We went to New York in late February because we so love tromping around the city when it’s 10 degrees outside. Truthfully, we went to show our exchange student some of the highlights of New York. We did manage to go to the top of the Empire State Building and stopped and saw the Statue of Liberty and the 9/11 memorial (for about 3 nanoseconds each—it was freezing!).
Most importantly, we got to eat at one of our favorite restaurants in New York—the Modern, the Danny Meyer restaurant inside the Museum of Modern Art. Between the six of us dining there that night, we got to sample much of the menu:
For appetizers, we had the following:
Roasted pumpkin soup with candied hazelnuts and hazelnut sabayon
Lobster marinated with truffles with radishes and herbs
Branzino steamed in spinach with black trumpet mushrooms
Roasted beets and pear salad with sheep’s milk, rosemary, and oats
Tuna tartare cured in mustard with potatoes and egg
Foie gras with lemon
Sweet potato gnocchi covered in black truffles
My personal favorite was the tuna cured in mustard, but it was not a universal opinion (the foie gras received several votes as well).
For entrees, the choices were:
Turbot roasted on the bone with petits pois à la Française
Chicken stuffed with pistachios served with celeriac and foie gras
Duck en chartreuse with apple and green cabbage
Beef glazed with bone marrow
My favorite was the duck (but I’m biased, as my favorite is usually the duck). The chicken, even though it sounds pedestrian, was superb as well.
And, finally, for dessert (since we were obviously still starving):
Citrus Pavlova with crème fraîche mousse and Meyer lemon sorbet
Ricotta cannoli with Earl Grey sorbet
Nutella ice cream and hazelnut
Carrot cake with toasted coconut sorbet
A favorite dessert depends entirely on whether you are a chocolate or non-chocolate dessert person. The citrus pavlova was probably the best non-chocolate dessert that we ordered that night.
The Modern is located at 9 W 53rd St, New York, NY 10019 (www.themodernnyc.com).
Full disclosure: we have a (very) small investment in The Modern, but delicious food is still delicious food!