Due to some last minute miscommunications about going to the Madison Park Shake Shack, Shamiq and I got a last minute table at Eleven Madison Park this last Tuesday. And this is what we ate —

Black Truffle And Parmesan: Savory Black and White Cookie

After the cookie, we got a 4 by 4 grid of ingredients to choose from. I chose foie gras, lobster, mushroom and plum. Shamiq chose langoustine, parsnip, squab and fig.

Sea Urchin: Custard with Baby Squid, Manila Clam and Apple

Cranberry: Gelee with Smoked Curds and Agretti

Cucumber: Snow with Lapsang Souchong and Grape

Eel: Roasted with Foie Gras and Swiss Chard

Sturgeon: Sabayon with Chives

They brought this bell jar of smoke out to our table and told us we couldn’t touch it. A few minutes later, they bought out more pieces for this dish —

Sturgeon: Smoked with Everything Bagel Crumble, Pickles and Caviar

The pickles — onion, egg, iceberg & some sort of crumb that was a bit too salty for my tastes.

Foie Gras: Torchon with Maple, Walnuts, and Cremini Mushrooms

Cutting it open revealed…

a pocket of maple syrup! It was so rich I could hardly finish my half.

Langoustine: With Fennel, Sour Cherries, and Clam

Carrot: Tartare with Rye Bread and Condiments

Preparing the carrot at table side.

This was my carrot tartare once I’d added in the fixings. Some of the options were pea puree, sunflower seeds, ginger, cheese, chives, and sea salt. I don’t remember them all.

Lobster: Poached with Escarole and Almond

Parsnip: Roasted with Sesame, Parsley and Dijon

Mushroom: Sauteed with Pine Nut, Quail Egg, and Bulgar Wheat

Squab: Roasted, with Plum, Kale, and Bone Marrow

We got a picnic basket!

Greensward: Pretzel, Mustard and Beer

The contents of our picnic basket — beer, mustard, pretzel stick, Concorde grapes, cheese. Delicious.

Malt: Egg Cream with Vanilla and Seltzer

Plum: Marinated with Jasmine and Cashew

Fig: Glazed with Orange, Sage and Tapioca

Huckleberry: Goat Cheese Cheesecake and Lime

And there was a surprise under my plate!

Pretzel: Chocolate covered with Sea Salt

The meal was book-ended by another black and white cookie, but we took those home to go. They were delicious the next day, but I’ve got no pictures. Oops.

To me, Eleven Madison Park beats out Alinea in terms of the food. It’s not quite as novel, but everything was very solid and many of the flavor combinations were amazing and unexpected (lobster and almond?). Shamiq disagrees, but to each their own!

Total Bill: Menu ($390) + Cocktails (2 x$8) + Beverage (Bottled water, $16) + Tax ($37.45) = $459.45 for two