Dinner in the Kitchen at <a target="_blank" href="http://elevenmadisonpark.com/">Eleven
Madison Park</a>

11
Madison Ave

New
York, NY 10010

+1
(212) 889-0905

Over the years my wife and I have
enjoyed many spectacular meals at Eleven Madison Park, but this dinner was the
finest of all. Quite simply, it was one of the most unforgettable, truly moving
wine and food experiences of my life. We had the good fortune of sitting in the
kitchen, which is much less glamorous than it might sound. Eleven Madison Park
doesn’t have a true ‘chef’s table.’ Those lucky enough to eat in the kitchen
are seated at a small table tucked into the wall that is used by the staff
during busier nights towards the end of the week. As someone who spent years
working in restaurants, I have always loved the intensity of professional
kitchens. There is something about the energy, adrenaline and sheer heat that
is hard to capture with words. Guests are literally in the midst of the action
as every incoming order is called out by the expediter, cooked and ultimately
carried into the dining room. Needless to say, these are fabulous courtside
seats.

<img alt="" src="https://allgrapes.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads%2F1378332862987-EMPDiningRoom+-+Vinous.jpg"> Executive Chef Daniel Humm and his
team did a brilliant job with this tasting menu, which was full of highlights.
I would be challenged to find a dish or two that did not dazzle. The first
courses were all sublime. The raw fluke and scallop was breathtakingly pure and
pristine. The goat cheese lollipop was whimsical and fun, but also seriously
delicious. I loved the smoke sturgeon and caviar, which was served inside a
perfectly cooked potato. The humble potato is so easy to overlook, but not in
this kitchen. The lobster navarin was another breathtaking dish layered with
beautifully articulated flavors. Humm beamed as he presented a whole roasted
duck. So would I if I could cook like that. The duck, with its honey and
Schezuan peppercorns, was another dish laced with sublime intensity. The beef
was perhaps slightly more conventional, but it was cooked a perfect medium-rare
and literally buried with black truffles. What’s not to love?

John Ragan, Eleven Madison’s Wine
Director, chose all of the wines. Frankly, it was nice to have a night off from
thinking about wine too deeply. Billecart-Salmon’s
1998 Cuvée Nicolas François Billecart showed the house’s trademark cut and
focus, which worked well to complement the early courses. I am a big fan of Albert Boxler’s wines. The 2004 Riesling Grand Cru Sommerberg was fabulous,
as it presented a never-ending mélange of aromas and flavors to match its
exotic personality. The 2004
Chassagne-Montrachet Les Blanchots Dessus from Domaine Darviot-Perrin was surprisingly fat and smoky, with
luscious layers of fruit and a big, enveloping finish. Over time the wine found
its center and focus. I thought it worked best with the lobster navarin. Geantet-Pansiot’s 1996 Gevrey-Chambertin
1er Cru Le Poissenot was much further along than I would have expected. It
paired beautifully with the duck both in terms of its flavors and texture.
Exotic notes of orange peel, star anise and spices played off the sweetness and
Schezuan pepper in the duck beautifully. It was a wonderful pairing. That said,
I can’t imagine the Poissenot has too many more equally brilliant days ahead of
it. I was totally floored by Domaine de
Trévallon’s 1990 Coteaux d'Aix-en-Provence Les Baux. It was fabulous with
the beef, but the truth is it would have been great with anything, or nothing
at all. Sweet layers of fruit, subtle herbs, cedar, tobacco and spices were all
present in the glass, but the wine was really more about textural silkiness and
elegance, both of which it showed in spades. Readers lucky enough to still be
cellaring bottles can look forward to as much as another decade of fine
drinking. What a wine! 

Humm’s Old Fashioned cocktail with
rye, bitters and orange was a delicious pre-dessert that freshened the palate
nicely, before we finished with a tasty bite of chocolate ganache. 

The Cognac Grande Champagne ‘Devant la Porte’ from Paul &amp; Marie Fils
from micro-négociant Nicolas Palazzi was a fitting end to a truly
spectacular dinner. This single-barrel Cognac, distilled in 1951(!), was
immensely gifted with explosive fruit and layer after layer of flavor. It was
simply monumental. I only hope to have an opportunity to taste it again. 

This amazing dinner at Eleven
Madison Park was superb from start to finish. While not an inexpensive
experience, it was worth every penny. 

Food:

Halibut; tea and seaweed lavash

Fluke &amp; Scallop; basil and
meyer lemon; tangerine

Goat cheese lollipop with beets;
croquette with watercress and chive

Sea urchin panna cotta with apple
and celery

Smoked Sturgeon &amp; Caviar;
sabayon with chive; fingerling potato and crème fraîche

Foie Gras crème brûlée with cocoa,
apple and maple

Carrot; roasted with cumin and
Medjool dates

Lobster navarin with rutabaga,
kohlrabi and vermouth nage

Duck; glazed with lavender honey
and schezuan peppercorns

Beef roasted with celery root and
black truffles

Old Fashioned cocktail with rye,
bitters and orange

Chocolate ganache with caramel and
Maldon sea salt

Wine:

<table>
 <tbody><tr>
 <td>
 1998
 </td>
 <td>
 Billecart-Salmon Cuvée Nicolas
 François Billecart
 </td>
 <td>
 94
 </td>
 </tr>
 <tr>
 <td>
 2004
 </td>
 <td>
 Albert Boxler Riesling Grand Cru
 Sommerberg
 </td>
 <td>
 93
 </td>
 </tr>
 <tr>
 <td>
 2004
 </td>
 <td>
 &nbsp;Domaine Darviot-Perrin Chassagne-Montrachet
 Les Blanchots Dessus
 </td>
 <td>
 91
 </td>
 </tr>
 <tr>
 <td>
 1996
 </td>
 <td>
 Geantet-Pansiot Gevrey-Chambertin
 1er Cru Le Poissenot
 </td>
 <td>
 91
 </td>
 </tr>
 <tr>
 <td>
 1990
 </td>
 <td>
 Domaine de Trévallon Coteaux
 d'Aix-en-Provence Les Baux
 </td>
 <td>
 96
 </td>
 </tr>
 <tr>
 <td>
 NV
 </td>
 <td>
 Paul &amp; Marie Fils Cognac
 Grande Champagne ‘Devant la Porte’
 </td>
 <td>
 98</td></tr></tbody></table>

--Antonio Galloni

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