In early 2018 Leah and I found ourselves in possession of a bit of extra cash - we saved most of it, but decided to splurge on a special Sunday afternoon meal at Eleven Madison Park, which had recently undergone their major renovation.
As of today, 10/4/19, this was the last time I visited EMP, and though it was still extraordinary, this was my least favorite trip, with the restaurant having continued the changes that I disliked on our previous visit with my parents.
Eleven Madison Park
11 Madison Ave, New York, NY
elevenmadisonpark.com
The new decor was starker and subtler than the old. A bit more modern, a bit less warm. The biggest change was in the bar area, which we visited at the end of the meal.
Black and White
Savory Cookie with Apple and Cheddar
Always happy to see the traditional cookie start off the meal (which still tastes like a fancy Cheez-It and nothing like apple), though we were disappointed that they did not serve the sweet version at the end any longer. The "bookend" concept kinda felt like the whole point.
Cocktails
"Sarsaparilla" - Cognac, Aquavit, Vermouth, Amaro, Cold Brew Coffee
"Seeds" - Mezcal, Genever, Bergamot, Poppy, Lemon Verbana, Pineapple, Whey
Unlike previous visits, where the cocktail menu was basically the same as at the NoMad Bar, the cocktails here were unique to EMP, made specifically with ingredients that appeared in the meal, like "Apple", "Cranberry", and "Kombu". Each ingredient then headlined two different cocktails (so for instance there were two "Apple" cocktails).
My "Sarsaparilla" was rich and complex, with nice herbal notes. Leah's "Seeds" was sweeter and comparable to the super-clear milk punch at Betony that I loved so much.
Scallop
Live with Sea Urchin, Scallop Butter, and Broth
I enjoyed starting the meal with bread and butter rather than having it come in the middle. The bread was their same flaky, croissant-like roll, accompanied by butter made with scallops(!). It was topped with a dark aspic and crunchy bits of black seaweed, making the butter cylinder itself look like a seared scallop. The whole thing was served with a warm cup of rich scallop broth.
The second part of the dish came a little later - raw, lightly dressed scallop and paper-thin slices of daikon draped over uni, all tossed with fresh horseradish and served in a scallop shell. I speculated that the orange uni was meant to mimic the bright orange roe sac that you see when you open an actual scallop. Either way, it was a fantastic dish!
Valverán Brut Sparkling Cider
This Asturian cider was rich and complex, with big apple, wood, and yeasty flavors.
I should mention that our experience with the sommelier wasn't the best. He seemed rushed and inexperienced. We told him we wanted to do a beer pairing with our meal, and, sort of befuddled, he replied, "We don't do beer pairings." Really? We had done just that on a previous visit. He said he could instead make a few selections on our behalf, which we said was fine. It was just that - fine - but not anything close to the service we received previously. Most of the bottles he selected for us were large format, lasting multiple courses, which led to less variety.
Caviar
Benedict with Smoked Ham, Sturgeon, Hollandaise, and English Muffins
The restaurant has been serving minor variations on this dish for several years, including when we went with my parents. It's still amazing and one of my favorite dishes they've ever created. It went really nicely with the robust cider.
Kitchen Tour
We got to see the updated kitchen, which was much more open and well-organized.
Inside, we enjoyed an extra little bite: two conical charcoal-baked shells filled with truffle mousse and topped with crunchy puffed amaranth and a slice of black truffle. It was an incredible treat. I thought I recognized the charcoal as binchotan (high quality Japanese charcoal) due to its long shape and lack of smoke - I asked the young woman preparing the bites if this was the case and she had no idea what I was talking about.
Secret de Château Biac
Tradition (and taste) dictate that a sweeter wine is typically served with foie gras - in this case, our som partially topped off our glasses of cider, then produced a bottle of Château Biac, which he added in to each glass. This produced a pretty cool new flavor, which went wonderfully with the foie gras.
Foie Gras
Seared with Maple and Apple
Marinated with Squash and Pumpkin Seeds
We were each offered one of three options for this course, but we both chose foie gras (duh), opting for one hot and one cold preparation. What can I say? Both were amazing. I'd argue the cold preparation remains EMP's better version, in this case being painstakingly studded with pumpkin seeds. It looked like a baby Lavos from Chrono Trigger!
Trappist Achel 8° Blonde Ale
Our next beer was a rare blonde ale produced by the Achel Trappist monks. We enjoyed it quite a bit, though not as much as our favorite abbey-produced beer, Trappist Rochefort.
Lobster
Butter-Poached with Butternut Squash and Chestnut
Halibut
Poached with Variations of Turnip
Another choice of between two options, so we ordered one of each. We agreed that the lobster was the worst dish of the day, as it was a bit stringy/tough and there was an unpleasant, overly crunchy element somewhere in it (like something was undercooked). I've always felt that EMP's lobster preparations are usually not very strong compared to the rest of the meal. The halibut was very good though, with the turnip sauce being its best component.
Goose Island Madame Rose Belgian Style Wild Ale
Wild ales are always pretty crazy to drink - I often think, "this is incredibly interesting but not actually that pleasant to drink". Such was the case with this offering, aged in wine barrels with cherries. It was a unique experience but one glass was enough, and unfortunately this was meant to go with two courses in a row.
Mushroom
Tart with Cremini and Black Truffle
This was the "big" table-side presentation, and I felt this one was a let down. We were presented a crock pot with a thin dome of dough baked on top. Our server then cut the dome open and set it aside - inside the crock were two portabella mushrooms and two little stuffed creminis. These were served to us in a bowl, over which was spooned a rich mushroom broth.
The server then spread a thick truffle paste over the crisp, thin round of dough, before finishing it by grating aged cheddar over the top, making it into a sort of tarte flambée. The tart tasted great but the mushrooms themselves felt really plain and lacking in imagination. It was just a portabella mushroom. It didn't taste transformed in anyway, unlike, say, the incredible celery root in the pig's bladder dish. The same preparation using more interesting ingredients could have been much better (how about a fan of hen o' the woods instead?).
Venison
En Croute with Foie Gras and Civet
Roasted Leek with Hazelnut and Parmesan
Baked Potato with Horseradish and Bacon
This hearty main dish was basically venison Wellington, with a little core of foie gras in the center of the meat. It was really good, but not as interesting as some other mains we've had (like the spectacular pork and onion dish). The potato side was good, but the real star was the leek, which I thought was the best thing in the whole course.
Funny (and slightly embarrassing) story: you'll see that the venison was prepared with something called "Civet". Nobody had explained what this was, and I had never heard the term myself, so after dinner I looked it up. The first thing I learned about was the civet, a "small, lithe-bodied cat-like mammal native to the tropical forests of Asia and Africa". I assumed we hadn't just eaten this animal, and further investigation revealed the following: the rarest, most expensive coffee in the world is made when this animal eats and partially digests a specific type of coffee cherry, which is subsequently harvested from its poop.
Was this dish prepared with that coffee? The venison had an ash-like coating - maybe that was it? For a long time I thought this was somehow a component in what we had been served, which rubbed me the wrong way, due to the extremely ugly market for civet coffee which involves trapping the wild animals and caging them in terribly inhumane conditions, where they are force fed the cherries (which only make up a tiny fraction of their diet normally), to the torturous destruction of their digestive system.
In late 2019 I finally learned that civet is an old French game sauce which is enriched with the blood of the animal (in this case deer). I was both relieved and embarrassed for my blunder. Sorry EMP - this past has now been updated accordingly.
Other Half Passiflora Farmhouse Ale
Our final drink pairing was this tart ale from Other Half, which featured distinct flavors of passion fruit and pink peppercorn.
Tubby Cheese
Grilled with Celery Root, Black Truffle, and Winter Greens
This thin disc of Alpine cheese - crisp on top and gooey on the bottom - came with a boring salad of barely dressed bitter greens. The cheese was good but nothing compared to the fun picnic basket I had on my first visit or the sheer deliciousness of the molten cheese in the pumpkin.
Pear-Cranberry Donut
Mulled Wine Ice Cream
Butternut Squash
Ice Cream with Sarsaparilla and Pumpkin Cake
There were three options for dessert - we opted for the donut and squash. The donut was perfectly soft, warm, and heavy (literally - I lifted it up and was surprised by the weight). The squash/pumpkin dessert was totally awesome, tasting like (good) candy corn.
Coffee
Leah ordered a regular (non-animal poop) coffee and I had an espresso.
Chocolate
Covered Pretzel
Last was the traditional chocolate covered pretzel and big ol' bottle of apple brandy. As I said earlier, we were disappointed that they nixed the sweet black and white cookies that used to be served at the end of the meal.
Cocktail Bar
"Chocolate" - Highlands Añejo Tequila, Amontillado Sherry, Tuaca, Lemon, Aleppo Pepper, Salt
"Chocolate" - Japanese Whisky, Cognac, Pineau des Charantes, Plum Vinegar, Umeboshi
North Sea Oil - Linie Aquavit, Cocchi Americano, Laphroaig 10-Year, Combier
Improved Whisky Cocktail
We decided to have an after dinner drink in the new bar area (which turned into three and a half after dinner drinks after we hit it off with the bartender). We started off with one each of the two "Chocolate" cocktails, which were great - both complex and delicious but surprisingly light.
We spoke to the bartender about the bottles they had and we noticed a white-label Bulleit we had never seen before. He poured us each a sample, which we really enjoyed.
We were having such a good time and it was still early so we put ourselves in the bartender's hands and did a dealer's choice. He asked us some questions about our likes and dislikes, then came up with two great drinks: for me, a North Sea Oil (a signature drink from the NoMad Bar menu that I had always meant to try and never did, and which I loved so much I have since learned to make it at home) and for Leah a take on the classic Improved Whisky Cocktail, using a blend of whiskys.
While he was making the above two, the bartender mixed a third cocktail and divided it between two glasses. Leah asked him what it was and he replied, "This is for you guys since we're having such a great time," and served it to us on the house alongside the drinks we actually ordered. I can't remember what was in it, but it was great.
We were there long enough that they served us their fantastic bar snacks - smoked nuts, oil-cured olives, and homemade ruffled potato chips. We were hilariously, embarrassingly full, but still found room for more.
Overall it was a fantastic experience of course, but I missed some of the pageantry and over-the-top kitsch. Things felt less varied and a little more sterile compared to previous visits. A lot has been stripped away in the name of sophistication and minimalism. That may get a better review from professional food critics, but for the average person who doesn't eat like this every week, it was a bit disappointing. I met a very talkative (and drunk) Brit in the bathroom who was there for the first time and he wanted to know all about what I thought. He agreed with my assessment and said he was surprised this had the Best Restaurant In the World title. He talked about all the things he felt were missing, and I told him that everything he just said was what they used to have, but had since stripped out. It felt like once they went under the microscope more, they started playing around less and taking themselves a bit too seriously, which to me went against what made them great in the first place.
