Adam Platt Awards Four Sparklers to Eleven Madison Park

Adam Platt is the second major critic to file a full review of the recently rejiggered Eleven Madison Park (Cheshes snuck in before the end of the year with a five star rave in Time Out New York). Like Pete Wells, Platt noticed some stumbles in the execution of the original New York-themed menu, but he finds that chef Daniel Humm has smoothed out the wrinkles since the fall:

The smoked sturgeon was followed by a melting slip of cognac-soaked foie gras dressed with truffles and a crumbling of rye, then a series of delicious seafood dishes that included seared scallops set over a silvery pear gêlée studded with caviar, and a crescent of sweet, butter-poached lobster arranged on the plate with a perfectly charred baby leek. I can't recall one entrée course from the original tasting menu, but now you have a choice of two, including cuts of extravagantly aged rib eye (140 days, according to the waiter), and Humm's famous roast duck, which is crusted, as always, with Sichuan peppercorns and served here with a wintry garnish of apples, sweet cabbage, and foie gras.

Although Platt is not convinced that EMP is the best restaurant in the city at the moment, he still gives it four stars (out of five), which is the same rating that he gave EMP when he declared it to be the best restaurant in the city in 2011. Maybe it's time for New York to retire that fifth star, or maybe it's time for Platt to actually use it.
· The Celebrated Daniel Humm Reinvents Eleven Madison Park—Again [NYM]
· All Coverage of Eleven Madison Park [~ENY~]
[Daniel Krieger]

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