Haute Bar Food in NYC: Modern & Craftsteak

Tuesday night, looking for something a bit different in NYC, a friend and I went to the Bar Room at the Modern. I've been to the main restaurant at the Modern a couple of times, and have enjoyed the dinners, but didn't find it earth shattering. Looking for something different, I said to my friend--why don't we try the Bar Room? Voila--OpenTable secured our 8pm reservation. (disclaimer--Chef Kreuther is a friend)

As I started to sit down, I heard someone say "Wilfred!" and it was Chef Floyd Cordoz from Tabla, who--himself--was enjoying quite a nice meal at the Bar Room. Chef Floyd whispered to me "You've got to get the egg" and later I understood why.

I sat down and ordered a cocktail, waiting for my dining companion, Lisa. Gabriel sent out the Alsatian Tarte Flambée which the menu describes as an "Alsatian thin crust tart with crème fraîche, onion and applewood smoked bacon." This was stupendous. "I knew you were a great chef, but I didn't know you could do THIS!" I found myself saying, putting my foot in my mouth but expressing my inner self. The next dish was better than the one before it. We asked the server to pick out some of his favourite menu items and send them out, which he said he'd do in consultation with the chef. I did ask for the liverwurst, which about brought me to my knees. This was the real deal. Words almost fail me but the texture was sublime and the flavour intense. I would definitely get this and the tarte next time I'm there. The steak tartare was very proper--with a quail egg on top. For me, it was a bit bland but the texture excellent. (Hand chopped meat--I cannot take the Hormel type processed texture one finds at some places). But I wanted more spark in the dish. Next! The egg that Chef Floyd recommended was next. The menu describes it as a "Slow Poached Farm Egg 'In a Jar' with Maine lobster, sunchokes and sea urchin froth." The lobster together with the creaminess of the egg was a marriage made in heaven. Now we've got a 3 way tie for dish of the night. Being Dutch, I asked for the wurst--described on the menu as "Homemade Alsatian Country Sausage with sauerkraut and whole grain mustard sauce." The sausage was good, but what really made this dish was the sauerkraut. AMAZING sauerkraut. Heaven. Skip the wurst and just bring me the sauerkraut. OK, you can bring the wurst too. I think that completed the menu they planned, but in the end, we wanted to also try the sweetbreads. They were quite good but not in my top 3 dishes. All went well with a nice Boxler Brand 2005 that we had decanted. I kept asking myself why I had never been to the Bar Room before. Yes, its a bit noisy, but the staff is superb. Belinda Chang is outstanding as a sommelier/wine director but I didn't see her that night. But Gabriel's food, if I may say so, is so terrific. Just as with Halfsteak below, the food at the Bar Room is like a totally different concept/menu/taste etc. from the regular restaurant. It isn't "The Modern Lite"--its a whole style on its own. I never realized that before. Just beware it can be noisy. As an aside, their wine list is great with a huge array of Alsatian wines (the Chef is from Alsace).

Last night I was to meet another friend for dinner, and he suggested Halfsteak--the menu in the lounge at Craftsteak. Being a fan of Craftsteak, and knowing we could order from the regular menu as well in the lounge, I readily agreed. But when my friend arrived, it just seemed easy to both have the Halfsteak menu. Wow. Shane, the chef de cuisine at Craftsteak, totally outdid himself with these creations. The chicken wings with a white BBQ sauce are the best chicken wing's I've had in NYC. (They put the wings at Blue Smoke to shame). They were not greasy but they were tender and succulent. My friend and I even had two orders of these. Next up, my buddy ordered the lamb ribs and again--WOW. Meaty, succulent, and rich in texture and flavour. We ordered the hamburger to share (its about 1/2 or 1/3 the size of a normal hamburger and served cut in half) and I must say--this may be the best burger I've had in NYC--Shake Shack included. Last up, we got the "half steak" which really wasn't half a steak but maybe 1/4 of a steak (as my friend said, "What do you expect for $9?"). But the burger, the wings and the lamb ribs were the hits. As with the Modern, the food at Halfsteak isn't really "Craftsteak lite" (except for the 'Half Steak' on the menu) its different and stands on its own. Again, I asked myself "How come you've been avoiding this all this time?" Truly, next time I go to Craftsteak, I'd probably prefer to order from Halfsteak. Shane was on vacation, but when he gets back, I'm going to praise his efforts because he has created something wonderful here.

Bar menus. Who'da thunk it?

I ate in the Main Room back in May but wrote ahead to request the egg - if possible - in the dining room. They obliged me and it was amazing. Even more "wowing" - Chef Kreuther (I'm not a friend) went out of his way to send me a complimentary "Tartare of Yellowfin Tuna and Diver Scallops Seasoned with Yellowstone River Caviar" when he heard of my unique request. Great meal - someplace I'll definitely head back to on my next NYC trip.

They're so friendly there--it was my first time in the Bar Room and not having met any of the staff before--they were terrific.

Next time you're there, try the Bar Room and see what you think. Its a lot more noisy than the main restaurant but the food is--to me--even better.

I lived in NYC for 12 years and had only been to the main restaurant, to my own detriment. Can't wait to go back to the Bar Room part.

Now I'm thinking about that egg and lobster again

Wow - I am bummed because Mrs. Davooda and I were in NYC last week and this kind of food is right up our alley! But I couldn't take my laptop so I had no way to check LTH. These places will definitely make the list for the next trip, though! Thanks for posting!

DutchMuse - if good pub grub is what you seek, you might enjoy Freeman's Restaurant in the Bowery (see my post). We had a really good lunch there on Friday 9/4.

Davooda

For haute bar food in NYC, Gramercy Tavern has always been my choice. Not only is the food delicious, but there is something magical about that room which achieves a dichotomous balance of quintessential New York ambience and absolute serenity. I have a hard time leaving NYC without a visit to Gramercy Tavern, and often go more than once even if I'm visiting for just a short weekend..

Thanks for the recommendations, guys! I will try Freeman's and Kenny, I love Gramercy. As with The Modern until last week, I have not eaten in the informal part of Gramercy--just the main restaurant. But no doubt see what I'm missing? I will have to hit it up soon.

Lisa, my dining companion, and I were speaking today and she, spontaneously said, "I can't get that meal at the Bar Room (Modern) out of my mind--I want to go back!"

DutchMuse wrote: I have not eaten in the informal part of Gramercy--just the main restaurant. But no doubt see what I'm missing?

Certain dishes, like the house cured pastrami with pickled cauliflower, can be had only in the tavern room (though I suppose they'd bring it to the main room if one really wanted it). That pastrami is probably the best I've ever had, and it's only something like 9 bucks.

The main-room lunch at Gramercy is a steal, they are super accomidating, and Nancy's desserts are surreal.

We did freemans this weekend. Similar vibe to the Bristol. We had a group of six so were able to make a reservation. We had a good time, but I'm not sure I would fight the crowds to wait for a table. The space is quirky and the bowery alley location is fun. I did enjoy the selection or rye and brandy cocktails but didn't think the food was that special. But my brother-in-law loves it, so you may as well.

also in the spirit of upscale bar food, we did DBGB in the bowery. I highly recommend. The food was great, excellent beer list (like 50 draft beers, alot of which I had only seen in a bottle at other places) and fun burgers. We did the shellfish tower, which was one of the best: east and west oysters, maine clams, razor clams, mussels, tuna ceviche, whitefish salad, crab claws, a whole maine lobster and shrimp cocktail. They also have about 15 housemade sausages. We did the italian, the hot dog, the cheese brat and then duck with gizzard (my fave, but not everyone at the table enjoyed the gizzard). We finished with burgers all around. Not a cheap meal, but about a fourth of the price of Daniel.

In a coincidence, some friends and I went to DBGB two nights ago. It was my first visit, and I enjoyed it, but wasn't thrilled with it. We ordered wine (we were with a wine critic and editor of a wine magazine) and everyone was excited after viewing the wine list--lots of interesting, quirky wines fairly priced. As I said to one friend, "These wines certainly aren't paint by number wines." The food was ok but I didn't think anything special. I got the sausage duo for my main course--the blood sausage was quite good. The veal sausage was merely average, and it was served over sauteed carrots which were plain and tasted like something my grandmother might have made. To start, I had a chopped salad, which was, again, good (better than ok but not great). We got the charcouterie plate to start--a tasting of several examples they had. Everything was good.

The server seemed new to the game and didn't have command of the menu. We had intended to have the charcouterie plate first with our sparkling wine while we chatted. Instead, the charcouterie was served with the first course (salads) so everyone had both a salad and the charcouterie. In all, it was enjoyable, no real complaints, but no reason to run back right away.

Prices were fair. As to the comment about being 1/4 the price of Daniel, yes (probably 1/10 the price really if you factor in wine), but no resemblance. There's no M. Boulud touching your plate here as he would at Restaurant Daniel.