A vegan and a meat-eater spent nearly $1,000 trying Eleven Madison Park’s new meat-optional menu. Here’s what it was like.

• Eleven Madison Park, which has three Michelin stars, reintroduced meat to its menu this week.
• It shifted to a plant-based menu in 2021, but said it is now trying to be more “inclusive.”
• We visited the restaurant to see how its $365 tasting menu has changed.

Light streamed through the large windows, accompanied by hushed conversation and the gentle clink of cutlery as we arrived at Eleven Madison Park.

We dined at the three-Michelin-star restaurant on the opening night of its revamped menu as it shifted away from its strictly plant-based identity.

After its bold leap into a fully plant-based format in 2021, the restaurant, which first opened in 1998, is pivoting again, reintroducing select meat and fish options, including its signature honey-lavender duck.

The shift — welcomed by some, slammed as a money grab by others— was framed as a way to offer a wider range of choices to diners.

“Eating together is the essence of who we are, and I’ve learned that for me to truly champion plant-based cooking, I need to create an environment where everyone feels welcome around the table,” wrote chef and owner Daniel Humm when announcing the change in August.

The announcement left one of Business Insider’s editors reeling. Lydia Warren, a vegan for almost a decade, had long admired Humm’s outspoken commitment to plant-based dining and his role in proving it could be considered upscale. She bristled at how the change was heralded as a sign “the protein bros have won.”

Warren wasn’t alone. It appears that some staff members at Eleven Madison Park were upset by the change, Business Insider has learned.

One server we spoke with said some vegan staff members were disappointed when the change was announced publicly in August, but that none had left the restaurant as a result. Staff learned about the chef’s plans to reintroduce meat to the menu at the same time as everyone else, they added.

Eleven Madison Park declined to comment.

Still, on October 14, the opening night of the menu relaunch, Warren and another reporter, Erin McDowell, who eats meat, went to see how the restaurant was approaching its new edict.

As a vegan and a meat-eater seated side by side, did Eleven Madison Park’s new menu bridge the gap?

On the first night of the updated menu, the dining room buzzed with excitement.

When we arrived for our 5:45 p.m. reservation, we gave the hostess our name and were immediately shown to our table. We noticed how the Eleven Madison Park team was well-oiled.

There was no need to check an iPad for our reservation — it was as if they had memorized the names of every reservation and were expecting us.

When we were seated at a plush corner table in the cavernous dining room inside the unassuming yet glamorous Art Deco-style building, one staff member informed us that bookings were filling up quickly — faster, even, than when Eleven Madison Park first introduced its plant-based menu.

In fact, the restaurant was fully booked on the night of our visit, and the next available slot was at 10:30 p.m., five days later.

Guests can still order a completely plant-based tasting menu or opt for the new menu, which features both plant-based and meat options.

Of the eight courses we tried, three could feature meat and seafood if we wished. As such, Warren opted for the fully plant-based menu, while McDowell asked for the meat options.

The cost of the tasting menu was $365 per person, which was paid for in advance when we made our reservation. Any drink purchases and the tip were added to the total.

Eleven Madison Park offers a selection of signature cocktails, an extensive wine list, and mocktails.

At our table, McDowell began the night with a dirty gin martini ($22).

The server was attentive, asking what kind of gin she’d like, and happily accommodated her request to have more olive brine in the drink.

It was perfectly cold and just the right amount of “dirty.”

Our vegan reporter ordered a mocktail.

The apple blossom mocktail ($18) featured the alcohol-free aperitif Everleaf Mountain, a tequila alternative, Seedlip Notas de Agave, along with blue malva flowers, dragonfruit, lemon, and aquafaba.

It was the aquafaba that made this cocktail particularly intriguing. The starchy liquid left over from cooking chickpeas or beans is often used as a stand-in for eggs in plant-based baking, or, in this case, egg whites.

It created a froth that held its shape atop the fruity, candy-like mocktail.

When we sat down at our table, we were given warm towels for our hands.

This simple gesture set the tone for our meal, allowing us to fully relax before diving into the tasting menu.

The first course was two laminated bread rolls, onion butter, and a roasted onion broth.

The laminated bread looked more similar to a pastry than a traditional bread roll we typically get at restaurants.

It had a luminous golden crust that gleamed under the restaurant’s low lights.

This was the best restaurant bread either of us had ever had.

The caramelized onion flavor came through in a symphony of flavor, while the perfectly airy middle was stretchy and fluffy, balancing out the flaky, salty crust.

Despite knowing we had many more courses coming, we both wished we had been given more bread and onion butter, as we were still thinking about this course by the end of the meal.

The second course was a leek salad, which was beautifully presented.

The marinated leeks, perched atop an aioli and dusted with tiny Os of cilantro stems, were exquisitely plated. Each bite was delicate and delightfully acidic, finished with a touch of fat from the aioli.

The leeks practically melted in our mouths.

“This was a dish unlike anything I’ve had at any other restaurant,” said McDowell, who eats meat. “It was experimental, yet still approachable — even if you’re not a truly adventurous eater, I’m convinced anyone would enjoy most of the courses on the tasting menu.”

With the leek salad course, we were also each given a steamed collard green dumpling.

The dumpling — brought to the table in a small wooden box — was savory and perfectly pillowy, while the collard greens gave it an earthy flavor.

It was served in a soy-sauce broth that we sipped afterward.

Next was the first course to feature a type of meat.

McDowell received a scallop ceviche made with golden beets and grapefruit.

The first bite was a quiet surprise: the scallop’s silkiness gave way to a bright, citrusy rush from the grapefruit.

This dish exemplified how Eleven Madison Park is reimagining its menu.

The raw scallop, sourced from Prince Edward Island in Canada, was the star of this dish — buttery and unbelievably fresh — but it was the plant-based elements that elevated it and made it truly memorable.

The brightness of the grapefruit and the slightly earthy sweetness of the beets made this dish a true showstopper.

The plant-based option was a radish salad.

As McDowell received her scallops, Warren was presented another artful plate: an exquisite flower of radish and apple discs, dotted with mustard seeds and horseradish.

While it was a feast for the eyes, the acidity felt similar to the leek course, and it might have been more welcome later in the meal, between some of the heavier, saltier courses.

Up next was a cold course of soba noodles in a tomato broth.

Our waiter explained that the dishes would alternate between warm and cold to create a contrast throughout the tasting menu.

The soba noodles were served in a tomato broth made with confit tomatoes, Thai basil, sesame seeds, garlic, scallions, shallots, and saffron for garnish.

The noodles were hearty, with most of the flavor coming from the tomato broth.

The texture of the broth was slightly gelatinous, like it was made from the juice that you get when you slice into a ripe tomato.

The noodles were starchy and easy to pick up with the provided chopsticks.

We were encouraged to drink the clear broth afterward, but it was so rich that we only managed a couple of sips.

The fifth course was a choice of butter-poached lobster or red kuri squash.

The lobster was plated beneath a thin, golden disc of squash, its surface glistening under the dining room’s soft light, and accompanied by a side of tender kale.

The portion was modest, but every bite counted. The lobster was tender and sweet, its richness lifted by the squash’s nut notes.

The colors of the lobster dish complemented those of the plant-based option.

While McDowell tucked into the lobster, Warren savored a slab of red kuri squash, topped with chili jam, and bathed in a lemongrass curry.

After enjoying the tender squash, she scooped up the curry with a spoon.

This was another dish where the seasoning was ramped up, and the hint of sweet jam helped cut through those salty, savory flavors.

The next course offered some theatrics.

The dish was plated tableside by our waiter, who revealed smoked potatoes from inside a gourd-shaped vessel.

This was among our favorite courses of the evening.

The sixth course was potatoes three ways: a smoked hasselback potato, potato purée, chive blossom crema, a dusting of powdered potato, and the restaurant’s famous “land caviar,” made from seeds.

Each bite was bursting with flavor.

Each layer of the sliced potato fell apart effortlessly, bringing a salty yet buttery flavor to each bite.

The land caviar, seasoned with nori, didn’t mimic the taste of traditional caviar but added a pleasing textural contrast to the dish.

Up next was the dish our meat-eating reporter couldn’t wait for: the famous honey-lavender duck.

Eleven Madison Park’s honey lavender-glazed duck isn’t just another dish on the restaurant’s menu — it’s a symbol of the restaurant itself.

Created early in Humm’s tenure, it quickly became one of EMP’s most iconic offerings and stayed on the menu for years, virtually untouched.

The duck had a crispy, crackling skin and was served with plum sauce.

With each bite, the duck revealed layers of flavor: crisp skin, succulent meat, and a depth that stopped our non-vegan reporter in her tracks.

“I’ve had duck plenty of times in my day, but never like this,” McDowell said.

The final meat course certainly lived up to the hype.

Once described by Humm as a “perfected” recipe, the duck certainly lived up to all the expectations.

It was unbelievably tender, with notes of floral lavender and sweet honey coming together to create a dish that was well-balanced and clearly thought out.

“I’m still dreaming about it,” McDowell said.

At first, we thought the plant-based option had been placed in front of the wrong person.

The maitake mushroom entrée looked so much like meat, it seemed there had been a mix-up. This was one of the first protein-dense ingredients in the plant-based tasting menu.

Tender layers of grilled mushrooms were interspliced with squares of seitan, a meat alternative made from wheat gluten. The kebab-like entrée was served with spinach.

This umami-packed dish was a great example of how satisfying plant-based dining can be.

It was unlike anything our vegan editor had tried before in almost a decade of being vegan — its ingenuity and combination of textures made it a satisfying and memorable dish.

It was, however, yet another heavily seasoned dish, so the additions of spinach and crema helped balance out those salty flavors.

While Warren is somewhat accustomed to seeing people eat meat, the worst part of this course — and the entire meal — was seeing the duck dish and feeling a sense of anger and sadness. To her, it spoke to how EMP is alienating its original core base.

The dessert course was a trio featuring pear.

The course was a poached pear that contained a type of pudding inside, along with a ball of caramelized white chocolate.

The course was sweet and the perfect way to wind down the meal, without being too heavy or decadent.

The final course was a sesame pretzel with chocolate.

Served alongside coffee, it was the perfect end to the meal — especially since, after eight other courses, we both felt extraordinarily stuffed.

We were also given a tub of the restaurant’s famous granola to take home with us, intended for breakfast the next morning.

Three and a half hours later, we paid the bill and ended our once-in-a-lifetime experience at Eleven Madison Park.

Despite costing a total of $855.76 before tip, we both felt the experience was well worth the investment. Every dish was memorable, from balanced yet exciting flavors to the presentation and bigger-than-expected portion sizes.

Eleven Madison Park’s pivot back to meat may be provocative, but we could see Humm’s vision playing out: It seems capable of getting meat-eaters in the door and then opening their minds to experimenting with more plant-based dishes. After all, vegetables still felt like the backbone of the menu and experience.

McDowell said she enjoyed all three of the meat-based dishes she was served, but would likely have been just as satisfied with the plant-based tasting menu.

“I’d be much more open to eating at a vegan restaurant after this experience,” she said.

That was the most thrilling part of the experience for Warren: that her dinner date realized just how inventive, delicious, and satisfying plant-based dining can be.

“I’d obviously prefer Eleven Madison Park to stay completely vegan,” Warren said, “but if an experience like this shows meat-eaters how fun and delicious plant-based food is, and they are open to eating less meat as a result, that’s progress.”

Read the original article on Business Insider

The post A vegan and a meat-eater spent nearly $1,000 trying Eleven Madison Park’s new meat-optional menu. Here’s what it was like. appeared first on Business Insider.