Eleven Madison Park goes vegan

[weinoo]

23 minutes ago, btbyrd said:

$300 3-star 10-course dinners. 

 

You'd be surprised.

[dcarch]

1 hour ago, btbyrd said:

But for a restaurant of this caliber to pivot to full-time vegan for sustainability reasons is laughable.

 

I will keep an open mind. There is no telling what can be done to produce interesting tasting food without meat.

For instance, "---Smokey bacon flavor pringles are suitable for vegetarian, and don't contain any pork.-----"

 

dcarch

[pastrygirl]

Sure, but Pringles are super-processed and packaged, a whole pig from a local farm feels* more sustainable than a can of junk food.

 

*I know my gut reaction may have nothing to do with reality

 

Maybe Humm is bored and wants a challenge.  Has anyone seen Lars Von Trier's "The Obstructions"?  Limitations bring out creativity and new ways of looking at things.

[Margaret Pilgrim]

2 hours ago, btbyrd said:

$300 3-star 10-course dinners. 

This makes no sense.

 

I think it's a fun idea for a pop-up or for a long-ish change

That has been the EMP's business practice if not plan for a very long time.   Run an incarnation for a couple of years, then reinvent.  Has worked before, so...

[weinoo]

You need to see what people pay for high-end sushi in this city; much of which is undoubtedly less sustainable than a beet. 

[Margaret Pilgrim]

[gfweb]

If cow burps are t he problem then harvest the cows when they are younger.

 

Eat more veal

[Eatmywords]

Yea, I can't see it succeeding at the luxe price point.  Does haute vegan lend itself to expensive wine/pairings?  Humm and team are smart though.  They'll adapt or scale back if it doesn't work.

[rotuts]

there is a 3 star restaurant in France

 

that went Vegetarian some time ago

 

sorry , I don't know if Vegan vx vegetarian etc.

 

Much French Heming and Hawing 

 

it got its 3 starts back

 

sorry I can't remember the name.   the was a video series 

 

on the restaurant .  sorry I cant remember the name , but i know

 

I have a the videos somewhere ............

 

it was pretty interesting.

[Margaret Pilgrim]

Humm's plan is viable as one of his periodic style shifts.    Restaurants like this and Paris' Arpege. are supported by "gastro-tourism", one-time guests with high end FOMO agendas.   Probably a cookbook or two forthcoming.

[Anna N]

There is a vegan restaurant in France with one Michelin star. 

Here  

so the door is open for EMP to up the ante. 

 

 

 

 

[Eatmywords]

34 minutes ago, rotuts said:

there is a 3 star restaurant in France.  that went Vegetarian some time ago. sorry , I don't know if Vegan vx vegetarian etc. Much French Heming and Hawing.  it got its 3 starts back.  Sorry I can't remember the name.   the was a video series. on the restaurant .  sorry I cant remember the name , but i know. I have a the videos somewhere ............it was pretty interesting.

 

It was the first Chef's Table w Alain Passard at L'Arpege as Margaret noted.  I got so hooked on the show after watching it. 

 

[weinoo]

I don't really see what the big deal is, other than the usual breathless coverage.

 

How much does Per Se charge? Masa? And as @Eatmywords mentions, once you start adding wine in to many meals at "fancy" places in NYC, your bill is getting there anyway.

[Eatmywords]

25 minutes ago, weinoo said:

I don't really see what the big deal is, other than the usual breathless coverage.

 

How much does Per Se charge? Masa? And as @Eatmywords mentions, once you start adding wine in to many meals at "fancy" places in NYC, your bill is getting there anyway.

Well, actually I was thinking they wouldn't get the same wine consumption, at least from regulars, given a simpler diet mindset.   But what do I know, I'm completely out of touch w the affluent vegan life style.

[weinoo]

6 minutes ago, Eatmywords said:

But what do I know, I'm completely out of touch w the affluent vegan life style.

 

I wasn't so much thinking the affluent vegan life style; I was more thinking the people who eat at EMP most likely enjoy drinking high-end wines.

[Eatmywords]

33 minutes ago, weinoo said:

I wasn't so much thinking the affluent vegan life style; I was more thinking the people who eat at EMP most likely enjoy drinking high-end wines.

 

I would agree for the special occassioners or once in a lifetimers but I can't see the vegan regulars dropping the same coin as the meat regulars.      

[Margaret Pilgrim]

35 minutes ago, Eatmywords said:

 

I would agree for the special occassioners or once in a lifetimers but I can't see the vegan regulars dropping the same coin as the meat regulars.      

I doubt that he will have, or even expects, many vegan regulars, i.e., locals.    What he devises as bar food will be interesting and maybe crucial.

[dcarch]

2 hours ago, Eatmywords said:

How much does Per Se charge? Masa?

 

I did get an email from Masa NY sometime ago, informing me that tipping is not accepted. 

Of course that makes it a lot more affordable. Dinner for two with wine will only be under $2,000.

 

You can save even more $$$$. Have lunch at Per Se, then dinner at Masa. They are in the same building. No need to pay for subway.

 

dcarch

Edited May 5, 2021 by dcarch (log)

[Steve R.]

11 minutes ago, dcarch said:

You can save even more $$$$. Have lunch at Per Se, then dinner at Masa. They are in the same building. No need to pay for subway.

 

Dont bet on it.  I heard that both Uber and Lyft were bidding for the escalators.

[weinoo]

4 hours ago, Eatmywords said:

 

I would agree for the special occassioners or once in a lifetimers but I can't see the vegan regulars dropping the same coin as the meat regulars.      

 

I was thinking if they're going to EMP vegan or not, it doesn't matter what the tariff is.

 

My question about Masa/Per Se was sorta rhetorical...I knew the answer!

[Margaret Pilgrim]

4 hours ago, Eatmywords said:

 

I would agree for the special occassioners or once in a lifetimers but I can't see the vegan regulars dropping the same coin as the meat regulars.      

Vegan is moderately new, while high-roll dining is not.    It's my sense that those who are used to drinking top wines in restaurants and who convert to vegan will continue to drink the level of wines they enjoyed in the past.

[AAQuesada]

On 5/3/2021 at 2:40 PM, chromedome said:

There's also big-name precedent, with Ducasse and Passard going at least mostly-veg at some of their restaurants. I own Ducasse's Spoon cookbook, though I'll confess I haven't cooked anything from it.

 

I think its a smart way of competing economically imo, it should help out there food cost and take some of the pressure off of labor %. Honestly I'm surprised more Chef's haven't copied Passard. If you have the creativity and skill to pull it off, it's a smart move. Sure will be curious how this plays out with his dining public! 

[chromedome]

I'm not sure it's going to move the needle on food cost as much as some of you think. In my much less-elevated restaurant I paid more for some of my produce than I did for ingredients like sturgeon and wild boar.

They weren't serving supermarket-grade meats, and I'm pretty sure they won't be serving supermarket-grade vegetables either. They'll be dealing with boutique foragers, farmers, etc. The things that aren't innately "high-spec" must be made so, which requires time and skilled labor that would almost certainly negate much of the cost advantage.

[dcarch]

Perhaps it would be more interesting for Blue Hill/Stone Barn to do this.

 

They have their own farm next to the restaurant.

 

dcarch

Edited May 6, 2021 by dcarch (log)

[Eatmywords]

16 hours ago, Margaret Pilgrim said:

Vegan is moderately new, while high-roll dining is not.    It's my sense that those who are used to drinking top wines in restaurants and who convert to vegan will continue to drink the level of wines they enjoyed in the past.

I don't disagree on the quality but rather restraint on indulging, inline with the vegan mindset of less, healthier, conservation, etc.   Multi course pairings would seem unnecessary esp in the company of like minded friends : )