A Culinary Treasure in an Iconic Museum
By Kim Marcus
"New York’s Museum of Modern Art is one of the nation’s premier cultural institutions. Its galleries contain masterworks by leading contemporary artists from throughout the world. It is also home to one of the city’s culinary treasures, aptly called the Modern.
It’s hard not to be inspired in a dining room defined by a towering wall of windows framing the museum’s sculpture garden, which features works by Joan Miró, Henri Matisse and Pablo Picasso. Yet the Modern, which opened in 2005, doesn’t rely merely on its sublime setting.
Under the leadership of dining impresario Danny Meyer, the Modern is the flagship of his Union Square Hospitality Group, which includes Gramercy Tavern and the soon-to-reopen Union Square Cafe. And after a major refitting in the past two years—including new staffers in executive chef Abram Bissell, wine director Michaël Engelmann and general manager Simon King—the Modern is making a strong bid for a place at the top of New York’s dining firmament."