(Caution, this post is long)
Once every three or four months, my friend Josh, someone I went to elementary school and high school with and another serious food person, leaves London and comes to New York. Every time he is here we do a quarterly ‘occasion’ dinner where we go eat somewhere that is definitely out of our price range and order some sort of decadent tasting menu. When we first tried out this idea we went to Union Square Café (safe and easy), three months later we went to WD-50 (an eating adventure) and four months after that we ate at Gordon Ramsay in The London (a disappointment.)
Since we only get to have this meal (and probably only want to pay for this type of a meal) on a quarterly basis, much thought is placed into picking the right restaurant. Usually about three months ahead of time we exchange e-mails, listing some restaurants we’d like to try and reasons for trying them. Eventually after three or four days of going back and forth we come to an agreement and then try to find one or two other people to join us. This time, our ‘occasion’ meal was at Eleven Madison Park, one of Danny Meyers established restaurants that has been getting glowing reviews ever since Daniel Humm recently took over as executive chef. The fact that Eleven Madison Park was given the honor of top pig dish in New York pretty much sealed the deal.
When I walked into Eleven Madison Park, the first thing I noticed was the room. I know it seems redundant to notice the room you’re walking into, but Eleven Madison Park is really a beautiful restaurant. At night, the high ceilings, dim light, and art deco interior make you feel like you are about to be dining in a really classy establishment. The spacious atmosphere and the assorted pictures of New York (and a cocktail list featuring various New York inspired cocktails) made me feel comfortable and at home. The space is simply a great place to have a meal and eating there made me feel much more important (and classy) than I really am.
The space is great but what about the meal? Obviously if the food is no good then the space doesn’t matter. Like all of the other Danny Meyer restaurants I’ve been to, the food was very good. It wasn’t the best I’ve ever had, but every dish was perfectly executed, beautifully plated and tasted pretty good. Out of the 11 course tasting menu there were a few standouts.
I don’t think that I am able to write concisely enough to weave all eleven courses into this post in a matter that won’t bore everyone so I’ll break them up and grade them.
Maine Diver Scallop
Corrolle with “La Ratte: potatoes, leeks and Sterling Royal Caviar
Dewazakura, Dewasansan Nama Geshu, Junmai Ginjo, Yamagata Prefecture, Japan
I really enjoyed the fresh scallop and the creamy potato leek mix gave the dish some substance. I can’t say I really tasted the caviar, but the dish was light and a nice way to start the meal. Although me and my friends don’t really know that much about Sake, we thought it was a fun decision by the sommelier to give us a pairing that might differ a bit from the norm. Overall B+/A-
California Celery
Cappuccino with Celery Root and Tricastin Truffles
Claude Genet Brut, Blanc de Blancs, Grand Cru, Chouilly, Cote des Blancs
I think everyone in our party really enjoyed the Celery Root part of our Cappuccino and didn’t really like the strong celery underbelly lurking beneath the foamy part of our cappuccino. The strong celery taste took away from the flavor of the truffles. The Champagne served with this course was excellent however as its dryness helped ease the richness of the dish
B+
Cape Cod Peekytoe Crab
Cannelloni with Daikon Radish and Madras Curry
Bernhard Ott, von Rotem Schotter, Feursbrunn, Donauland, Austria 2005
This dish was stunning to look at—a small cannelloni in a rectangular plate surrounded by multi-color dots of sauce. The crab inside the cannelloni however, was nothing out of the ordinary. It seems the crab was all dressed up but lacked substance. The Riesling paired with it was ok, but the plainness of the dish didn’t really help the wine to stand out
C
Elevage Perigord Foie Gras
Torchon with Venezualan Cocoa and Quince
Heidi Schroeck, Beerenauslese, Burgenland, Austria 2005
I was really excited for this one (I love foie gras) but was a bit let down. I think my tendency to eat everything on my plate sort of ruined this for me. The foie gras was sitting in the center of a plate full of quince, swirled with lines of cocoa and accompanied by a slice of brioche toast also swirled with cocoa. In moderation these elements played together well—rich foie gras, hint of cocoa and sweet and acidic quince. My problem was that there was too much quince on my plate, causing the dish to be a little overly sweet. Josh on the other hand didn’t eat all his quince and was perfectly happy. I suppose the lesson here is to beware of too much quince. Because I ate too much quince, the sweet Riesling was probably a bit too sweet for this course. I was a little disappointed they went with another Riesling here and would have liked to see something different. I would have gone with a young Chenin Blanc.
B/B-
Mediterranean Loup de Mer
Slow cooked with Saffron Endive Nage
Domaine Pierre Usseglio, Chateauneuf du Pape, Rhone Valley, France 2005
I really enjoyed the creamy fish and the saffron broth it was served in. This was simply a really well executed fish dish. The White Chateauneuf went particularly well with it.
B+
Scottish Langoustine
Crisped with Lemon Verbena and Bok Choy
Wegeler, Wehlener Sonnenhur, Spatlese, Mosel Saar-Ruwer, Germany 1994
The langoustine was pretty tasty but perhaps it was served to us at the wrong time. It looked awfully similar to the Langoustine served by Joel Robuchon that was featured in the times the Wednesday before our dinner. While it was nice to be served an older wine, serving another Riesling was a little too much. We were hoping the wine pairing would give us a whole bunch of things to try and not simply be a test to see if we could determine the nuances of various ages and styles of Riesling.
B
Four Story Hill “Boudin Blanc”
Poached with Hawaiian Prawns, Morels and Asparagus
Hubert Chavy, Les Enseigneres, Puligny-Montrachet 2005
This dish came as a surprise. I don’t think any of us had extremely high hopes for boudin blanc, but the sausage was creamy, delicate and satisfying all at the same time. The morels and asparagus also added nice color and complimentary flavor to the dish, acting as sidekicks that didn’t let the sausage stand out too much (who really wants a sausage course in a tasting menu) without detracting from it. The Puligny was also probably the best wine we had all night. Maybe I was just happy it wasn’t Riesling.
A-
Vermont Farm Suckling Pig
Confit with Cipollini Onions, Dried Plum chutney, and Five Spice jus
Domaine De la Cote de L’Ange, Chateauneuf-Du-Pape, Rhone Valley, France 2005
Ahhhh the pig course. We had been looking forward to this for months and it certainly did not disappoint. The pig was just as crackly and piggy as we had been led to believe and there were even two other forms of pig on our plate. One was a bit smokey and chewy, and one had a taste that was appealing but a texture that was a little too smooth. I loved the cippolini onions as well. As for the pairing, the Chateauneuf was nice but…We had already had a white Chateauneuf earlier in the meal. I wish they could have given us any other red. The pig was great though
A/A-
Lynnhaven “Chevre Frais”
Heirloom Beets, LAudemio Olive Oil and Fleur du Sel
I loved this cheese so much I even went to the farmer’s market the next week to buy some to bring to Boston. Creamy and zesty without lingering too much, it was a nice and refreshing cheese course. I also loved the colors of the heirloom beets and the sparkling Moscato D’asti that accompanied. Having a drink with bubbles to go along with creamy goat cheese is definitely easy on the tongue
Jermann, Vinnae, Veneza Giulia 2004
A
Coconut Sorbet with Chantenay Carrots and Parnsips
Not bad, but not great. The typical palate cleanser.
B
Bittersweet chocolate
Moelleux with Passion fruit bourbon sour
Kiralyudvar, cuvee Ilona 2001
I devoured the chocolate cake but don’t really remember that much about it. Could it be that the wine was finally getting to me at that point? I remember it being a bit dry, but having the passion fruit bourbon sour make up for the dryness. I thought the Tokaji tasted a bit too much like the other Riesling pairings for me to give the pairing a ringing endorsement.
B
Despite the fact that I gave most of the courses grades in the B range, I was still extremely happy with the entire experience. I probably graded a little harshly due to the price of the food and would have been extremely pleased with several of these dishes had I ordered them at a less expensive restaurant.
Other than getting to sample several tasty and a couple of really tasty dishes, the price of our meal also brought us impeccable service. Danny Meyer restaurants are known for being extremely courteous towards their patrons and Eleven Madison Park is no exception. The restaurant has an incredibly large and helpful staff that caters to your every need. We were offered bread after every course and our waitress was willing to answer any questions we had and help us with anything we needed throughout our three and a half hour dining journey.
Overall, the food and the service helped make the night go by smoothly and enjoyably. The best part of the experience was being able to sit back and enjoy whatever aspect of the dining experience we wanted, whether it was the wine, the food, or catching up with friends, Eleven Madison Park proved an excellent backdrop for all. They even gave us a brioche loaf to eat for breakfast the next morning.
A-
Who to Bring:
Eleven Madison Park is a place to go to either pamper yourself or really impress someone else. The food is interesting enough for food people and the 47 page wine list has enough choices for serious oenophiles. A great place to go if you’re willing to splurge a little.
Note:
The pictures in this post are not my own (I still don't believe in taking pictures in restaurants.)
Here are the links to the flickr sets from which they came.
http://flickr.com/photos/mhaithaca/374760340/
http://flickr.com/photos/mhaithaca/374760445/
http://flickr.com/photos/ulteriorepicure/434543243/
http://flickr.com/photos/shugyou/419028592/
http://flickr.com/photos/shugyou/419026486/
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