Coffee with Chef Ethan Kostbar

Moderne Barn
430 Bedford Rd, Armonk (914) 730-0001

Dish I Do the Best… I really enjoy starting my day making cheese. It gets me focused.
Drink of Choice… Nothing is better than freshly squeezed orange juice.
Favorite Guilty-Pleasure Food… I am a sucker for Buffalo wings. However, my stomach always regrets it the following day.
If Not a Chef, I’d Be… a basketball player, ideally a point guard. I joke around and place wages with my runners in the kitchen—kids half my age, they laugh at me. But as my lead runner, Hector, knows, I still got game.
Favorite Culinary Utensil… My Korin brand knife—it’s so versatile.
Last Book Read Moneyball—amazing!
Favorite Place to Dine Out… I really enjoyed my last meal at Tarry Lodge.
I Hate It When a Diner at My Restaurant… asks for freebies. We are a business, not a charity.
What Diners Don’t Know But Should… Restaurants have a lot of variables. For example, my grill cook’s mother passed away in the middle of our biggest Saturday-night service. Of course, he was sent home, and the quality of the food took a hit. How do I explain this to a customer?
I Never Cook with… anything I wouldn’t eat myself.
The Toughest or Craziest Part of My Job Is… babysitting my kids—oh, I mean employees.
TV Show I’d Like to be on… Pawn Stars on the History Channel, love it! I don’t watch too many cooking shows. I would rather read books on the topic.
The Strangest Request from a Diner… A patron ordered a lobster and asked that it be a female.
The Worst Incident Ever That Occurred in a Restaurant… Not at Moderne Barn, but a diner’s death during a dinner service.
Favorite Late-Night Snack… Bourbon
Favorite Pain Reliever… Do you really want me to answer that question?

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