Dinner at the extraordinary Eleven Madison Park
Last week, I went to dinner at the extraordinary Eleven Madison Park, located at 11 Madison Avenue in downtown New York City. Eleven Madison Park, which opened in 1998, is a Danny Meyer restaurant, the famous restaurateur known for his impeccable hospitality. A few years ago, Mr. Meyer brought Chef Daniel Humm on board and together they transformed this already distinguished restaurant into what restaurant critic, Frank Bruni, of the New York Times, recently has deemed New York City's newest four-star restaurant.
My dinner companions were Laura Slatkin - founder of Candela Fragrance and Candles, her SVP of Marketing and Sales - Seungah Jeong, and Hannah Milman - my Executive Editorial Director. While enjoying our fabulous meal, we discussed fragrances at great length. Please enjoy these photos taken at the restaurant and try not to get too hungry. Also, be sure to watch the new season of my television show beginning on Monday, September 14th. The fabulous Chef Daniel Humm will be appearing on that day!
1 Chef Daniel Humm - New York City's new four star chef of Eleven Madison Park
2 The cutlery, plates, and linens are simple, elegant, and appropriate for the fine food.
3 The restaurant has an extensive and very interesting wine list, including an aperitif service of champagnes that are excellent and unusually good.
4 Here is a page of the wine menu highlighting the sparkling wines.
5 The glassware is simply elegant and we all enjoyed having the sommelier pour us different wines for each course.
6 The amuse bouches - little appetizer tastes - were exquisite small bites - lovely hors d'oeuvres.
7 A small carrot shaped fried cornucopia filled with sweetbreads.
8 Light as air gougères - cheese puffs
9 A very good appetizer wine was poured.
10 A corn soup as a starter - It was a pure essence of sweet summer corn kernels.
11 Magical ambrosial tastes that popped in the mouth
12 Another wonderful wine for one of the first courses
13 A mousse of egg topped with gold leaf - exquisite!
14 A more detailed view
15 A most unusual wine that none of us had ever drunk
16 An avocado-wrapped roulade of prawns appetizer - so beautiful!
17 Gnocchi like I have never, ever tasted before
18 Perfectly ripe tomatoes and slivers of cured ham
19 Another wine being poured - Laura Slatkin loved the food as much as I did.
20 Laura's SVP of Marketing and Sales, Seungah Jeong, is also a foodie and totally into fine dining.
21 Hannah Milman talked scents and candles and flowers all through dinner.
22 This was an incredible lavender-scented roast duck.
23 My wonderful plate of perfectly cooked black bass
24 The carved breast of roasted duck
25 Poached cod with corn, radish, pea shoots, and purslane
26 A fun young couple celebrating an anniversary - The restaurant is full of patrons, intrigued by good food, beautiful presentation, and elegant surroundings.
Hi Martha!
Everything looks so elegant, the hors d'oeuvres are so lovely and inspiring.
Can't wait for the new season to begin, I watch your tv show episodes online. Wish you another great success.
la bonne chance et bon dieu vous bénissent.
Posted by: Rowaida Flayhan | September 9th, 2009 at 5:27 am
Absolutely my favorite restaurant in town, so fabulous, glad you enjoyed it!
Posted by: The Blushing Hostess | September 9th, 2009 at 7:12 am
Thank you, Martha, for the gorgeous photos. I am not sure I have ever seen food so lovely. I can almost taste the dishes and wine from my suburban Philadelphia kitchen (almost). The egg mousse with the gold leaf is so intriguing! Please keep those fabulous photo essays coming.
Posted by: Lisa Goldschmidt | September 9th, 2009 at 9:16 am
Wow, the photos are gorgeous. Looks like a wonderful dinner. Love to see the food pics also. Also pleased to see your products at stores like Kmart, Walmart, etc. We browse the craft sections quite often.
Posted by: kim ross | September 9th, 2009 at 9:36 am
This restaurant certainly knows how to blend art and cuisine. Everything they served is so beautiful--I'm not sure if it belongs on a plate or a canvas!
Sadly for me, it's now only 9:40AM and I'm already craving a delicious, savory lunch after seeing these photos... But I'm certain I'll survive!
Thanks for sharing, Martha!
-Alex
Posted by: Alex | September 9th, 2009 at 9:39 am
What activities do you partake in that are not tax deductible?
Posted by: Everyman | September 9th, 2009 at 9:45 am
Fabulous, indeed, is the best way to describe this restaurant! I ate there when it first opened years ago and cannot wait to go again. Thank you for sharing the pics - I am moving this to the top of my list for my next trip to the city.
Jennifer
Posted by: Prep School 101 | September 9th, 2009 at 9:52 am
Yummy! The presentation looks fabu, the chef is cute. Wish me luck in my culinary endeavors! I am afraid that I getting "too nice" again to be in the fast pace....we shall see! LOL
Posted by: James Stouffer | September 9th, 2009 at 10:07 am
Looked yummy!
Posted by: Alyzabeth | September 9th, 2009 at 10:36 am
I'm dying to know...did you have dessert?
Posted by: Lynn from For Love or Funny | September 9th, 2009 at 10:38 am
I will have the elegant appetizer plate, please!
So very beautifully presented. Looking forward to watching the new season!
Posted by: sherey | September 9th, 2009 at 11:31 am
Really nice Martha. I look forward to seeing Chef Daniel Humm next Monday on your new season opener show. I don't know what he'll be preparing then but everything you pictured here sounded so delicious and especially the avacado-wrapped roulade of prawns appetizer!
++
I was over here checking out this blog earlier but the minute I read "and try not to get too hungry"; I left and waited until after breakfast/lunch to look at all the pictures. If I'd have looked first, my oatmeal wouldn't have tasted so good! Catch you later. Trish
Posted by: Trish | September 9th, 2009 at 1:13 pm
Wow! This is making me so hungry after viewing the photos from your wonderful meal. It is so nice to enjoy an evening out with loyal friends and share the best food money can buy.
PS: Not a fan of that photos no longer have a thumbnail gallery. Clicking through all of them takes some time. Perhaps, this is to increase time on your site but I hope you change it back.
Posted by: chad | September 9th, 2009 at 1:30 pm
Eleven Madison is also one of my favorite place in NYC. The food is amazing, the decor and service are impeccable... and on a more sentimental note, this is where my now husband proposed me. Excellent recommendation.
Posted by: Sandra (L'esprit Sud Magazine) | September 9th, 2009 at 2:29 pm
Some new shows already on the box.
In six days Ontario gets Martha on Fox.
It's been a long wait but it's coming fast
Martha moves to her own drum, ready for the blast?
Six days to go the count down has begun
Food, smiles, soil, pets, Martha the crafty one.
0___0
Time for a laugh -
.
Invitation To A Dream
.
Soon you're going to receive an invitation.
It's for only you in the whole Nation.
Please come into my dream bring warm kisses.
We can go sailing and catch little fishes.
We'll throw them back and laugh 'til we're sore.
Never will we have to go back to shore.
In my dream I so want to call you honey.
We'll light a fire and burn all our money.
Our hearts will be free and our sail will billow
No phones will ring as we talk to the pillow.
I love every move you make
Say that you'll come for my sake.
0-0
0-0
In my dream you are going to like me too.
No good sweet dreams, if they don't work for you
We'll set sail before the wind,everything's alright.
Raise the spinnaker;hold on with all our might.
Out of 8 million people you're a true New Yorker
But you're the only one I see You're such a corker.
We'll sail on and catch up with that silvery moon
There must be a big jukebox, to play any tune.
We will head south, follow the stars forever
You take my breath away;this dream will end,never.
I love every move you make.
Say that you'll come for my sake.
0-0
0-0
Smiling works - Apples are good for you.
Posted by: celia stock | September 9th, 2009 at 4:53 pm
Wow! It looks so fabulous. The presentation is wonderful.
The photos were easy for me to click through.
Posted by: kim - mommyknows | September 9th, 2009 at 5:24 pm
Thanks alot Martha, I had a handful of gingersnaps for lunch along with my thermos of tea. Now which do I crave more the bottled refreshment or the items on the plates? Both ASAP.
Posted by: Margie | September 9th, 2009 at 8:12 pm
Hi Martha, What an absolutely fascinating blog. Eleven Madison Park is not just a restaurant, it is an exquisite dining place that is like no other I have ever seen. The beautiful place settings and scrumptious food servings are out of this world. Your link to their website is really worth looking at. The food they display looks gorgeous and delicious. Thanks so much for letting us see such an extraodinary place. Jan
Posted by: Jan Erickson | September 9th, 2009 at 11:54 pm
Nice pix Martha.
I particularly liked the egg mousse topped with gold leaf.
I am getting a teensy bit bored of the whole spherification trend tho...texture is an essential part of food. Reducing everything to a sphere encased gel doesn't do it for me.
Posted by: msmarmitelover | September 10th, 2009 at 8:34 am
Amazing meal and presentation! The duck and the cod look superb. What was your favorite wine of the ones that you tried? Was the "unusual wine" Coenobium good? What varietal did it most closely resemble?
Posted by: LadyLUX | September 10th, 2009 at 9:24 am
The presentation was spectacular . ..The first show of appetizers did remind me of pages from your very first "entertaining book'(which I will always treasure) . . .Looking forward to your Sept.14th show to "meet the chef"!!
Happy you were able to experience food and wine that was new to you and you enjoyed.
Regards, Nina
Posted by: nina zeumer | September 10th, 2009 at 8:51 pm
hey you looked like u where having fun in palm springs!!!!!!!!!!!:)
Posted by: margaret | September 18th, 2009 at 2:08 pm
Ms. Martha Stewart, I love you! I think it is just wonderful how you make one feel as though life is really worth living with clear thinking and good taste as an armor! It is so great when I hear you explain your dining experience at the "Eleven Madison Park" restaurant. There is something so comforting about how you are able to keep it all so simple yet importantly elegant.
I remain your devoted fan.
Brian
Posted by: Brian R. Parris | October 4th, 2009 at 11:13 am