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“The Modern”

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

med by Ms. Mormando, and asked to wait at the bar until our table was ready—we were there a bit early, and we were (and always are) happy to have a drink before dinner. But the bar was three deep and at capacity. We snaked our way through the unruly crowd—a thick group (an oddly unattractive bunch to be honest), that included many out of towners and several women with bad blond dye jobs—and found a small bit of real estate to catch a bartender’s eye, and waited and waited to get her attention. A petite bartender, who looked all of 14 years old, was visibly in the weeds, and if it weren’t for the nice people seated in front of us who flagged her down, I don’t believe she would have never stopped to take our drink order. She had a look of quiet desperation on her face—sort of like a small animal about to get eaten by a much larger and more ferocious beast. I felt for her as she pushed a wine list our way, attempted a smile, and tackled the micros system spewing more drink tickets. We looked around and noticed that she seemed to be the only bartender, and since it is a fairly long (and cool) bar, stocked with 2210 bottles of wine, that seemed quite odd. There was a bar back, but no other bartenders. Poor thing. No wonder she was weeded. I was ready to jump back there and help.

Anyway, about 10 minutes later our friends in front of us flagged her down again and soon we were enjoying a couple of glasses of wine, which were needed because we were a bit worn out from the ordering process. A few moments later though, we were escorted through the mayhem of the bar room, to a place beyond the fray—past the heavy frosted glass divider that separates a la carte from prix fixe ($74, three courses), madness from serenity.

The dining room at The Modern is the antithesis of the frenetic bar room—it is a quiet august space that is stately, stark, and dauntingly clean. It is a room that speaks to its name in every sense—from the glassware to the water pitchers, napkin rings, and flatware. It is like dining in a showroom of some über modern Danish home furnishings store. Which makes sense actually, because the tableware and furniture were curated by Meyer, his partner David Swinghamer, and Paola Antonelli, Curator of the Department of Architecture and Design, on a shopping spree in Copenhagen where they picked up a few things with the support of the Danish Design Project. All the big names are ... [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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