Darin Oswald/Idaho Statesman
At first glance, the Modern Hotel’s bar seems all cocktail lounge and conversation.
It shares the lean, retro-chic look of the boutique hotel that houses it. Once a threadbare, ’60s-era Travelodge, the Modern Hotel and Bar opened two years ago as a self-described “luxury shelter for the urban traveler.”
With a 30-foot walnut bar staffed with black-shirted bartenders, a clutch of plexiglass tables, a small outdoor patio and the progressive pulse of the staff’s iPod playlists, the bar has the lux-shelter thing pegged. Young professionals appear to be particularly attracted to the vibe of this Linen District hangout and the fresh, often inventive cocktails it serves.
The Modern’s bar also offers a food menu – and that menu is worth a look.
You could call this light array of dishes bar food, but it is unique and crafted as carefully as the hotel itself. A staff member summed it up more crisply than I could: “There’s not a chicken wing in sight.”
There is, however, a tartine platter ($12), a French version of bruschetta that arrives like an edible game of tic-tac-toe: nine grilled bread squares on a white platter separated by grid lines built of a dense balsamic reduction. It’s smile-inducing and a little arty. With each order you choose three of six possible toppings. I tried brie with apple and fig paste; creamy ricotta and chorizo; and roasted red pepper, goat cheese and olive tapenade. All were delicious, the rich brie playing off the sweet fig, the red pepper contrasting the goat cheese É and that chorizo and ricotta – well, I could have wolfed a second platter if I hadn’t already ordered several other dishes.
Food and beverage manager Remi Courcenet says the tartine platter and the clams and chorizo ($12) are his two most popular dishes. He and chef Sean Campbell Brennan, who’s formerly of MilkyWay and Tapas Estrella, designed the menu to accompany the bar’s drinks but also to stand on its own.
“You can definitely have a full meal if you like,” says Courcenet. “You can have an appetizer, a nice salad, a sandwich, cheese and dessert. We really wanted to keep the menu small, but interesting.”
They’ve succeeded. The cumin guacamole ($8) is a generous but genteel mound of very fresh, coarsely chopped avocado that arrives on a narrow oval plate with little else than a hint of cumin, a drizzle of creme fraiche and chips dusted lightly with cayenne. Compared to the mountains of avocado, sour cream, processed cheese and canned salsa you’ll find at too many Mexican restaurants, it’s austere, but the Modern’s take is as refined as its setting and lets the clear, clean flavors of fresh ingredients speak for themselves. (Courcenet says they buy as much produce as they can from local sources like Urbane Farms and Peaceful Belly Farms and will change the menu as the seasons dictate.)
With a light, almost floral broth, mushroom barley soup ($6) was another example of the simple but pleasurable dishes this small kitchen delivers. More substantial, though, were the panini sandwiches ($8); there was a chicken and mozzarella panini, a proscuitto and brie panini – and a vegetarian with roasted artichokes, red peppers, red onion and pesto that I found creamy, crunchy, and totally enjoyable. Alongside was a bright green, organic salad with almonds and sliced green apple.
I was less enamored of the nicoise salad ($8). It wasn’t bad (apart from a rubbery boiled egg); it just lacked the creative spark I found in the other menu items – like the chocolate mousse ($5). Served in a coffee cup with a dollop of whipped cream and a chocolate “M” perched on top, that dessert was worth a return trip on its own.
If this is bar food, it elevates the genre, and maybe more importantly, adds a needed touch of tasty eccentricity to Downtown Boise.
For full story go to: http://www.idahostatesman.com/204/story/864886.html
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Guy Hand is a writer, public radio producer and photographer specializing in food and agriculture.
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