How is The Modern these days? I haven’t eaten there in several years, but remembering having a few really enjoyable meals in the bar room. If it’s still good, that could be an option.
Modern bar room.
you should stop by just to see the kitchen renovation. it’s the size of an airplane hangar and absolutely stunning.
and easy to get a reservation!
savage.
Ate there a few weeks ago, during the week, as walk-ins. Very very good. Only downside is that it’s a bit noisy, but par for the course in Manhattan.
If you are looking for uptown how about Flora at the Met Breuer
Really beautiful space, very good food and wine list. Not too showy but still a NYC experience.
great call. estela with an uptown vibe.
Never been to The Modern, but I always do “brunch” at The Bar Room at The Modern before going to MoMA. Love it!
I’ve been to Ousia a couple times now and really enjoyed it. It is a fairly new restaurant on W 57th. Good place to share a bunch of plates. They have a long list of Greek wines at what seems reasonable prices if that is of interest. Also $30 corkage if Greek wines are not your thing.
Speaking of whiney and unpredictable did you catch his wholly gratuitous snipes at Jungsik? I wanted to slap him about the head after those lines.
I needed to find a place midtown in the 50s for a business dinner so I decided to try Empellón Midtown. When I arrived the front bar area was packed for happy hour and the noise level was deafening. I asked for the quietest table possible but unfortunately my client was already there and seated. The happy hour crowd was so loud it ruined the meal. The food was not very good and in my opinion not really appropriate for a midtown business meal type of place. Who wants to share food and eat tacos in a suit with clients?? I have no interest in ever going back. So much for finding a decent midtown spot to replace Rouge Tomate…
Check out Bevy inside the Park Hyatt. Just opened last month.
robert
do you like any of the downtown empellons?
I like the one in the East Village. Although not enough to fit it into my rotation.
On a more pleasant note today I discovered that you can order lunch from Dominque Ansel through Trycaviar and it is outstanding! Small menu but all interesting choices and very good. And delivered to my office!
50s is tough… In that vicinity there’s always Nobu (for that particular business meeting), Ma Peche, Le Bernardin Cafe/Aldo Sohm, Benjamin’s (in the 40s), Hatsuhana, and PJ Clarkes…
Similar views based on my experience this evening. Terrific lotus root, somewhat bland beef tartare. Corn/bacon/cheese was like something off a kids menu but the squid was lovely. I really liked the octopus but while I liked the mackerel it didn’t wow me. Seaweed rice was delicious. And the ginger panna cotta was perhaps the best thing I ate all evening.
A lively buzzy room and lovely service. I guess I was expecting to be wowed a little more than I was, which sounds a bit churlish but based on this evening, Wells’s two star review looks about right. Enjoyable and I’ll happily go back.
Terribly loud and food, overall, is fairly average IMHO. Also quite expensive for what it is. The most quiet tables in the place are upstairs. I’ve gone three times and probably that’s my limit. Won’t likely be going back as its just too average but expensive. Last time I went four of us dined there and with drinks (no wine) it was, with tip, around $500.00. For tacos?
the bar room at the Modern was really nice, ate there last week as a walk-in for a late brunch before going to MoMA. great wine program, it was cool to see they had 2 Master Sommeliers on their staff. Extensive wine list with a great selection of half bottles and wines by the glass. all the cooking was at a high level, refined and well done. Not too crazy or loud at all, albeit this was a Sunday afternoon. And it’s in the mid 50s/midtown.
Contra was exceptional, again. Really enjoyed the wine pairing, and though they have a limited bar, they had great cocktails. Given the relatively low price of the prix fixe ($74 per person), one of the great deals for fine dining in the city. The $10 cheese supplement was absolutely worth it, to me.
Atoboy was a lot of fun, we were there before the NY Times review had hit so it wasn’t too crazy. I was surprised by the Pete Wells review, it was actually pretty accurate and fair, I thought, though I would love to see Jonathan Gold visit and write about it since he has such a deep understanding of Korean food. I did enjoy the wine list and had a glass of riesling and Oregon pinot – it’s put together by the manager/chef’s wife Ellia, who was very gracious. Their soju cocktails were very nice; I was skeptical thinking it would be with Chamisul/Fresh or other generic ktown-kind of soju but they use a more artisanal rice-based soju with a deep flavor. The seaweed special rice was exceptional, my better half doesn’t normally eat rice but she cleaned out the bowl. the apple kimchi was one of the most striking things, to me – it looked exactly like radish kimchi but had the sweetness of apples. Overall, it was one of the most surprising and enjoyable meals of our trip, and I’m grateful that you guys hyped it up – Ellia had asked how we knew about the restaurant, and we said that we had heard about it on a wine forum 
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Anybody been to Upland lately? We’re invited to a dinner party in June. Any thoughts on food or wine welcome! TIA.
I’ve been a few times in the last year Peter.
Great atmosphere, always enjoy the vibe there. Corkage friendly ($25 iirc?). In terms of menu items, I think there is some variation depending on your palate but here are some of my favorites:
- Flatbread pizzas: nice but not really my thing. I prefer Neopolitana, but they are good for what they are (a bit pricey though)
- Seared Octopus: nice
- Bucatini: must order there
- Papradelle: very nice if you like the kale/sausage (one of their flavors)
- cioppino: was a fan
- Duck: also enjoyed this dish