Eleven Madison Park

My first Michelin Star Experience at Eleven Madison Park (3 Michelin Stars)

Before this night, I have not had an experience with a Michelin starred establishment and soon realized how much I was missing out! I had a friend visiting from Chicago and suggested to try Eleven Madison Park, or EMP as people in the know call it and I was glad I agreed to it. Never have I felt so pampered in a restaurant before. Time flew by so fast that our 4 hour dinner seemed like minutes and another 4 hours would have passed by just as fast. EMP has really captured the true luxury in the dining experience from the excellent service to the precision cooking, all set within an old bank. Imagine large windows looking out onto Madison Square Garden, extremely high ceilings, crisp white linen covered tables and numerous floral arrangements. They had white roses all over the place during my visit. I've even seen a young lady iron the sheets of the tables in between reservations. I also heard that EMP has made table setting into an art form, training people to lay out table cloths as swift as possible so as not to distract clients from their meals.

The restaurant is ran by Daniel Humm in the kitchen, and Will Guardia for front of the house. This duo has turned a once dying bistro into one of the world's greatest restaurant, ranked 10th by The World's 50 Best Restaurants in 2012.

Here is the Tasting Menu we had that night, Dec. 27, 2011, and since it was the Winter season, the menu was filled with truffles. I don't think I've had this much truffles in a single seating, from freshly shaved to white truffle flavored truffle chocolates.


Chicken
- Veloute with Parsley Oil, Liver Mousse and Black truffle

Hamachi and Fennel
-Pickled Ginger and Lemon; Ceviche with Tangerine

Yogurt and Chick Peas
-Lollipops with Curry; Panisse with Yogurt

Apple
-Gelee with Sea Urchin, Caviar and Foie Gras

Truffled Egg (A slow cooked egg covered with a lot of freshly shaved truffles)

Puntarella
-Salad with Tardivo, Anchovies and Garlic

Foie Gras
-Smoked Terrine with Black Truffle, Potato and Rye

Cauliflower
Roasted with Raisins, Brown Butter and Madras Curry

Lobster
-Poached with Autumn Mushrooms and Spinach

Squab
-Roasted with Quince and Brussels Sprouts

Triple Cream
-With Pumpkin, Apple and Rye Crisps

Egg Cream
-Orange, Cocoa Nibs and Seltzer

Cheesecake
-Goat Cheese, Cranberry and Lime

Chocolate
-Mousse with Malt Sorbet, Olive Oil and Meyer Lemon

Mignardise

Yes, that was a lot of food! But sadly, the venue had really dim lights and a no flash policy so I gave up on trying to take photos of the food. I was also intoxicated at the time with alcohol and didn't bother with pictures and decided to enjoy the night. I have the EMP cookbook for that.

The making of the Molecular Cocktail.

But one of the highlights of the night was when we were asked to enter the kitchen for a small show and a short tour. I think this was only given to PPX or VIP clients, a friend of ours who works on the line got us the reservation. The kitchen had an atmosphere of a military camp, everyone in their own station and no one talking except for the chef in charge that night. And when ever the chef would shout an order or fire a ticket, all the cooks would answer "Oui Chef" in a loud chorus then back to cooking or plating. It was like watching a silent movie. The entire kitchen was immaculate and spotless clean, and in the middle of dinner service! Definitely not like other kitchens I've worked in or seen where people are always talking, screaming to the other guy at the end of the line or running to the back to get more ingredients. And while the chef was talking to us and pointing out the different stations, there was this girl with a small "station" set in front of us. There, she made us an apple brandy cocktail using liquid nitrogen and froze it to slush. It was really good. Only liquid nitrogen is cold enough to freeze alcohol. Imagine taking a shot of brandy but frozen with fresh apples and a shot of liquid brandy.

And as for the rest of my experience at EMP, the service definitely out shown the food. Not that the food wasn't great, but that the service was far beyond excellent. Everyone eating at the restaurant was very well taken cared off (at least we were), and I would estimate at least 2 people watching over each table without being any bit intrusive. There would not have been a point that our white linen table covers would have any crumb on it. I got a Mint Julep cocktail that came with crushed ice filled to the brim that made it impossible to drink without dropping a few ice on the table, and whenever that would happen a server would come up and sweep the ice away with a bread crumber before it's had time to melt and mark the table cloth. Same thing when we got the bread, which was one of the best I've had. It's made in-house and is a cross between a croissant and a parker house roll.

Amber and me during the kitchen tour.

EMP is definitely a restaurant worth eating at. But good luck on getting reservations. Like Per Se, tables go fast and most of the time one can only hope on being wait listed so plan in advanced!

Also, their cookbook would be the perfect coffee table book, or as a reference for great recipes.