Quick Sunday Lunch Question -- Bar at Ma Peche or Modern Bar Room?

[Marty L.]

Late lunch for one or two today. Haven't been to either. Only the bar is open at Ma Peche. (Does that make it more like Momofuku Noodle Bar, which I know and love?) Is this an apples and, uh, peaches comparison? Favorite dishes at each place? Thanks in advance

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Momofuku Noodle Bar
171 1st Ave, New York, NY 10003

Ma Peche
15 W 56th St, New York, NY 10019

[Cheeryvisage]

Other dishes from The Modern Bar Room I enjoyed: Alsatian Country Soup, Spice-Dusted Organic Squab, Coffee Caramel Dome.

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The Modern
9 West 53rd Street, New York, NY 10019

[kathryn]

The bar at Ma Peche is a separate room, on a separate level from the rest of the restaurant. You may find yourself dining with perhaps 2-3 other tables. It's pretty quiet during Sunday lunch in my experience. Also there's no windows.

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Ma Peche
15 W 56th St, New York, NY 10019

[Marty L.]

And therefore not recommended, Kathryn?

[kathryn]

Well you had asked if it was anything like Momofuku Noodle Bar....atmosphere/crowd-wise, definitely not.

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Momofuku Noodle Bar
171 1st Ave, New York, NY 10003

[ellenost]

I adore Ma Peche, but find the bar menu too limited to get a great idea of how delicious the food really is. I've been to the Modern Bar Room, and liked some of the dishes; my favorite was the beignets. I have an idea: go to Ma Peche and get the steamed pork buns (same as Noodle Bar) or the rice noodles, and then go to the Modern Bar Room for the beignets.

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The Modern
9 West 53rd Street, New York, NY 10019

Ma Peche
15 W 56th St, New York, NY 10019

[Marty L.]

ooh, good thought, since the idea is to end up at MOMA. But are the beignets all that? I mean, how much can one do to distinguish fried, sugared dough, anyway? How about pork buns followed by duck breast and beignets?

[ellenost]

I was disappointed with the small portion of duck breast at The Modern Bar Room (especially since it's listed on the page with the more substantial dishes). The beignets were really good though (and probably the only reason I'd return to The Bar Room).

[uwsister]

Yeah, I was disappointed with the portion size of duck breast too. It was delicious, but it's also teeny tiny, and I don't complain about portion sizes often.

Beighnets are indeed amazing though - basically I don't think you can go wrong with almost any dessert at the Bar Room at the Modern.

[kathryn]

They are. They are fried perfectly. Not too heavy or greasy or sugary. They are very light and puffy. I've had similar desserts elsewhere (like Aldea) and their versions are nowhere near as light. And the ice creams provided as dipping sauces are top notch.

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Aldea
31 West 17th Street, New York, NY 10011

[FoodDabbler]

Although it's odd for me to be singing praises of Ma Peche to you, I've found several of their Sunday lunch dishes to be very good, and very good value for money. It's true that you don't get a feeling for the creativity of the dinner menu, but you still get excellent food. You can eat well there for much less than at Bar Modern even if you stray beyond the pork buns.

Of course, you're right that the beignets at Bar Modern are always a good idea.

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Ma Peche
15 W 56th St, New York, NY 10019