The Modern

The Modern
tasty treats

Went with two girlfriend to The Modern, a restaurant near MoMA overlooking the sculpture garden. We didn't sit in the narrow main dining room overlooking the garden but, instead, sat in the bar area. An illuminated wall of greenery separated this area from the ultra modern bathrooms - individual stalls with common area sinks. The bathroom setup sort of freaked out my friend, Isabelle. I thought it rather versatile and a good use of limited space. Unfortunately one of the seats was broken; very unkempt for such a lovely establishment. The bar area is a bit warmer in tone and lighting than the main dining room but it is rather noisy thus it is hard to hear over the after-work drinking crowd. It was sort of distracting when one of the sculptures in the garden started to move. Gwen noticed it first and we didn't quited know what it was at first. I investigated, not only to figure out was was moving but to also voyeuristic check out the main dining space and see other people's meals. Yep, I'm a peeping Julia.

The menu was divided into three section. We sort of mixed and matched. I had a wonderful salad with the most divine goat cheese. I chose two items from the second menu because the third, entrée list just didn't appeal to me - too many boring fish dishes and a few bizarre combinations that didn't sound like they'd work together. I enjoyed a fabulous seared foie gras and a mushroom gnocchi with fried sweetbreads. The fois gras was my favorite, even if it is politically incorrect. I order it even chance I get before it gets banned. I'm still a true Texan at heart - love my un-PC meat. Portions are small but they don't charge full entrée prices. I prefer great food in moderation to quantity over quality but I do think the gnocchi serving could have been larger. Modern gets an A for food, a B for ambiance, but only a C for value along with a recommendation to arrive after 8 p.m. to avoid the bar crowd noise.