Gramercy Tavern

I love family birthdays. My dad is having a birthday next week, which means that I am able to talk my parents into coming to a restaurant of my choice that I normally wouldn’t be able to/want to pay to go to. My choice for Dad’s birthday was a restaurant that has been around since 1994 that I know is good yet have never been able to eat at: Gramercy Tavern.

Up until this point I had actually been to every one of Danny Meyer’s restaurants except for Gramercy Tavern. Given the hype generated by the food of new Chef Michael Anthony, and the general comfort I associate with Danny Meyer restaurants, I thought dinner at Gramercy Tavern would be a logical choice for a birthday celebration.

Despite much anticipation (which in my case usually leads to a letdown when dining out) the restaurant lived up to my expectations. Although pricey, I found that the food came as advertised—refined and perfectly executed while being rustic and fiercely seasonal at the same time. Chef Anthony comes from Blue Hill and the Dan Barber way of thinking where if something isn’t growing, it.s not on the menu. With this mantra, winter menus might seem sort of dull, but I found chef Anthony’s menu extremely satisfying. My smoked trout appetizer was warm and tender, full flavored and smoky and had just enough of a kick provided by a pickled red onion vinaigrette to bring all the flavors together, It was about as good as smoked fish can get. My mom’s Pappardelle with beef ragu and scallions was juicy and satisfying with the scallions again keeping the appetizer from being too heavy.

For the entrees, I really enjoyed my venison cooked sous vide served in a bowl over cannelloni beans, garlic spiked venison kielbasa, sunchokes and swiss chard. The venison was melt in your mouth tender and was accented by the awesomely flavorful house made kielbasa. Mom had a perfectly cooked striped bass and dad have the smoked lobster over pasta with a saffron broth which I enjoyed but thought could have been a bit less chewy. In addition to the beautifully presented dishes, I really enjoyed the fact that several of them were served in bowls with broths or sauces that ensured no loss of flavor and provided a nice spot for dipping a crusty piece of bread.

How does Gramercy Tavern stack up to other Danny Meyer restaurants? Without having died in the main dining room at The Modern (I’ve been to the bar room several times) I would say that the quality of the food is above that of Tabla and Union Square Café and most equivalent in quality to Eleven Madison Park. However, while Daniel Humm’s food at Eleven MP might be readily described as flashy or daring, chef Anthony’s food is much more comforting. Its grounded in good flavors and good ingredients prepared exquisitely well. I’m not sure if one is better but they’re definitely different. The grandiose décor large windows and high ceilings of Eleven Madison Park scream once in a lifetime experience while the wood beam ceilings, wood paneled floors and freshly cut flowers make Gramercy Tavern feel like a comfortable place to escape to. If I was trying to impress someone I would take them to Eleven Madison Park while Gramercy Tavern is the kind of place I’d take someone who I’ve already impressed several times and want to keep satisfied.

I’m actually intrigued to see how Gramercy Tavern stacks up to Blue Hill, Chef Anthony’s former restaurant and the place where I will be eating Friday night. Both restaurants, along with Telepan uptown, appear to be leading the way in the farm to plate movement and are serving the best seasonal produce dished up by some of New York’s top chefs. I’m interested to see how they all compare.

Restaurant Review: The Bar Room at The Modern

This is the first formal review I have written in some time. Before I start, let me explain why. First, I tend to only review places that I really like to go to. Why is this? Since I am not a professional, I have to eat on my own dime, thus the only places that I go often enough to warrant a credible, well thought out review tend to be places I like. At this point in my life I wouldn’t want to spend money at a place that I didn’t like to go to enough times to write a credible review.

I was first drawn to the Bar Room at The Modern as I was browsing through restaurants that offered summer Restaurant Week Dinner. The Bar Room, a Danny Meyer Restaurant, headed by Alsatian born Chef Gabriel Kreuther (Jean-Georges and Atelier) immediately caught my eye. I remembered reading the New York Times review several months ago and found it fascinating that the Modern Bar Room garnered one more star than The Modern Dining Room, the much fussier, more formal restaurant that shares a location and kitchen with The Bar Room.

The menu which has three sections of about 10 choices each, offers courses served hot or cold in appetizer portions and what the restaurant calls half sized entrée portions. The most expensive item is $28 dollars, but most of the menu items range from about $12 to $19 dollars. Not only does the Alsatian themed menu offer a plethora of interesting choices, like the deliciously creamy and rich ‘poached egg in a jar’ with lobster and asparagus and the perfectly cooked charred octopus with complimenting salsa verde and crispy capers, but it also offers several ‘safer’ more traditional choices. The tomato and almond gazpacho appetizer was about as good as I believe gazpacho can be, with the almonds adding sweetness, and taking enough acidity away from the tomato to let the rouget stand out and add a little more heartiness and texture to the soup. A duck confit I had on one visit was also more substantial than the title ‘half size entrée’ would indicate and was perfectly crispy on the outside with a soft center and frisee to help the palate enjoy the richness of the duck without letting it get overwhelming.


The pricing and portion size of the dishes also offer the diner some versatility and help make planning a meal a little more fun. Most restaurants with food of this caliber have appetizers in the same range but offer entrees in full portions for higher prices. I can definitely eat a lot if I need to but I felt perfectly sated with one appetizer, one half size entrée, one dessert and a little extra money in my wallet. I even think that one could compose a meal by choosing three of the twenty appetizers, or if there is something too good to be passed up (and there are several on this menu), splitting an appetizer, ordering another and having an entrée. I did this on a recent visit and was able to split the seared foie gras, perfectly salted and crisply crust with the texture and taste of savory clouds on the inside. The accompanying candied walnuts and fruit chutney helped, in various proportions, make the foie gras add sweetness and crunchiness to the foie.

The décor and location of the Bar Room also make it a place where an eclectic mix of people can commingle and feel comfortable whether it be for a date, a business meeting, or a simple dinner with the parents. I have a friend who goes just to hang out at the bar and sip on a cloying and complex champagne and rosewater cocktail, one of a nice selection including a spicy twist on a margarita with kiwi and jalapeno and a drink that seems to be a mix of all the good parts of a dark and stormy and white Russian minus any milk. The long hallway and interior of the Bar Room are what one would expect of a Danny Meyer/museum collaboration, chic yet thoughtful. The black surfaces of the room are highlighted by a glassy bar and the green back wall with silhouetted trees keep the room from feeling too sedate. The frosted glass windows separating the Bar Room from the Dining Room help lighten up the room and the columns tiled with distorted mirrors help add space without forcing you to watch yourself eat as you sit comfortably in one of the leather office type dining chairs.

I chose to go Back to the Bar room and take friends because not only is the restaurant affordable (especially when entrees at regular restaurants are rising over $30 dollars) but that there is also an eclectic and delicious array of food. The menu truly has something for everyone. Fish lovers can be satisfied by two plump scallops served in a cinnamon scented lobster broth or an upside down tuna tart covered in a crispy tuile, adding much needed crunch to a dish that can be overly mushy. For pig lovers, there is a beer braised pork belly, soft and rich accompanied by a pleasantly acidic and necessary sauerkraut. And red meat lovers can have the perfectly cooked rib eye with a surprisingly light bleu cheese flan or the spice crusted, meltingly good rack of lamb. Those with a sweet tooth also can't miss here. Beignets come fluffy and warm and in a portion large enough to split and taste like a perfectly indulgent breakfast when dipped in caramel and maple ice cream. I also applaud pastry chef Marc Aumont for his use of nuts in his desserts. Pistachios are both elegant, creamy and sweet when stuffed inside a chocolate dome and served alongside as an ice cream. They also make an appearance as a foil for strawberries as part of a lavishly composed macaroon. The hazelnut daquoise is also something I would order again although I like almost anything with hazelnuts inside.

The Bar Room at the Modern is an enjoyable restaurant because it can be so many things to so many different people. The affordable wine list makes the restaurant a great place for a date or to sit at the bar and have a drink with a small plate. The location makes The Bar Room a destination for pre or post theater meals as well as a nice place to enjoy some food after a day at the museum. If that’s not enough, the numerous menu choices all affordably priced provide a place where young people like me can go and sample first rate adventurous cooking or simply enjoy a simple meal at a price that makes you want to come back.