The Modern - The Museum of Modern Art

The Modern is a French-American restaurant located at the Museum of Modern Art. The restaurant is a member of Danny Meyer’s Union Square Hospitality Group (“USHG”), which includes other well-known places in Manhattan, such as Union Square Cafe, Gramercy Tavern, Eleven Madison Park, and Shake Shack. Having heard good things about this place, my wife and I decided to have our anniversary dinner at The Modern this year.

The Modern has two distinct dining areas – The Dining Room which features more formal setting with open ceiling area with a splendid view of the Abby Aldrich Rockefeller Sculpture Garden inside the MoMA complex; and The Bar Room featuring more casual but energetic setting and certainly much younger crowd than The Dining Room. Both dining areas showcase the creation of Chef Gabriel Kreuther, which is described as “elegant, creative French cuisine....”Obviously for our dinner, we choose The Dining Room.

We’ve been to many “fine dining” establishments in New York, some of them living up to the reputation while others some what disappointing. The Modern has one of the better ones and thought that it lived up to the hype. We were impressed with the service and delicious food to match the mood and the setting of the restaurant.

We were greeted by a staff assigned to our table with the menu. After taking our drink order (Bellini and Cosmopolitan), he gave us some time to leisurely read the menu. In fact, after we placed our food order, he offered to hold off on putting the order into the kitchen until we had some time to enjoy the cocktails and the amuse-bouches, which was a plate of scooped cucumber ball, goat cheese, and foie gras pâté.

And for dinner, we ordered the Chef Tasting Menu – which comprised of 8-course tasting course. And for me, suggested wine paring with the dinner.

The course included:
1).Melted Goat Cheese Amuse-Bouches
2).Foie Gra Terrine Flavored with Juniper Marinated Raisins, Grilled Country Bread
3).Yellowfin Tuna and Diver Scallops Tartare – Seasoned with American Paddlefish Caviar
4).Roasted Maine Lobster with Buckwheat Angelhair
5).Chorizo-Crusted Chatham Cod with White Coco Bean Puree and Harissa Oil
6).Long Island Duck Breast with Black Trumpet Marmalade, “Fleischneke”, and Banyuls Jus
7).Cheese Plate
8).Dessert

Did not care too much for the foie gra. Bit too much stuff around it. The tartare was quite good and matched well with the saltiness from the caviar. Maine lobster with buckwheat angelhair was an interesting combination. The duck breast was quite meaty. For the cheese plate, they brought a tray full of cheese for us to choose from. The portions on each course was just about right, except for the cheese plate. They were quite generous with the cheese, which we were not able to finish them all.

And for each course, the staff matched it with wine selection. It was quite good. Perhaps it was a bit too much alcohol but nonetheless, very enjoyable. They offered wines from various parts of the world, from Alace to Bordeux, from Virginia to Long Island. And finished it with Port for the cheese plate. Quite an experience and each wine was paired nicely with the meal. One regret is that they did not have a list of the wines served during the meal for me to refer back to.

The presentation of the food, with the wine and the timing were all orchestrated quite well by the waitperson in charge of our table and one additional staff to assist. Again, the service was quite impressive.

When we finished the course, had our espresso, and ready to depart, we had been at the restaurant for over 3 and 1/2 hours. Now, that is a leisurely dinner. One of the more memorable dining experience in New York for sure.

The Modern
The Museum of Modern Art
9 West 53rd Street
(between Fifth and Sixth Avenues)
New York, NY 10019
(212) 333-1220
Advance reservation strongly recommended. At least two weeks in advance

www.themodernnyc.com

Ultimate Belgian Tasting

Ultimate Belgian Tasting

A friend invited me to a Belgian beer and food tasting event that was co-sponsored by the Ale Street News and Consulate General of Belgium in New York. It was quite an event. You had to pre-register with your name before the event. You received a ticket which you need along with an I.D. to get into the event. It was held at the Heartland Brewery and Chophouse on 43rd Street.

After we got passed the bouncers in the entrance, we got inside and presented our tickets. Then we got a sampling glass and straight to the tasting. There were over twenty breweries and importers represented, each with their own booth to showcase their beer selections for us to taste. And as we mingled in the crowd, there were staff persons walking around with plates of different kinds of hor'dourve. There were other booths offering different types of Belgian foods like waffles, chocolates, cheese plates and patties. I was told that there were over 500 people who came to the event.

We really enjoyed the event. Never had so many different kinds of Belgian beer before. Typically, Duvel or Stella Artois comes to mind when we think about Belgian beer in the U.S. So it was quite intriguing and also a learning experience for me. It was very good. I particularly enjoyed beer with fruitiness of cherry and apples. You can taste the sweet fruit and yet quite strong with good flavor.

I also enjoyed the food. Tasted Belgian waffles – freshly made in the premise, right off the grill. Was very good. The best Belgian waffles I’ve ever had. Chocolates were good as wells their cheese. So overall it was quite an evening.

A list of some of the beers I tasted during the night.

Chimay Grand Reserve
Orval
Vichtenaar
Affligem Blong
Affligem Tripel
Unibroue 16 (from Quebec, Canada)

"Romance and Theatre" of Starbucks

I look forward to my weekend mornings at my neighborhood Starbucks. I enjoy the short walk, carrying reading materials like magazines and Sunday paper, and my notebook computer. Once in the coffee bar, take a look around, secure an empty table, then order a cup of coffee or latte. Once I get settled in, I’m spending the next couple of hours on reading, writing, and reflecting on the week past and on the week ahead. It’s a ritual that I began few years ago in Tokyo and continues on after moving here to Manhattan. It is a great way to clean up my inbox, read my Sunday paper, and write down things to do for the coming week. And the whole atmosphere of the café – the aroma of freshly grounded coffee beans, other patrons enjoying their weekend morning, the noise from the baristas pulling espresso shots by hand – all of these add to the whole ambiance of an Italian neighborhood coffee bar that Starbucks has build its brand and reputation on. It’s the “romance and theatre” of the whole coffee experience.

But is Starbucks losing that “romance and theatre”? The Wall Street Journal printed an article on February 24, 2007 about an internal memo to executives written by Howard Schultz, the Chairman of Starbucks. The memo apparently talked in length about how Starbucks may be losing its “romance and theatre” of the coffee experience. Starbucks has an aggressive expansion plans to grows the number of its global location from current 13,000 to 40,000. It is offering menu items that are not traditional specialty coffee/tea drinks – such as hot breakfast sandwiches. Many Starbucks stores are opening drive-through windows. And others are switching to automatic espresso machines – taking away the sounds and sights of baristas pulling shots by hand.

So do I have to find another place that gives me the “romance and theatre” to enjoy my weekly ritual? Perhaps I may have to. A couple of weeks ago, I noticed exactly what Chairman Schultz was talking about in his memo. Instead of the usual coffee-bean aroma, I smelled something burning. I suspected that it was one of their breakfast sandwiches burning in the oven – guessed from the smell of burnt cheese. If this continues, I will definitely have to think of alternatives. Perhaps start an espresso bar in my own home – to brew my own shots. But it’s not the same – it lacks the “romance and theatre.” I do hope that Starbucks will seriously consider what its Chairman had to say and get back to its roots and keep that “romance and theatre.”

So Kong Dong Restaurant

Soft Tofu Soup!!

Never had this spicy Korean tofu soup dish until just recently. Our friends recommended So Kong Dong in Fort Lee, New Jersey that serves one of the best soft tofu soup in the area. When we finally had the chance to go there last December, it was so good that I immediately fell in love with it. I would go there every week, had it not been for the fact that it is not easy to get to Fort Lee from Manhattan without a car. But last Saturday, our friends invited us to join them and introduced us to another way to get there – i.e., through the use of public transportation. It involved taking the subway to George Washington Bridge, taking the bus to cross the bridge, and walking 10 minutes to the restaurant. But it was worth it… even if the walk was a bit cold.

So Kong Dong is a minimalist restaurant that serves only soft tofu soup and kalbe. This place is so popular that there is always a queue. When we went there in December, we must have waited at least 20 minutes – even when we had called in ahead of time to take a number to reserve a spot in the queue.

The menu is quite simple. A selection of soft tofu soup – including seafood, seafood and beef, oysters, kimchee and beef, etc. You can choose the level of spiciness to your liking – Not Spicy, Not So Spicy, Mild, Spicy, and Very Spicy. The menu also includes Korean BBQ (kalbe). After you order, the staff brings out five to six side dishes for the table – a selection of different types of kimchee. The rice that they serve is cooked in a stone pot which they bring to the table and serve it individually.

I had the Very Spicy seafood and beef soup when I visited there for the first time. And this last Saturday, I ordered the oyster soup. Again, Very Spicy!! The broth for the soup had flavor that brought out the sweetness of the spicy chili in the soup. So even at the Very Spicy level, I did not get the burning sensation. Rather, it complimented the flavor of the soup. If you are not very fond of spicy food, then I would suggest ordering “mild”. Too little spice can make the soup dull.

Kalbe was also very good. The meat was well marinated in Korean BBQ sauce and it was flavorful.

Best thing about this restaurant is the reasonable price. The price of the soup went up to $8.00 recently. But that is still a bargain, if you compare to what Korean restaurants will charge for similar menu in Manhattan.

I wouldn’t mind going there again before the winter season is over.

So Kong Dong Restaurant
130 Main St
Fort Lee, NJ 07024
(201)242-0026