Eleven Madison Park...the mother of all dining.

Eleven Madison Park will always remind me of my mom. Elegant. Sophisticated. Fabulous. And over the years we've celebrated some special mom-related events there; Mother's Day brunch, fancy cocktails at the bar and last year we hosted the mother of all surprise parties in the upstairs private room -- my mom's 60th! Eleven Madison Park is befitting an amazing mom like my own; it's traditional without being stuffy, it's modern without being pretentious and it is reliably excellent. So when the opportunity arose to celebrate another life milestone we agreed 11MP should be the place we do it.

From the moment you walk into the old bank building across from Madison Square Park one can't help but notice the sheer importance of the space. Something serious takes place within these walls. And despite the strong, stable and hallowed building that houses 11MP over our years of patronage we've seen some significant changes -- staff, chefs and notably, the menu. In it's current iteration the food is the focus. Even within the incredible setting and with the first rate staff and service, the food is the centerpiece of the evening.



The menu itself is a single square page with one word descriptions of each dish. It is suggested that diners allows themselves to be taken on a culinary journey; don't over analyze your dish before it arrives and let the evening (as well as the food and wine) flow. And that's just what we did. After several fabulous amuses (quail egg on light cracker with sweet apple tea, parmesan and truffle black & white cookies, sweet raw scallops atop crispy scallop crackers and the savory yogurt and seed ice pops) we were on to the mains. Fresh Hamachi with shaved horseradish followed by delectable and sweet Lobster with lemon and shellfish bisque. On to the perfectly cooked Rib Eye roasted with sorrel and mini potatoes and the earthy and hearty Morel mushrooms with snap peas and tripe. We ended the evening with sweet dark Chocolate morsels paired with lavender, orange sorbet and sea salt. Several more post dinner treats and a few repeats of the wine pairings and we were satiated and impressed.

And as I looked around the gorgeous setting and I sipped what must have been the 10th in a sequence of wine pairings I was reminded that life is worth celebrating. Surrounded by my family, our senses glowing from what we had just imbibed I was thankful for that evening. And thankful for my mom (and dad) for bringing us back for the mother of all dinners.

Eleven Madison Park
11 Madison Avenue