The Bar Room at The Modern

I met Tamara for a drink at The Bar Room at The Modern the other day. I'd been there once before for dinner at The Modern with my uncle and other "adults". They have a fantastic Prix Fixe dinner for $85—which now strangely seems reasonable after having dinner at The London! That was a year and many meals ago though, so the only thing I really remember was that I ordered the foie gras terrine to start and proceeded to feel sheer envy when my uncle's Reisling poached foie gras was set in front of him. The poached foie gras just looked so succulent and delicious ... Food envy. Always happens to me.

This time around, there was no foie gras on the table. We sat at the bar with vino for Tam and Brooklyn Six Points lager for me—there's still nothing quite like beer at the end of a long, hot Summer day. The service at the bar was gracious and attentive. At some point I got the munchies so we also ordered upside down tuna tartare with fennel, Japanese cucumber and aioli. I'm all about textures when so eat so I really loved the crisp topping, tender tuna chunks, and refreshing cucumber cubes. A very nice app for $17—especially when I remeber the purplish tuna tartare I was once served at The Palace's lobby for pretty much the same price. Ewww. I'd love to come back to The Bar Room to try some more small bites and drinks. And I'd definitely book a spot for restaurant week this Winter!

Where: 9 West 53rd Street between 5th & 6th Avenues, New York, NY.

Upside down tuna tartare with fennel, Japanese cucumber and aioli. Yummm.