602217 Sun Mar 08 22:02:44 -0700 2009 4 18 Manhattan 0 4486147 During the last two weeks, I was at the bar of Eleven Madison Park and that of Gramercy Tavern (the tavern room). Although I have dined at both places many times, it was actually my first time to dine at the bar of EMP. Coincidentally both places happened to offer two ingredients that I loved very much - foie gras (at GT, it's really duck liver mousse), and sweetbreads. The bar of EMP wasn't discussed much here, so I wrote a short note below with pictures for deciding whose cuisine reigns supreme. My vegetarian companion and I arrived at EMP shortly after 2:15pm, and was told that the main dining room was no longer offering the lunch menu. We decided not to fight against the cold weather outside and took the suggestion of sitting at the bar. The bar menu was short with a page of snacks, appetizers, and hors d'oeuvres, all being small bites that are not present in the lunch menu in the dining room. A second page was with entrees similar to what you get for lunch. I have tried all the entree dishes before in the main dining room, so I ordered 2 hors d'oeuvres that sounded the most appealing to me: foie gras with cranberry chutney on brioche, and crispy cornets of veal sweetbreads (see pictures below). Foie Gras with Cranberry Chutney on Brioche – The presentation of this dish already demonstrated that the food at EMP bar was no ordinary bar food. The taste, of course, was nothing short of spectacular, and was just as refined as the dishes at the main dining room. Two scoops with extremely silky and smooth foie gras (mousse?) accompanied by the cranberry chutney on top of the truffle studded brioche that was crispy on the outside and soft inside. Each bite allowed you to taste the decadent and luscious foie gras, complemented perfectly with the slightly sweet chutney, completed with the crunchiness of the brioche. Since when have bar food become so heavenly? Just when I got totally carried away by the foie gras, another highlight of the afternoon arrived – two gorgeous and artful cornets of veal sweetbreads. Wait, I suddenly had a sense of déjà vu. Where had I seen these lovely nuggets? Oh! I remembered! It was one of the 4 amuse bouches that you received prior to any EMP dinner, but this time 5 times larger in size! Boy was I happy when I saw that because the sweetbreads had always been my favorite amuse bouche at EMP. They looked so beautiful that I almost couldn’t get myself to break them apart, yet the temptation from the smell of the freshly fried food presented too large of a force for me to resist. It was just perfect – the first thing you experienced was the hot and crispy skin, then you bit into the sweetbreads inside – Oh My God – it was like the best sweetbreads I had ever tasted. The flavor of extremely creamy sweetbreads was accentuated with a mix of herbs and seasoning. The sauce on the plate, while delicious, became secondary because the cornets were just too good by themselves. The size of the cornets were perfect, with 2 to 3 bites each and two pieces on each plate. They were just enough to make you satisfied without being too heavy. Now the only thing that I regretted was that I didn’t discover this dish sooner despite my numerous visits to EMP. There weren’t many vegetarian options for my vegetarian friend, but as you expected EMP was always willing to accommodate your need. They altered the gnocchi (normally came with Hawaiian prawns and was available in past lunch menu) into a vegetarian version, and left the lardons out of the pizzetta “carbonara”. The pizzetta was particularly interesting because it wasn’t really a pizza but more like a thin pie with caramelized onion and goat cheese baked within an “egg” crust. It tasted like a high end pizza/pie and I am sure that with lardons it would be even more delicious. A few days later, I found myself at Gramercy Tavern tavern room with the same friend, and guess what, I saw duck liver mousse and sweetbreads blinking at me on the menu. Having had such a satisfying version at EMP, I was eager to see what Gramercy Tavern could offer with the (almost) same ingredients. If you have had the chicken liver mousse at GT before, the duck liver mousse wasn’t that different in presentation, but the taste was certainly stronger and gamier. It had a very livery taste that reminded me of literally eating chicken or duck liver on its own rather than in a mousse form. Even with the bread and pickles, the mousse was still quite heavy. Not being able to get help from my vegetarian friend, I could barely finish the whole dish. A fine appetizer overall, but probably better if you could share it with someone else. The sweetbreads came next and the size astonished me at first. Three large lobes of sweetbreads with charred marks stacked on top of each other, with some caper and lemon sauce and escaroles as condiments. It was certainly very different from the sweetbreads preparation at EMP – a much more rustic approach to celebrate the main ingredient. Biting into the sweetbreads reminded me of how well-prepared sweetbreads should taste like. It was slightly firm and not as creamy as the ones at EMP, and as it slowly dissolved in your mouth, it gave you the most natural and original taste of the sweetbreads. The capers gave the dish a touch of brininess while the lemon provided minimal citrus fragrance that did nothing on the taste buds. The escaroles didn’t add or subtract anything from the sweetbreads in my opinion, and was mostly untouched at the end. In the end, I found the two dishes nicely represented how the two restaurants differ in their approaches – EMP being more refined, sophisticated in presentation and flavors, while GT tries to celebrate and amplify the original taste of the ingredients with a more rustic presentation. I am sure they will each have their own fans. In this battle of foie gras and sweetbreads, I gave a slight edge to originality and plating to EMP. In the end, the judge (me) has spoken, and the winner is, Eleven Madison Park. Pictures: 1st row: Foie Gras on Brioche, Sweetbreads Cornets, Sweetbreads Innard, A Slice of Pizzetta Carbonara (sans lardon) Sun Mar 08 22:02:44 -0700 2009 54254 kobetobiko 1 4486164 Wow, great post! I'm gonna have to get to the EMP bar this week after reading this... Sun Mar 08 22:12:22 -0700 2009 4486147 261979 brettnyc 2 4489150 Hi brettnyc, Just note that they don't have any of the dinner entrees on tne menu. Just 4-5 lunch entrees on top of the small bites. However, the size of the appetizers, like the pizzetta and the gnocchi were quite generous. I also saw a lamb burger but didn't get to try it last time. I think it is better for small bites than getting a full service meal. Mon Mar 09 18:19:55 -0700 2009 4486164 54254 kobetobiko 1 4486170 2nd row: Duck Liver Mousse, Mousse on Bread, Sweetbbreads Closeup Sun Mar 08 22:15:05 -0700 2009 4486147 54254 kobetobiko 2 4486174 Sweetbreads - Pic too large and resized and reposted: Sun Mar 08 22:20:28 -0700 2009 4486170 54254 kobetobiko