the bar suggests a lively, aesthetic debate, the dining area offers a more austere space ideal for reflection and conversation. The two spaces montage through a frosted glass partition. In the clean, stately dining room, patrons can admire the sculptures from the adjacent garden while enjoying the finely crafted menu.

Chef Gabriel Kreuther’s nouveau French-American cooking partly inspired by his Alsatian roots is as refined and aesthetic as the room itself. He applies a finely tuned palate that can devise unique dishes of familiar ingredients, as in the Hamachi Tuna with a tart Grapefruit sauce and spice crust, a Potato Escargot Gâteau, or a Cod graced with thin discs of Chorizo and Harissa oil.

Kreuther transforms the generally prosaic Liverwurst or Roast Duck into something truly special. The restaurant offers three tasting options: three courses for $85, chef's seven-course tasting menu for $125, and a seven-course seasonal tasting menu for $138.

A meticulously chosen international wine list features more than 900 selections deep in Alsatian choices, including wines by-the-glass, and an innovative cocktail menu available both in the bar or dining space.

The Modern
9 West 53rd Street
New York, NY   
212-333-1220

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