Eleven Madison Park - New York
A dining room with impressively high ceilings
Rating: 19/20
Where: New York, NY
When: Dinner for 3 on 17 July 2023
Cost per Person: Tasting menu $195-$365, Wine pairing $195-$365
Accolades: 3 Michelin Stars, #1 on Top 50 Restaurants list (2017)
Why: Produce-driven, creative, delicious food; good conscience: everything is vegan
When traveling, I generally prefer trying a new restaurant over revisiting one that I've been to before. But in rare cases, it's actually possible to do both at once. “Eleven Madison Park” (EMP) has held three Michelin stars for a number of years, and I had been here twice before, the last time in 2017 just after the restaurant took the top spot on the Top 50 Restaurants list. At the time, it was almost impossible to get a reservation - EMP was the place for fine dining in Manhattan. Then a global pandemic came and went, and chef Daniel Humm did something unprecedented. Reopening in 2021, EMP switched to an entirely vegan menu. That's obviously not a minor change and for all intents and purposes, EMP became a new restaurant. Online reviews were mixed, but Michelin renewed their three-star rating. Going into our dinner, I figured anything was possible: from a train-wreck to a delicious dinner.
Eleven Madison Park's name derives from its address (11 Madison Ave), and its entrance faces 24th Street, just east of Madison Square Park in Manhattan. The restaurant occupies the former lobby of its building, and - this being New York - that means dramatically high ceilings. The entrance space and the dining room form a single room with only head-height walls giving some structure to the layout. Judicious use of carpeting makes sure that the noise-level stays low in a room that could have been quite echoy. During our Monday night visit, about half of the tables remained empty. Partially probably due to the fact that Mondays are not traditional dining-out days. But I wondered how much this had to do with the vegan menu.
The restaurant offered several different dining options, and one had to chose among them at reservation time. A nine to ten course tasting menu for $365, a six course menu for $285, and a shorter bar tasting menu for $195. We went for the full tasting menu, and added the standard wine pairing. A fancier (read: more expensive) wine pairing as well as a non-alcoholic beverage pairing were also on offer. Unlike many fine-dining restaurants, the wine pairing started with the first bite of food, so it wasn’t strictly necessary to order an aperitif. Which is almost a shame, since the cocktail menu looked quite interesting. But the pairing came out to almost a full bottle of wine per person, so we stuck to that amount of alcohol. The wines in the pairing were quite good, featuring many unusual grapes and generally strong flavors. There were no notable synergies with the food, but it was an enjoyable pairing. Unfortunately, apart from the champagne at the beginning, all wines retailed for about $20-$30 per bottle. Not uncommon, but that means for the $195 price of the wine pairing, one could have bought a full bottle of each of the wines at a store. Especially for multiple diners, ordering a bottle or two of wine is definitely a more economical choice. On the positive side, the wines in the pairing were topped off when they ran low.
Our dinner started simple - with a drink. Based on heirloom tomatoes, Thai chili, basil, juniper and peppercorns, it was served with an ice cube that featured the restaurant's logo. This was the introduction to several courses based on tomatoes, which were currently in season. The clarified tomato water was full of flavor, saltiness and spice. Lighter than tomato juice but more intense at the same time. Delicious - it was described at our table as a happy marriage between a Bloody Mary (sans alcohol) and a gazpacho 20.
Next, a heirloom tomato “salad”. Three different-colored pieces of tomatoes were served in a tomato nage, along with some tomato confit (hidden under the largest piece of tomato) and sansho leaves. I first tried the two smaller pieces of tomato, and while they were fine, they were not markedly different from what I'd be able to buy at a local farmer's market. The tomato broth however was excellent - full of flavor similar to the drink we just had. But the most amazing part of the dish was the tomato confit, it was intensely tomato-flavored and salty - very, very good 19.
The last tomato-themed dish was steamed silken tofu topped with small tomatoes, a tomato vinaigrette, chopped scallions and basil. The tofu was very light, it added a creamy base to the dish but was otherwise hardly noticable - definitely not an Asian preparation. The little tomatoes were delicious - another winner. But it makes one wonder how the menu changes in the winter months without this lovely produce 19.
Some assembly was required for our next course. A corn tostada was garnished with sliced radishes, and we had three possible toppings for it. First, tonburi, the seeds of the summer cypress tree, had been seasoned with seaweed and salt. They looked quite similar to caviar, only a bit smaller and greener. Horseradish crema and an upstate baby lettuce dressed with dill were the other condiments. The tostada had a lovely soft crunch, and the vegan “caviar” popped in one's mouth similar to the real thing. Otherwise it felt more like sprouted grains - there was no danger in mistaking this for fish eggs. The horseradish cream was nicely spicy; it was impossible to tell that it was dairy-free. All together a great combination of different textures and flavors 19.
The next course was announced as being based on sunflowers. All tables had a little sunflower as their centerpiece, so we were wondering what parts of a sunflower might be edible. And it turns out, the answer was “yes”. First, we received the only bread course of the evening. A laminated-style bread made from rice bran and fleur du sel was served with a sunflower “butter” that was topped with ground sunflower seeds. Texture-wise similar to a croissant, the roll was crunchy and flaky, and the butter with its nutty flavor was a nice complement 18.
Just when we were wondering whether the bread was the entirety of the announced “sunflower course”, we were served the real thing. A sunflower stem had been thinly sliced and cooked, and was served over mashed summer beans and candied sunflower seeds. Tucked in on the side were sunflower petals, some toasted and some “kimchi-ed” (as our server put it). The stem had a bit of bitterness, but no other strong flavors - I guess just making it edible is an accomplishment. Most of the dish’s flavor came from the beans underneath, they were almost meaty in taste and texture - at first glance one might mistake them for ground meat. The petals were a subtle finish. And yes, the pickled leaves really tasted like kimchi. Delicious 19.
Assembly required, part two. A mirin-glazed piece of turnip had been slow-cooked and then finished tableside on a portable grill, resulting in some beautiful grill marks. The turnip was meant to be wrapped with spinach and collard green leaves, and then seasoned with pickles of radishes and turnips, preserved horseradish, a turnip cream and/or a coriander chili crisp. The different parts came together very nicely: sweet, spicy, crispy, smoky, a tiny bit bitter. A lovely combination 19.
Next, steamed green asparagus was served over rice, with a lavender broth and a touch of ginger. The rice had a gelatinous texture, and the dish was a touch spicy - maybe from the ginger. The lavender was light enough to not be a nuisance; I wonder if it was even necessary at all. The highlight of this dish was the excellent sauce, very savory, very good 19. Actually, all sauces tonight were seasoned perfectly.
The final savory course, and the only one paired with a red wine, was based on zucchinis. The zucchini had been cooked sous vide before being smoked tableside with cherrywood in what looked like a volcano. After a few minutes of smoking, the zucchini were seasoned with cilantro blossoms and served over braised seitan. Also on the plate were a Poblano pepper wrapped in a squash blossom and dusted with cilantro, as well as a roasted spinach and zucchini puree. Lots of umami here; the seitan had a texture similar to baked shredded cheese (like the Parmesan that one might put on zucchinis in the oven). The Poblano pepper was pleasantly spicy, and the zucchini itself was nicely salted and full of flavor. My only complaint was that we didn't have a spoon to scoop up the rest of the excellent sauce 19.
A palate cleanser came next. A melon sorbet was served with cucumber granite, spheres of different kinds of melon, tapioca balls and honeysuckle. The sorbet was quite creamy (especially for being vegan), and the melon and tapioca balls added some texture - I'm not sure that the boba was really necessary, though. Overall, this tasted fresh, sweet and a little bit salty - there was lots going on here. More complex than one would expect a pre-dessert to be 18.
The main dessert had a cherry blossom mousse paired with several preparations of strawberries: chopped, as a mousse, as a sorbet, and as a gelee. A starflower had been added as a decoration. Even though strawberry was the base of this dish, the variety of the preparations made it seem like there were many more ingredients involved. On the side was a pickled strawberry that was a bit tart; I think I would have preferred something sweeter. But it was served with a nice (and indeed sweeter) broth 18.
Finally, a sesame pretzel coated with dark chocolate. The sesame was a bit soft and salty, and this was a pleasant, not too heavy last bite 17. Book-ending our dinner was another drink, a cocktail of berries, elderflower and vermouth. Not very sweet (especially compared to the desserts), it was not as exciting as the tomato-based drink that started the meal 16.
This dinner was a big success. One delicious dish followed another - a consistency rarely seen even in three-star restaurants. And the restriction on veganism didn't seem to matter - dishes burst with strong flavors, and the kitchen made full use of summer-time produce to create a menu driven by vegetables and fruits. Overall, this was lighter than a traditional meat or fish-based menu, so we left satisfied, but not overly full.
Stylistically, the dinner referenced several cuisines - French, Mexican, Middle-Eastern - but did so very subtly; most dishes stood on their own. What impressed me was the fact that the food avoided many of the traps frequently seen with elevated vegetarian food. First, the kitchen was not trying to recreate some existing meat-based dishes. No “fake chicken” or “fake meat” here - the closest we came to an imitation was the “caviar”, but that bore only a faint resemblance, and the dish actually wouldn't have been as well-balanced if real caviar had been used. Moreover, these were not just existing vegetarian dishes prepared in an elevated way - they were entirely novel. And finally, many vegetarian menus sooner and later resort to using mushrooms, pasta, tempeh, seitan, tofu, and so on. EMP used a tiny amount of the latter two, but not very prominently, and avoided the rest entirely. And even baked goods were limited to a single roll. Impressive.
Rating some of the dishes was difficult. What should I compare them to? Other vegan restaurants? In that case, this restaurant would deserve a 20. But no, I figured a fairer comparison was with “regular” Western restaurants, even though they have an unfair advantage in using butter, cream, eggs, and, well, meat.
Going full circle, I kept pondering the half-empty restaurant. Maybe some customers were scared off by the veganness of the menu. That would be a mistake - this was easily as satisfying as any fish- or meat-based menu, and if anything more flavorful. But what did give me pause was the $365 price tag before taxes and tips. Given that the menu by necessity lacked any of the usual “costly” ingredients such as truffles, caviar, and wagyu, some customers might conclude that they are getting a poor bang for the buck. Elsewhere in the city, one can have all those ingredients and pay less. A valid concern, but whether it will taste as good as at EMP is another question...
Overall: A purely vegan tour-de-force of fine-dining. Sophisticated cooking with in-season vegetables and fruits led to a consistently delicious series of flavorful dishes. Plus points for creating entirely new dishes instead of vegan-izing existing ones. Creatively, technically, and tastewise, this was first-rate, without ever being showy, and definitely deserves its three stars. But it will be interesting to see how this menu fares during the times of the year when the available produce is not as bountiful 19.
Tasting menu and wine pairing