:a_Top:
The WBC was long overdue for a more sophisticated brunch. Enter Moderne Barn in Armonk. Sophisticated? Yes. Affordable? Yes. Leisurely? Yes. Horses? Yes. Wait, what?
And, as with any WBC meal, we all learned something valuable this day. Today’s lesson: a vocal jazz cover of “Under the Bridge” by the Red Hot Chili Peppers is not a good idea, and shouldn’t be played as background music to brunch.
But that aside, we had a great time. How great, you ask? Only one way to find out…
Attendees: :jump_to_Sylvia:, :jump_to_Jeff:, :jump_to_Reid:, :jump_to_Shelley:
:a_Sylvia:
It has been a long time since the WBC had a proper sit down breakfast. A very long time. So, to make up for the bust that was last weekend’s snow storm, I decided we should go somewhere nicer. We needed a leisurely brunch so we could play catch up.
The Moderne Barn is very nice. The interior is open but warm. But, with such an open space, noise inevitably becomes a bit of an issue. The restaurant wasn’t full, but the ambient noise while we were dining was definitely much more noticeable.
I had a lot of trouble deciding what to eat. After coffee was served and delicious little corn bread Madeleines were noshed on (super Madeleines, really), I ended up deciding on the Vegetarian Frittata. I really debated getting a side of sausage, but with a side of sausage coming in at $7, I figured I should stick to the vegetarian front.
The frittata was substantial. It was cooked just right, where the egg was still moist in the middle and the edges had a slight crisp. It was chock-full of veggies as promised with enough tarragon and goat cheese to give it flavor without any addition of salt or pepper necessary. The side of greens was not the most spectacular. The leaves were huge and super lightly dressed.
For dessert, I ordered the Apple Crisp, which was served with a very well scooped ball of Amaretto Ice Cream. The amaretto ice cream was good and on top of the apple crisp, it made the whole dessert simply divine. The apples were sweet, but still retained a little of that apple tartness. The crisp portion consisted of rolled oats, brown sugar, and toasted almond slivers. Awesomeness in a ramekin.
The czar says: At these prices, definitely not an everyday affair. But, for a special occasion (day or night…looks really promising for a special night out), I recommend Moderne Barn.
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:a_Jeff:
It’s been a while since I’ve written a review. I’ve been rather busy with school, but I have a little free time now so I’ll write a review for Moderne Barn.
This place is on the corner of a misplaced strip mall next to the Armonk fire department. There’s a fancy “e” at the end of Moderne. I guess it cost a lot for them to do that since they’re charging 3 dollars for a cup of so-so coffee. The inside is a really nice open dinning room with really high ceilings and the walls are adorned with photos of horses. It also seems like they shoehorned the tables into the booths. My foot was constantly dealing with the oversized foot of the table. But, I suppose I should talk about the food.
I ordered the pig on pig meal. I think it was called the “Hungover Piggie”. It was a stuffed pork tenderloin wrapped in bacon topped with some sort of egg. It looked like one of those smaller eggs. Pheasant? Who knows? I also ordered coffee, which, as I mentioned before, cost 3 dollars. It was diner coffee in nice cups. I don’t think it was worth 3 dollars.
The plentiful pork platter was just too much pork. It was well cooked and seasoned, but still, too much pork. I suppose at the time I didn’t realize it. I was starving, so I ate the whole thing. Afterwards, I felt heavy in the stomach.
We wrapped up this 2 hour brunch with dessert. Yum yum, dessert. I had the Crème Brulee 3 ways. This was perfect. I love crème brulee. There’s something about the sugar on top and the creamy custard underneath that makes me happy.
Overall, the food was good, but not worth the heavy price tag. I wouldn’t make this into a frequent breakfast outing. I don’t think I’ll ever go back here mainly based on the price.
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:a_Reid:
The Case: The Moderne Barn v. The Westchester Breakfast Club
The Venue: The far end of Armonk, off King Street.
The Facts: The Moderne Barn adds the extra “e” for fanc-e. Or perhaps the extra “e” is for “Emergency Exit Door,” which is how one enters the Moderne Barn. Given the size and majesty of the restaurant, it is somewhat bizzarre how much effort the owners seem to put into hiding it from the public. While a sign for the “Moderne Barn Wine & Spirits” shop is prominently displayed to those in both the front and rear parking lots, I could detect no sign telling me where the food was. Instead, I had to eventually find what felt like an emergency egress, complete with push-bar opener, and sneak in that way. I still have no idea whether it even has a main entrance. (Update: It does. It’s in the front. Reid just didn’t see it.)
Also, while the decor was nice, there were some extremely creepy aspects to the experience. For example, immediately above our heads was a huge photograph of what looked like the dessicated corpse of a horse. There was also the somewhat disturbing way that silverware was delivered to the table. Individual place settings would be brought to the table in large wood boxes, only to be handed to us by the box-carrier, who would then carry the box back to the kitchen under his or her arm, as if to drive home the fact that the box had been empty but for my soup spoon, so I’d better be grateful for all the effort they went through to deliver that soup spoon. It made me wonder whether they washed the boxes along with the spoons.
As for the food, it was pretty good. I wasn’t struck by any of the full-meal options, so I decided to go with two appetizers: the lobster bisque and the short ribs. The lobster bisque was creamy, and they were sufficiently generous with the actual lobster chunks to allow me to incorporate solid lobster into many, if not most, of my spoonfuls. The sauce on the ribs was sticky and sweet without being cloying, and the meat absolutely just fell off the bone, without being mushy. Texturally, they were as good as any ribs I’ve had in a long time. The iced tea I ordered was clearly home-made, though it was from a more bitter leaf than I usually prefer in my iced teas. That’s just a matter of personal preference, however, so I won’t hold it against the establishment.
The Verdict: Definitely worth a return trip, maybe to try some actual breakfast food next time.
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:a_Shelley:
You’ll know from the other WBCer’s reviews what we think about the “e” on the end of “Moderne.” You’ll know about the horse photos. You’ll know about the entrance and exit. So I’ll try to discuss some things that you haven’t already heard about.
Moderne Barn in Armonk is run by the Livanos Restaurant Group, the same group that runs, among other places, City Limits in White Plains. However, there’s no trace of City Limits in Moderne Barn. When I think of City Limits the key phrases that come to mind are art deco, family-friendly, laid-back. When I think of Moderne Barn, the key phrases that comes to mind are adult-friendly, sophisticated farm country retreat. The interior is gorgeous, warmed by wall-to wall wood, with a sprawling first level and a more intimate second level (there was a private party being held on the second level on the day we went for brunch). There is an expansive wine selection on the second floor. (There is also a separate “Moderne Barn Wines & Spirits” shop right next door to the restaurant.)
Too bad the WBC doesn’t take wine with our brunch. Instead, we were brought a bottle of, in our waiter’s words, “Armonk’s Finest”–water, that is.
Another big difference between City Limits and Moderne Barn is serving time. Whereas at City Limits service is prompt, consistent with City Limits’ billing as a diner, at Moderne Barn it’s decidedly more…leisurely. Very leisurely. Yup, it was another 2 hour WBC brunch.
Some of Moderne Barn’s brunch offerings provide a twist on a traditional meal. Want pancakes? Well, you can have pineapple upside down pancakes. French Toast? It comes stuffed with caramelized bananas, toasted almonds, chocolate hazlenut, and lemon butter. Instead of steak & eggs you can get Biscuits and Short Ribs, which comes with a poached egg. There are some more standard items, like a scrambled egg platter, a fritatta, and an omelette. And then there’s the meat fest known as the Hungover Piggie (see Jeff’s review). Wanting a traditional dish, I ordered The Westchester platter, which was made up of scrambled eggs, sausage, bacon (that’s right, both!), and multigrain toast.
Now, I know I usually complain when toast comes pre-buttered. I’ve always maintained that toast should be served dry so that the diner can add (or not add) butter, jam, jelly, whatever to his or her heart’s desire. However, the key here is that the restaurant should actually provide the condiments. My toast indeed came dry, but it was very dry, and perhaps a bit over-toasted. No dish of butter was brought to our table. I had to get the attention of one of the servers and ask for butter. What we were brought was a very small slab for three of us to share for our toast. I think a small plate should be brought automatically with any dish that comes with toast.
Enough about the toast, on to the rest of the food.
The platter was OK, but what I’ve learned about myself is that sausage and bacon is simply too much. Some people can handle both kinds of breakfast meats at the same time. Those people are usually decidely more manly than me. I had the sausage, but shared my bacon with the more manly members of the WBC. (Reid never turns down bacon and Jeff never turns down any kind of food.) The sausage was moist and well-seasoned. The bacon was, for me, too greasy. The eggs were well-scrambled and fluffy, but a bit too salty for my personal liking.
And then it was time for dessert. I was torn between the trio of creme brulee or the Tahitian vanilla bean cheesecake. In the end the cheesecake won out, partly because Jeff was getting the creme brulee and offered to share. However, when my cheesecake arrived I was so happy with it that I forgot completely about any other dessert option. Creme brulee who? This cheesecake was my soulmate. Ok, ok, that’s a litte dramatic. But it was very good. Rather than a slice it was a small circle, which made me feel like I had a little personal cheesecake all to myself. The cheesecake was smooth and creamy and the vanilla bean flavoring was quite subtle, not the overpowring punch of vanilla that you’ll find in vanilla bean cheesecake from some other places. The graham cracker bottom was buttery and crumbly. And the cheesecake was accompanied by a grape compote. It’s a combination I wouldn’t have thought of, but it worked very well.
Brunch prices are moderate, but you certainly get your money’s worth given the beautiful atmosphere of Moderne Barn. The Westchester platter was $12 and all of the desserts were $8. Moderne Barn is a nice retreat for a large party or for date night (or date afternoon, if you’re going for brunch). You’ll feel like you’re in a swanky place but the prices won’t deplete your bank account.
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