Eleven Madison Park, Summer RW, July 16, 2007

Eleven Madison Park

Restaurant Week at Eleven Madison Park is a tradition in my family. Every RW, my father, wife and I sit, more often than not at the same table on the first day of restaurant week to ensure that we receive the $25 gift certificate they give to customers.

Well, unfortunately some traditions fall apart. Danna now works in New Jersey and couldn't make it, our regular table was given to someone else and the restaurant no longer gives out those gift certificates, correctly believing that it's 3-star review of its delicious food was enough to get people to fill the seats.

One thing that was constant, however, was the high quality ingredients that go into making fabulous dishes. Quenelles of bluefin tuna with white and green asparagus. This was great and was a bit of visual trickery - looks like ruby red grapefruit doesn't it? Not the best tuna I've had at EMP, but still very good. Nice and light.By the looks of what people were eating, this chicken was a big hit. Perfectly cooked, the breast meat when viewed on edge looked like how tuna is when cut against the grain (not pink, but ridged). Perfectly moist in the middle, crispy on the top, it was served with English garden peas, morels and a few tiny potatoes. Really solid for "just" chicken. Vanilla Pannacotta with mixed berries in a mint and raspberry (?) soup. The mint took me off guard but was really refreshing. Excellent dessert and meal overall.
This was a chocolate dish my dad had for dessert. Below is the bottle of wine (2004) we ordered. Excellent Burgundy to go with the chicken.Service was okay this time around. The sommelier is always great and ended up serving us as well...possibly because my dad and he recognized each other from previous visits and they decided to keep that flow going. He's a great sommelier and a genuinely nice guy too. Speaking of the FOH staff, there's a hostess who brought me to my table that is remarkably attractive. If I were single, I'd go to EMP every night to catch a glimpse. Wow.

I digress. The food, as usual, was phenomenal. And a reasonably fair price. All of the above photographed, plus the gnocchi entree and another order of the tuna (dad's meal) including the wine came to $128 after tax.

Thanks Daniel and co.