Eleven Madison Park, New York

Pea soup amuse bouche

If you find yourself with something to celebrate in New York (the fact that you're in New York, perhaps?), look no further than Eleven Madison Park for a special occasion meal that you won't forget in a hurry.

With its soaring ceilings and huge windows, the Art Deco dining room is light, airy and elegant. It has a classic New York feel. But Eleven Madison Park is different right from the start.

Amuse no 2.

Crab

The surprise tasting menu allows diners to choose from 3 or 4 courses by only selecting the main ingredient listed - so, for first course, choose from LETTUCE, CRAB, TROUT or FOIE GRAS, and the rest will be entirely up to the imagination of Chef Daniel Humm. Each dish is delicately and beautifully presented - a smile inducing joy to look at as much as to eat.

Egg

Lobster

Among the delights, we enjoyed a dainty CRAB salad with pickled daikon radish and crustacean mayonnaise, followed by a luscious soft poached EGG with frogs legs, English pears and ramps. Mains included poached CHICKEN with Provencale asparagus, morels and black truffles, followed by a magnificent CHOCOLATE tart with salted caramel and chocolate sorbet.

Lamb

Wines were expertly matched by the glass (resulting in quite the happily on top of the world toddle home) and service was friendly and unstuffy - right down to accommodating TPG's new gluten free diet with 4 different types of bread (putting my efforts of buying him the occasional pouch of sympathy flax to shame).

Strawberry

It's pricey but reasonable considering the quality and creativity (particularly given the outrageous pricing of many London tasting menus) and the rollicking good long lunch you will have.

Lunch: 3 courses for $56, 4 courses for $74.
Dinner: 3 courses for $125, 4 courses for $195.
Worth every cent.

I think Eleven Madison Park now has the edge over Per Se, Jean-Georges and any other fine dining I've had in my favorite city of gastronomic delights. Book well in advance.

Eleven Madison Park, 11 Madison Avenue, New York, 10010




Other favourites from this most May 2011 recent trip were newbie The Dutch (fabulous, fun, great food, open late), The Spotted Pig (a burger for brunch - why not?), Craft (an old favourite - still wonderful), Georgia's Eastside BBQ (for massive plates of fried chicken, pulled pork potato salad, slaw etc - not one for dieters) and Gimme Coffee for coffee. Oh, and don't miss the views from the hotel bar at the Mandarin Oriental for cocktails. If I get time (and you may have noticed I'm struggling on that front lately - work can really get in the way of a good time) I'll try to write some of them up. TPG has been promising to help me on that score with some kind of guest entry but so far, so tumbleweed.

Spuntino, Soho

I've been waiting patiently for Spuntino to open in Soho for months. I watched the blue Indian restaurant move on, I watched the boards go up, and I watched the workmen move in. Then I leave London for 2 and a bit weeks, and it opens.

The bloggers have been at it already, so you don't need all the details. But just in case you haven't heard, Spuntino is the 3rd restaurant in the line of gems brought to us by Russell Norman, the man behind Polpo and Polpetto.

They all have a related look and feel - brickwork, exposed lighting, industrial type fittings. But Spuntino is more rock n roll. It has a totally cool view over the neon signs and street scenes of Soho's red light district, features a New Yorkish/American inspired menu and is now the closest one to my front door which means its become my new stop out for a negroni before beef sliders and shoe string fries.

Sliders and beet salad

It's tiny, with seats largely limited to those around the bar meaning its best to go in 2's or 3's only (although there is a table in a small enclave at the back of the room for a larger group). We arrived at 7pm to find the seats already full, but half way through the first negroni we were seated (perhaps be optimistic if they tell you there's a one hour wait) and were ordering up from a wide selection of reasonably priced small plates.

Oooh baby - the mac 'n cheese

DO NOT miss the beef and marrow sliders, juicy and rich little balls of fun presented like tiny hamburgers. Fabulous. The lamb and pickle cucumber sliders are also good, as is a decent sized (even if a tad too salty) beet and ricotta salad. The mac and cheese is a cheesy powerhouse, and while it might clog up your arteries, if you're up for some serious comfort food, I've never liked a mac and cheese more. It's crispy on top and oozing with leeks, mozzarella, fontina and parmesan. Yeehaah.

Pizzetta

The zucchini pizzetta is simple but pretty much perfect - thin and crispy with chili, mint and a lovely mild cheese.

Peanut butter and jelly sandwich

The peanut butter and jelly sandwich for dessert is also fun - a lovely jam is sandwiched between 2 wedges of peanut butter ice-cream, sprinkled with crushed sugary peanuts. I wasn't sure about it at first, but it grew on me.

We paid £65 for 2 including service, martinis (don't be fooled by the size people - they're potent), negronis and a glass of delicious Nero D'Avola (yes, they do the wine in tumbers thing which some of you don't like, but I think it works here).

Spuntino is not gourmet and it's not perfect. But both food and atmosphere are bloody good fun - I love Spuntino already.


Spuntino, 61 Rupert St, Soho, W1D 7PN (No reservations)

You can see my earlier reviews of Polpo and Polpetto here - both made my Top 10 London Restaurants 2010 list for Toptable.

PS. If you ever read this Spuntino, can we please have hooks for handbags under the bar? Ta.

New York: The Meatball Shop & other downtown bites

I've written about 3 great sandwiches from my recent trip to New York - but there's still much to tell. Today, it's all about some fun downtown establishments. Starting with The Meatball Shop:

The Meatball Shop - Lower East Side 

Choose your meatballs, choose your sauce and choose how it arrives in front of you. I take the classic, juicy beef meatballs smothered in spicy meat sauce, served simply and piping hot in a bowl with a slice of foccaccia for mopping it up. TPG goes for the meatball smash - 2 spicy pork meatballs on a brioche bun with spicy meat sauce, cheese and a side salad. Or there's a meatball hero (try beef, spicy pork, chicken, veggie or the daily special) served in a crusty baguette with cheese sauce. A range of sides include risotto, polenta, spaghetti or daily roast veggies.

Executive chef/co-owner Daniel Holzman trained for 4 years at super upmarket Le Bernadin, but is lighting up the happening Lower East Side with this simple but fantastic place that is what it says on the tin. It's a hit with all the hip and happening people that flock to the Lower East Side, an area heaving with similarly lively places to eat. Expect to work through quite a few drinks at the bar while you wait for a table - unless you arrive after 10.30pm (which we did, arriving late from our flight from London) by which time we only had to wait for the time it took to drink a beer. Pure gold.

The Meatball Shop, 84 Stanton Street, Lower East Side, New York, (Ph: (212) 982 8895) - open noon til 2am/4am






Fatty Crab - West Village 

I've reviewed it before, but when your feet are aching from pacing the cobbles of the Meatpacking District and the galleries of 21st Street, this is a great, casual little spot to refuel with some zingy, Malaysian inspired bowls of goodness. On my list to try (still) is Fatty Cue, the related Malaysian/BBQ joint which has opened in Brooklyn.

Fatty Crab, 643 Hudson Street, West Village, New York (Ph. 212 352 3592) (They also have a branch at 2170 Broadway on the Upper West Side).




Torrisi Italian Specialties - Little Italy/NoLita 

I've told my tale of 3 New York sandwiches already, but the chicken parmigiana schnitzel hero from Torrisi Italian Specialties deserves an honorable mention. There's minimal seating in this old fashioned, basic deli come restaurant, and many take away, but the big, juicy sandwiches are well worth the short wait. My chicken parma sandwich ($8) was crammed with large, succulent pieces of breaded chicken schnitz and a tasty tomato sauce. It's all so fresh and simple, so why is it so hard to find a sandwich this good?

The walk in only restaurant also has a daily changing, Italian family style dinner menu made from all American ingredients for around $50 per person - it allows for no substitutions (including for vegetarians or children) but sounds the goods to me.


Torrisi Italian Specialties, 250 Mulberry Street, NoLita, New York (Ph: (212) 695 0955)

The Stanton Social - Lower East Side 

If I didn't despise the overused phrase "achingly hip" so much, I'd use it to describe the Stanton Social. A large dark, seductive room with a mix of tables and alluring, round booths is humming with a big, boisterous, Saturday night vibe from early til late. The menu bears an intriguing mix of modern sharing plates with a twist - like Kobe beef burger sliders, red snapper tacos, Thai spiced baby back ribs and butter poached lobster pizzetta. However, the execution had more misses than hits on our visit - French onion soup dumplings are cheese drenched soggy balls and the "chicken and waffles" (brick pressed chicken, aged cheddar waffle, corn pudding and balsamic spiked maple syrup) is interesting but doesn't really hit the mark.

A fun place for lively drinks and sharing plates, but the food doesn't live up to its promise. (This was confirmed by the experiences of our New York friends also). And hereby heed my very annoying website warning.

The Stanton Social Club, 99 Stanton Street, Lower East Side, New York, (Ph: (212) 995 0099)

Momufuku Noodle Bar - East Village 

David Chang's casual noodle bar is definitely worth a visit. The momofuku ramen with pork belly, pork shoulder and poached egg was good (perfectly cooked noodles, nice pork, subtle broth), but the ginger scallion noodles were fabulous - shiny, toothsome squiggles of joy, mixed with the delectable flavours of pickled shiitake mushrooms, cucumber and menma. The short menu is rammed with loads you'll want to try - steamed buns, roasted foie gras with almond, pear and smoked tea, smoked chicken wings with pickled chilli, garlic and scallions. The noodle bar is said to serve a fantastic fried chicken - call ahead to reserve it. The setting is quite spacious and modern, with blonde wood and long, communal tables. Momofuku Noodle Bar is good - one to go back to again and again.

Momofuku Noodle Bar, 171 First Avenue (Between 10th and 11th), New York



Finally, Momofuku Milk Bar (207, 2nd Ave, East Village, New York) - I've mentioned it before. But now they have birthday cake truffles - cakey, doughey balls of rainbow cake crumble, sprinkles and vanilla frosting. They sound ridiculous. They taste amazing. I'm addicted. $3 for 3.

For more on New York, see my earlier posts:

• A tale of 3 sandwiches 
• Breakfast, Brunch, Coffee 
• Lunch, Dinner, Everything in Between 

Still to come: More brunch spots and 2 nights of five star dining