Danny Meyer sure knows how to do Restaurant Week. We've tried his restaurants in the past and they are some of the hardest reservations during RW. So when we sidled up to the packed bar at The Modern's Bar Room last week for just a drink and found out they were serving the menu at the bar, it was no surprise that we were tempted into ordering.
At his restaurants, the restaurant week menu is all they serve. Choices are plentiful and interesting, usually drawn from the regular menu. It seems like they want you to have a good time and truly want to show off the restaurants to those who may not have had the chance - or the means - to try it otherwise. At the Bar Room, the menu had around 10 choices in each category (fewer for dessert) and from what we sampled, you couldn't go wrong.
At his restaurants, the restaurant week menu is all they serve. Choices are plentiful and interesting, usually drawn from the regular menu. It seems like they want you to have a good time and truly want to show off the restaurants to those who may not have had the chance - or the means - to try it otherwise. At the Bar Room, the menu had around 10 choices in each category (fewer for dessert) and from what we sampled, you couldn't go wrong.
Ah, but first the drinks. We were big fans of the New Brunswick (Rittenhouse Rye, Grapefruit, Lillet Rouge and Grapefruit Bitters, $12), and the Bessie's Fizz (Plymouth Sloe and Dry Gin, Rosewater, Egg Whites and Soda, $14). The sparkling Cremant d'Alsace - a reasonable $11 a glass - also went down easy. The A/Viation (Veev Acai Liqueur, Aviation Gin, Creme de Violette and Lemon), on the other hand, was a total miss and was quickly replaced by another New Brunswick.
We ordered the delicious tarte flambe, a signature dish that we expected to come in restaurant week size (read: small) but didn't and was generously studded with bacon bits, and a silky, well seasoned and overall excellent steak tartar that could inspire poetry. We enjoyed both the duck confit and homemade sausage with sauerkraut, though we found portions skimpy. The modern cheesecake came out ahead of the apple strudel. And there were a couple of bread options, including mini baguettes.
Now if only more restaurants actually took the time to make Restaurant Week something worth talking about. Yes, we're looking at you Oceana.
We ordered the delicious tarte flambe, a signature dish that we expected to come in restaurant week size (read: small) but didn't and was generously studded with bacon bits, and a silky, well seasoned and overall excellent steak tartar that could inspire poetry. We enjoyed both the duck confit and homemade sausage with sauerkraut, though we found portions skimpy. The modern cheesecake came out ahead of the apple strudel. And there were a couple of bread options, including mini baguettes.
Now if only more restaurants actually took the time to make Restaurant Week something worth talking about. Yes, we're looking at you Oceana.
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