The problem with fine restaurants is that the name chef is often far from the stoves. Not so at the Modern, where chef Phillip Becht is even there for brunch. Seriously, Becht is often to be found in the kitchen spooning creamy white sausage gravy onto buttery golden biscuits and peering over plates of pancakes at the assembled hordes. Any restaurant insider will tell you that cooking brunch is considered the purview of rank novices or others with dues to pay. After all, the name chef has salsa deals to ink and personal appearances to make! That's largely what makes going to the Modern such a delight: Chef Becht has a work ethic from a previous generation. He believes in work as a privilege and the opportunity to provide hospitality as a gift from heaven, and this ethos shows on his plates. Becht may never have his name on a line of canned soups, but we think he's a star in a much more meaningful way: He's an emblem of hard work and integrity in a world that seems to have abandoned those unprofitable ideas.