#EMP, Eleven Madison Park on summer vacation

In the city, Eleven Madison Park is in the middle of major renovation.  Will Guidera and Daniel Humm took over the place from Danny Meyer in 2006 so regardless of the space not being touched in 20 years, it was time to make it theirs.  So what do you do with an incredible staff of 150 people when a restaurant needs to close down for a few months?  You innovate by bringing the whole crew out to the Hamptons, take over a restaurant that has a summer vibe, create a summer menu while you work on world domination and call it EMP Summer House

The good news for us is that there is a truly delicious restaurant in our part of the Hamptons.  You can book a table in advance or just show up at the bar….and you better have an Amex because that is all they take.  Smart partnership on their part on many levels.  There are different menus depending on where you sit.

We went with a small group who had ordered the fried chicken dinner in advance.  You can treat yourself to this meal by booking the Fried Chicken Picnic basket to be picked up between 11 am and noon the day of, for four people….an American Express exclusive experience.

We started with a few items.  The snow pea chiffonade salad with pancetta, pieces of pecorino and mint.

Flatbreads are a must.  Corn with black truffle and Parmesan.

Clam with bacon and red onion.

Zucchini with tomato, chili, and anchovy.

Warm melt in your mouth cheddar chive biscuits with a spicy chili-lime aioli which is good with the chicken too.

German potato salad.

Cucumber and watermelon salad.

A simple salad with a buttermilk dressing.  I honestly couldn’t get enough of this.

And of course the perfectly cooked boneless fried chicken that you can’t help taking just one more piece.

Dessert was a peach pie with a cornmeal crust with ricotta ice cream.  Wow.

We ate on the patio, next time the dining room, next time the bar and then perhaps just a repeat on the patio.  Watching the lobster boil where they dump a seafood mixture on your table looks like we might have to try that too.

Comments (Archived):

  1. awaldstein

    so envious. enjoy!

  2. Sebastien Latapie

    This looks incredible – I hope to experience Eleven Madison Park at some point in my life.

  3. pointsnfigures

    putting some south in your mouth with buttermilk dressing, biscuits and fried chicken!

  4. JLM

    .Your food pics are superb. I hope the subject of the blog post sees them and gives you a free winner-winner-chicken-dinner in return.Well played.JLMwww.themusingsofthebigredca…