Owned by the Livanos family of restaurateurs behind Oceana, Abboccato, and Molyvos in New York City, Moderne Bar has become a firm favorite of both locals and New Yorkers fleeing the city since opening in Armonk in New York State in the summer of 2010. The menu by executive chef Ethan Kostbar, which puts a “New American” on Mediterranean-style cuisine, is part of the draw, as is the fine array of local spirits and craft beers. For the wine-lover, though, it’s the superb international wine list put together by wine director Matthew Christoff and sommelier Edgar Balagot that is the star attraction.
Neatly arranging their list by grape variety and region, Christoff and Balagot say they want to represent “cutting edge winemakers from up-and-coming growing areas, as well as benchmark producers of classic regions.” And this they achieve in fine style on a list where Txomin Etxaniz Getariako Txakolina, from Basque Spain and Slovenia’s Movia Veliko Rosso rub shoulders with California’s Ridge and Bordeaux’s Château Margaux.