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“The Modern”

Occasion:	Cuisine:	Area:	Cost:	Rating:
Night Out	New American	Midtown	Break the Bank	Good

Expectations are tough to manage. And when you are Danny Meyer—the beloved restaurateur behind Union Square Cafe, Gramercy Tavern, and Tabla—they can be a nightmare. Meyer is an exceptional restaurateur and citizen—he is smart, socially aware, philanthropic, articulate, handsome, and quite successful, without being over the top. He is well liked and deeply respected by his peers and his customers. A kid from the St. Louis, Meyer effectively transformed fine dining (and a neighborhood) in the 80s—creating a new paradigm for culinary expression with Union Square Café, located off a then drug-laden Union Square Park. His plan was simple—to open a restaurant that would nurture the neighborhood, support local agriculture, and that would feature expertly conceived and honestly presented food with a staff of knowledgeable, hospitable, and friendly folks. He wanted to create an environment that completely lacked the pretense usually associated with fine dining. Well, it worked, and along the way he helped clean up the park, support a Greenmarket, and a neighborhood flourished. (Step aside Bloomberg, I’d vote Meyer for Mayor in a heartbeat.) And since then, whether it be with Gramercy Tavern, Tabla, Eleven Madison, Blue Smoke, or even Shake Shack, Meyer’s formula has never strayed far from that original goal: creating restaurants that have heart and soul, that are solid neighborhood joints dedicated to seriously good food, with hospitality as their hallmark. (And usually a park or two will get fixed up in the process.) And all along, he has succeeded.

Now comes The Modern, his much-anticipated restaurant at the newly remodeled MOMA. And he’s not messing around here. There are stars written all over the staff, starting with Gabriel Kreuther, formerly the three star executive chef at Atelier at the Ritz Carlton. Add on pastry chef Marc Aumont, from three star Bouley, Ann Marie Mormando, who spent 12 years as Director of Operations for Jean Georges, wine director Stephane Colling, and service director Thierry Chouquet, both of the four (and then three) starred Ducasse, and you’ve got an All Star list of players, and expectations cruising somewhere up near the Milky Way. Perhaps because of such high expectations, or perhaps because it is still early on in this restaurant’s lifespan, my dinner at The Modern was a disappointment.

When we arrived for dinner last Wednesday night, we were welco ... [more, click below]

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Posted: April 3, 2005

Other restaurants in Midtown :
+ Lever House   + Aquavit   + RM   + Joseph's (formerly Citarella The Restaurant)   + Town   + Artisanal   + The Oyster Bar   + Geisha   + David Burke and Donatella Restaurant   + Riingo   + Amma   + Cafe Sabarsky   + The Stone Rose Lounge   + BLT Steak   + V, The Steakhouse-- Closed   + Bar Masa   + Cafe Gray   + The Bar Room at The Modern   + The Cafe at Aquavit   + The Cafe at Aquavit   + Bistro du Vent-- Closed   + Shaburi   + Xing   + The Modern   + Bar Americain   + Alto   + Park Blue   + Mainland-- Closed   + Nobu 57   + Quality Meats   + Dona-- CLOSED   + Daisy May's   + 7Square-- CLOSED   + Amalia   + Fireside   + Anthos   + Patroon   + BLT Market   + Toloache   + Mia Dona   + Park Avenue Summer   + Convivio   + The Oak Room by guest reviewer Julie Besonen   + At Vermilion by guest reviewer Elaine Weiner   + Lunching at Inakaya, by guest reviewer Kathleen Squires   + Marea, by Guest Reviewer Susan Kane Walkush   + Le Bernardin   + New York Central -- A Reason To Eat at the Grand Hyatt Again   + Pampano Botaneria by Dara Pollak   

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