I had lunch recently at Eleven Madison Park. Here are my thoughts (I'll post some pictures later)

Upon entering the restaurant, I was immediately greeted and asked for my name. My coat and backpack were also taken. I was then escorted to my table by the GM, he was a really nice guy and stopped by several time to see how things were going and to also to just chat, which is something that I have not seen at many Michelin 3* places, he seemed genuinely interested in talking with guests.

At my table were a series of presents to open that included about 5 different amuse bouches as well as my napkin and utensils. It kinda bothered me that the napkin was on the bottom, it was the last thing I opened and I had already started eating, and naturally spilled on myself already! The different amuses were as follows:

• Caviar with creme cheese, egg, and mini everything bagels
• Beet with trout roe and apple
• Cucumber with pumpernickel chips and salmon
• Potato with quail egg and mustard
• Mackerel with fennel and salmon

Each tasted very good, I had mentioned that I do not like egg, so they brought another to have in lieu of the potato and quail egg. The mini everything bagels were especially good!

At this point, I was given several options for the appetizer, fish course, and main course. I chose the seared foie gras, lobster, and duck.

The first dish was seared foie gras with beets, rye, and horseradish. Simply a great tasting dish.

Then came butter poached lobster tail with potato and chanticleers. The lobster was somewhat chewy and hard to cut, but each component of the dish tasted good.

Next, a whole-roasted pumpkin was brought over and cut open in front of me. Then it was brought back to the kitchen to be plated. I was apprehensive about this dish, but it tasted very good, and the pumpkin was bacon wrapped, which always makes things taste better!

The main course was dry aged duck with honey, lavender, and apple. Probably my favorite dish of the afternoon, the crust on the duck was simply amazing. This was served with some brussel sprouts and potatoes on the side. I've never liked brussel sprouts, but the potatoes were good.

At this point, I was asked by the GM if I would like to see the kitchen, and naturally I agreed! I was brought in the back to have a mini pastry cone filled with truffle mouse and topped with black truffle. This was also fantastic, I love black truffle and this really hit the spot. It was also neat to see the kitchen, everything was spotless and it was cool to see after the renovation when everything was still new.

Next was the cheese course, which was pretzel bread topped with a cheddar beer cheese. Again, a fantastic dish.

Last up was an apple cider doughnut with cinnamon ice cream. It was served steaming hot and I devoured it so quickly! I was even offered another seeing how fast I ate it, but I was so full, I couldn't eat another!

With the check (for my wine), I was presented with a chocolate covered pretzel which was not that good.

Overall, the meal was really good, but not the best in the world IMO. The two standouts on the staff were the GM and the sommelier. They both seemed genuinely interested in having conversations with guests. My table captain seemed nice, but not really interested in talking more than he had to.

I also though some of the dishes came out a little colder than they should, but the overall flavors and dish execution seemed to be there and still Michelin 3* quality.

Some other random thoughts: the dining room was never full, I counted at least 4 empty tables that were never occupied during my 3ish hour lunch. At some points, both my water glass and wine glass were empty, a big no-no. And there was a clear hierarchy of tables, not all groups were asked to go back to the kitchen and some were really doted on. There was one table in particular that seemed to always have someone checking on them.

This visit was a lot better then my last experience, about 6 years ago. I would like to go back, but it did not live up to my expectations of being "other-worldly" as had been reported and given their best restaurant in the world award (which I understand and agree is a very subjective list). I can think of a few meals I have had this year that were better.