What kind of magic did Eleven Madison Park have up its sleeve?
I know there was quite the fanfare for my baby sister turning 21 about a month ago in Baltimore. However, no birthday is complete without a visit to Eleven Madison Park when you come to visit your
Lately my hobby has been securing reservations at places that are impossible to get a table at. It's a knack, I guess. So I dutifully dialed up the Eleven Madison Park line 28 days in advance of our reservation promptly at 9:00am. After a 35 minute or so wait, a host finally answered. I was so excited I didn't even remember the date I was booking for. Anyways, I was able to get a reservation at 9:15pm for the two of us.
Once we were seated, we were asked to open up an envelope on our table. Inside the envelope was the card you saw above, we were instructed to pick a flavor for the meal. I like a little mystery with my meal!
There were some classic Eleven Madison Park dishes in our tasting menu, and then some new additions for the Spring menu that were very exciting.
That evening we started with Cheddar, which we saw last time, a savory black and white cookie with apple. I know a little Coocoo who would have loved this.
Somebody is a big girl today!
Our next course, Oyster, was also a classic. The first part of the course was the signature baked potato ice cream and caviar.
The second part of our Oyster course...oysters!
The last time I came to EMP, we were served a classic New York dish that was the form of an everything bagel. This time, we were given pastrami with ramps, rye, mustard, and celery. Just like Katz's!
Remember at the beginning of the meal, we had to pick a flavor? It was for this meal! The sodas we were given were the flavors we picked above!
Our next course featured an update for Spring. Last fall, you saw a carrot dish. This time, it was Apple. Our waiter recounted the history of the Waldorf Salad while preparing ours. Instead of being served with grapes, ours was served with pickled cranberries.
But wait! There is more! Below the salad bowl was a soup!
Our next course was unique and quite a throwback to old school cooking. We were served asparagus that were prepared in a pig's bladder, braised with potato and black truffle.
I truly did not know asparagus could be so delicious.
At the beginning of our meal, our waiter asked us what we would prefer for our 'main course', and we decided on lamb.
The start of our dessert course began with Whey. So I missed a course in the photos was a picnic course that came with house made cheese. This dessert was made with the remaining whey from the cheese.
Our final dessert course was named Almond. Our waiter explained the background of the Baked Alaska before setting our dessert on fire! What a show!
Happy 21st birthday sis!
All that baked Alaska, in a tiny plate.
Well, I forgot to take photos of the last two courses, one was a pretzel covered in sea salt. The last was an EMP classic, that ended the meal we started...with a sweet version of the black and white cookies!
Overall: This is my favorite restaurant in New York! I wouldn't be opposed to coming back once a season to sample the seasonal menu changes.
Eleven Madison Park
11 Madison Park
New York, New York 10010
(212) 889-0905
http://elevenmadisonpark.com/
Yes, you need reservations. Good luck getting them!
No comments :
Post a Comment