Eleven Madison Park

Danny Meyer is considered the king of NYC when it comes to restaurants. He has so many successful restaurants here that it's ridiculous. Some the low brow (Shake Shack) to the high (The Modern), it's all good. I have my own opinions about a couple I could do without. But each place has its own myriad of fans. I'm no hater, I would eat at any of his restaurants. I just prefer some over others. And so to round out the empire he's built, I finally made my way to Eleven Madison Park. Some people may call it the flagship as it sits high on top of his other places. You can also say that the 4 stars it recently received from the NY Times also branded it stone. Yes, getting a good reservation was difficult. But the waiting and planning was well worth it. Yes, my friends, this is one carpet ride you'd want to get on. So we arrive to the stone gates and behind that is a nice foyer area where the hostesses greeted us. They collected our coats without handing out a tag. Classy and impressive. Shortly, we were escorted to our seats in one of the side rooms looking in the main hall. Several servers and maitre d's came by with greetings and questions. They asked if we had any kind of food allergies. Then, we were left alone with our menus for a little bit. The tasting menu looked divine. But being a little frugal, we opted for the prix fixe ($88). They started the meal with some amuse bouches. From left to right: beet marshmallow, I forget the next two, macaroon, and sweetbreads fried in a crisp. These were fantastic! Even the ones that I can't remember now were good. Next were some of their famous gougeres. Soft, flaky, and cheesy. These were easy on bite heavenly breads. Another amuse was a veloute of mushrooms. Basically, it's a very rich mushroom soup. Incredibly decadent and mushroom overload. Fantastic! And now my first course: Goat's Milk Ricotta. Those balls are fried pieces of soft ricotta. You can't go wrong with fried cheese. With it, there are some artichokes and olives. A heavier starter but that's okay. I picked a lighter main dish. He picked the Hawaiian Prawns which came wrapped in this delicious avocado. This dish was so good. The shrimp were light and fresh. This reminded me of summer but it was decadent enough for the winter. So for my main dish, I chose the Bouillabaisse. Delicious nuggets of mussels, scallops, and lobster spread in a chorizo and saffron laced soup. Large pieces of Dover Sole completed the meal as the 'meat'. So incredibly rich. The broth was so good that I was tempted into dipping the bread into it. But I held back and tried to spoon any leftover broth into my mouth. He picked the Black Angus Beef which was the star of the show. This dish was so good that I can't even describe it. It was so rich and decadent that I can't even describe it in words. If you love beef, you would love this dish. Not only was the meat perfectly cooked (I think due to souv vide, and the bone marrow encrusting), but it also came with a side of ox tail ragu in foie gras sauce. That side dish was heavenly. I could just spoon that into my mouth over and over again until my stomach exploded in full ecstasy. Yes, it was that good. To round off the meal, I picked the Vanilla Souffle. Whenever I see souffle on a menu, I always pick it. Unless, I don't like the flavor at all which is very unlikely. When presented, they poked a hole in the souffle to finish off the dessert with the passion fruit dessert. This so soft and pillow-y. The sweet vanilla was complemented with the tartness of the passion fruit. A great combination. I finished every last bite. He picked the Milk & Chocolate. The chocolate was dehydrated mousse. The texture didn't match the look. It kind of fooled the mind and it was fun. It almost looked too dry but it was very creamy. In the middle there is some dulce de leche. A little sweetness for the dark chocolate. And lastly, some macaroons to savor. I, of course, picked one of every flavor. I'm a sucker for free treats. So starting from the top, then going left to right: Black sesame, peanut butter and jelly, lemon, chocolate, lavender, coconut, and apple. I think these are the correct flavors but some of them were combos. So I'm unsure. Some I liked better than others. My favorite that night was definitely the peanut butter and jelly. I was a little worried coming to dinner here. It's a highly talked about restaurant and I didn't want it to be too hyped. I've been to plenty of other fine dining places only to leave less satiated because I've read too much about it beforehand. But it wasn't the case here at Eleven Madison Park. It met every expectation I had for it. In fact, it exceed them. When Chef Daniel Humm came around to every table to thank the patrons for coming and then asked about their meal, I was truly amazed. I thanked the chef for his fantastic food and couldn't stop gushing about it. It was that good. The service was top notch with several people helping you if you needed it. They checked on us enough times and water glasses were never empty. This is a first class institution. I would gladly and wholeheartedly come here again. Oh and I left with a box of gelees for the next day. Yum, I love gifts. Eleven Madison Park Restaurant 11 Madison Avenue New York, NY 10010 (212) 889-0905 elevenmadisonpark.com