Finally got to try Eleven Madison Park after so long!! Went with Mel yesterday, the meal lasted about 3.5 hours, which in all honesty feels pretty short for a 16-course menu.
Then I realized they actually counted cookie/pastries as a course, so take those 3 away it's really only 13, not that a stretch from the 10-12 we'd get elsewhere where amuse-bouche and dessert trollies are not counted as one. So really... that felt a bit lame.
Anyway, the overall experience was great! I guess I was kind of wary after the 50/50 experience with restaurants I'd hit up in the past couple years. Guy Savoy in Singapore was definitely not overwhelming (dessert trolley notwithstanding). And in my mind I think I'm always looking for a Saturne repeat at a larger brand and I think this comes closest in terms of innovation and taste. In ratio of greatest hits though, Saturne still wins.
August 17, 2013 Menu
Cheddar savory black and white cookie with apple: Tasted like coated cookie? Nothing super special ._.
Sea urchin snow with smoked cantaloupe and conch: Prob my fav of everything! The sea urchin snow had such an amazing texture coupled with the cantaloupe and conch, fantastic.
Surf clam w/ tomato, beans and savory: A lot of foam/sauce not enough clams! Good taste though, but yeah, definitely won't kill to have a bit more clams, or just less sauce.
Littleneck clam and Manhattan chowder with whelk and razor clam: The littleneck clam had corn and I think traces of bacon which was amazing. Adored the razor clam too, not as crazy about the whelk. The chowder was great, really flavorful, this dish was so beautiful.
Tomato confit with lobster salad and bonito: Loved this!!! The first half of the menu were really all very delightful, and I love my tomatoes...
Seared foie gras with summer berries, rye, and nasturtium: Beautiful beautiful dish, makes me think of those mini bottle garden things people liked to have, green and earthy and colorful, absolutely gorgeous. Only only downside was I wish the foie gras was a little less done. Maybe I'll try the custard instead next time.
Carrot tartare with rye bread and condiments: Loved the presentation for this one, more beauty than taste, I'd really have loved if we had actual beef instead T_T;;; But carrot was cool too. Mel commented at least now we know ground up carrots can taste like meat. Things to help when you wanna feed your kids veggie.
Poached black bass with zucchini and squash blossoms: Mel mused about how sharp a knife had to be to not mess up the zucchini scale-top, then I couldn't stop thinking about how it was done. -_- Unfortunately for reasons unknown I was expecting a melt-in-your-mouth bass and it turned out more firm than I'd envisioned. It was by no means bad, just probably didn't turn out the best it could have been.
Sunflower barigoule with sunchokes and black truffle: We both loved everything about this except the sunflowers. Unfortunate. ._.
Roasted duck with apricots and fennel: Lovely!! Want to try the ribeye next time maybe.
Picnic basket! Pretzel, mustard and pickled green tomatoes - Loved everything about this! Lovely presentation, great pretzel, the mustard was delicious and I was totally on board with the cheese -- all my weeks of cheese in my salad daily must have built up my tolerance a little -- and the pickled green tomatoes at the end were so sour but perfect for an end.
Egg cream with vanilla and seltzer: Omg delicious! Apparently there's no egg cream in the recipie, just malt milk here and vanilla and seltzer. Apparently a Brooklyn thing!
Sassafras sorbet with banana cake, caramel and vanilla: Delicious, love the tang from the sassafras, banana cake was great too.
Red pepper cheesecake with strawberry and cashew: Not sure I actually tasted cashew, at this point all I could think about was my goat cheese parfait with carrot sorbet at Saturne and this wasn't it. :( Wasn't overwhelmed by the red pepper sorbet I guess, cheesecake was good though.
Chocolate covered pretzel with sea salt: You call this a course!? Gah. Good stuff though, ate it today cuz we were too full.
Sweet black and white chocolate cookie with apricot: Similar to the opening cookie, nothing to see here.
Kitchen tour! They led us back to the kitchens where we stood behind a standing table and has a dessert chef whip up an Arnold Palmer drink for us, with a dash of lemon and pepper I think. That was AWESOME. Liquid nitrogen looked so fun. :3
I this was full of complaints but it was actually pretty good. 9/10 I guess. Only Saturne can have my 10/10. Hahahahahahaha.
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| Cheddar |
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| Sea Urchin |
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| Surf Clam |
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| Littleneck Clam |
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| This crisp was amazing! Came with the chowder |
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| Tomato+lobster |
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| Foie Gras |
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| Carrot Tartare |
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| Black Bass |
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| Sunflower with black truffle |
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| Roasted duck |
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| Picnic basket! |
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| Egg cream with vanilla and seltzer |
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| Sorbet w/ banana cake |
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| Popcorn chocolate |
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| Red pepper sorbet w/ cheesecake |
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| Chocolate-covered pretzel |
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| Arnold Palmer drink |
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| Granola to take home! |
