Lunch at Eleven Madison Park
April 30, 2012 
5 Comments
I’ve just returned from New York City, where I enjoyed a wonderful 4-hour lunch at Eleven Madison Park. As a rule, I don’t do restaurant reviews on my site. And what could I possibly say about EMP, except that it lived up to – and exceeded – my very high expectations? The food was creative, delicious and beautifully presented. The hospitality was at a level unmatched anywhere else I’ve ever been. (Update: And congratulations to the Eleven Madison Park team for ranking number 10 in the San Pellegrino list of the World’s 50 Best Restaurants!)
But after helping out with two Eleven Madison Park tribute dinners, and cooking a couple of EMP dishes at home, I don’t want to let this wonderful meal pass unremarked. I took pictures of many of the courses, though I missed a couple, namely the sturgeon sabayon, both the savoury and sweet black-and-white cookies, and the chocolate dessert. And of course, it seemed disrespectful to photograph the Jack Rose-inspired dish we were served in the kitchen itself! But below are the other dishes we enjoyed.
Hors d’oeuvres
Smoked apple tea
Quail egg on brioche with applewood-smoked bacon
Yogurt lollipops with curry and lentils
Chickpea panisses with yogurt
Clambake with chorizo, apple and potato
Savoury dishes
Cauliflower tabbouleh with olives, orange and parsley
Foie gras with buckwheat, buttermilk, lemon and ramps (a close-up of this beautifully composed plate is shown at the top of this post)
Whey, fresh curds, caraway gnocchi and spring herbs
Lobster poached in Meyer lemon butter, with burnt leek and shellfish bisque
55-day dry-aged beef rib eye with wood sorrel and marble potatoes
Chuefladä cheese with potatoes, pickled mustard seeds and pearl onions
Sweet dishes
Egg cream
Cheesecake: goat cheese, Cara Cara orange sorbet, vanilla snow
Milk sorbet with buckwheat, honey and vanilla milk cream
Do you know what “chuefladä” means? It’s Swiss German for cowpat! “Kuhfladen” in German.
Hah! No, that wasn’t explained to us. All we were told was that it was a “type of cheese.”
I’d never heard of this particular cheese, so I had to look it up. It’s a speciality cheese from a pace called Stans in central Switzerand. I’ll have to look for it next time we go! When I saw the picture it reminded me of raclette and I thought the name of the dish was because of the way the cheese looked n the plate! Would never have thought it was the name of the cheese!
Great photos. Would love to eat there one day! What were the yogurt lollipops like? Tart? Cold? etc…
They were cold and mildly tart, and quite refreshing. I was very privileged to have been able to enjoy this meal!