The New Dinner Format at Eleven Madison Park Includes Beer from Ithaca Beer Company

“Flower Power”, “Cascazilla”, and “Partly Sunny” are some of the playful names of beer being made in Upstate New York.  They are all being brewed at Ithaca Beer Company.  Dan Mitchell founded the brewery in 1998 and has been committed to making quality craft beer ever since.  Last Friday, September 7^th, the public was given its first chance to taste “Picnic Basket,” the newest addition to Ithaca’s roster.  The difference between “Picnic Basket” and the other beer being made 30 miles south of Syracuse is Picnic Basket Pale Wheat Ale is only available at Eleven Madison Park.

Intrigued by the collaboration between one of the world's greatest restaurants and the small, Upstate brewery that is Ithaca Beer, Digest NY reached out to Eleven Madison Park to learn more.

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Eleven Madison Park Will Turn Another Corner in September

Eleven Madison Park wants to be the best restaurant in the world.  In the fall of 2010, the restaurant took a new approach to hospitality.  EMP removed a few seats along with its a la carte option and implimented their 'grid menu'.  The idea behind the grid is to encourage interaction with the guests.  They choose from rows of ingredients, which might read something like this: tomato, crab, langostine, foie gras.  Once the guest's decisions are made, the kitchen builds their meal accordingly.

More changes are underway.  According to a Times article, one of these is a beer made by Ithaca Beer Company, brewed specially for the restaurant to pair with a cheese course (served in a picnic basket btw).  Shortly after Labor Day, the $125 prix fixe option will no longer be available once Chef Daniel Humm and General Manager Will Guidara impliment a few more changes that will result in a four hour, interactive dining experience under the lofty ceilings and lofty goals of Eleven Madison Park.

Update on Monday, July 30, 2012 at 5:04PM by Craig Cavallo

In other Humm/Guidara news, the president is going to be at a $40,000/plate fundraiser dinner tonight at sister restaurant in The NoMad Hotel.  Dinner just kicked off at 5pm and No Drama Obama will address the diners at 8pm.  The proceeds benefit the Obama Victory Fund 2012.

Three Stars for the Wandering Nomad

Pete Wells awards three stars to The Nomad.  The restaurant is "loose, alive, genuine, deliberate."  This is intentional.  "Daniel Humm and Will Guidara talk about modeling the restaurant on the Rolling Stones.  They went through a branding exercise, writing down words that defined the band."

Perhaps that's why the atmospher is "Fancily if impersonally decorated, like a Riviera home rented out to a rock band."

Wells finds the signature chicken for two as "the uncontested prima donna.  If served at a dark no-reservations tavern in the Village, it would be enough to put the place on the map."

"When things can go so right, you notice when they go even a little wrong."  This was sometimes the case with certain dishes, the flaws of which are "minor demerits for a kitchen that takes on as much as the NoMad's."  In addition to the 120 seats in The Nomad, the kitchen is responsible for room service and the five-course tasting menu that launched last week on The Nomad Rooftop, the hotel's alfresco sibling.

A hotel is not complete without a bar and The Nomad does an excellent job in this department. "The selection of cocktails, an entire fleet, is surely one of the best in the city."  The Turf Cocktail is "an absinthe-fortified martini that could easily become a habit, but it's probably not the kind described in “Sister Morphine.”"

The Nomad came up just shy of four stars.  "But while the NoMad seeks its tone, there are so many reasons for patience."

T R O T N

The Roof Of The Nomad (TROTN) is launching dinner service tonight.  Turns out, it's called The Nomad Rooftop and, as of this morning, you can make same day reservations to "sit under the stars and have an ultra-refined meal," as Will Guidara mentions in an interview with Eater.

Operating a restaurant that is exposed to the elements provides an interesting set of circumstances for Daniel Humm (Chef) and Will Guidara (GM), the managing partners in Eleven Madison Park, The Nomad, and now The Nomad Rooftop.  "It's weather dependent," Mr. Humm says, "you have to prep in advance, even if you end up not opening. It's a headache in many ways."

The alfresco dinner comes in the form of a six-course tasting for $125.  "We're starting off with a menu that has a dish of tomatoes, some bread with tomatoes. We will serve a tomato soda with it that comes in a custom-made soda bottle that the guest will have to open."

The Rooftop experience is stamped with the Guidara Guarantee: "We know that the way to get a reservation here is a pain in the ass, and I'm sorry to the dining public for that. But we couldn't think of a better way to do it, and we will work to make it so it is worth your while"

There is a cupola on The Nomad Rooftop that will "ultimately become a private dining room."  It seats ten and can be booked like any other table.  It's also enclosed, so it'll be open year round.

For reservations, call 347.472.5660.

What Do You Mean I'm Funny?

The Nomad is the new project from the Eleven Madison Park team.  It opened in the The Nomad Hotel on Broadway and 28th last Monday.  On Friday, to celebrate the end of the week, and the immediate success of the restaurant, Henry Hill Daniel Humm and James Conway Will Guidara star in this Goodfellas-inspired video that takes us through their kitchen and dining room.

NoMad from Eleven Madison Park on Vimeo.

It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World

Tonight, the night after Mad Men aired its season premiere following a 17-month hiatus, The Nomad opens its doors for dinner and feeds the buzz around Madison Avenue.

The NoMad comes to us via Daniel Humm, the chef at Eleven Madison Park, and Will Guidara, who is EMP's manager.  The restaurant will serve breakfast, lunch, and dinner, and it all looks pretty damn good.

You can't smoke there but you'll likely get one hell of an old fashioned if you want to stop in after a day at the office.

The Nomad Will Bring Wanderers

The Nomad is the new project from Eleven Madison Park chef Daniel Humm and Will Guidara, EMP's manager.  The two started their own company together, appropriately named MadeNice, and the NoMad restaurant is the second property to their name.  The other being Eleven Madison Park, which the team bought from Danny Meyer last year.

The restaurant is opening in the hotel, at 1170 Broadway (at 28th Street), in the neighborhood with the same name, which stands for north of Madison Square Park.  It is in the vein of The Breslin and John Dory Oyster Bar, a hotel/restaurant concept with food as enticing as the decor.

Daniel Humm plans a more casual menu than EMP and will offer a la carte options that include a chicken dish with black truffles and foie gras that showcases his ability to pamper the palate.  As if the project needs any more credibility, they get Brooklyn cred for the Le Poulet, a beer made by Brooklyn Brewery specifically designed to wash down said chicken.

The restaurant opens Monday and will start taking reservations tomorrow.