From "Meat Is Back at Eleven Madison Park, After 4 Vegan Years/The Manhattan restaurant drew global praise and skepticism with its climate-minded, all-plant menu. Now its chef wants to be more welcoming — and popular" (NYT).
"The restaurant has had varying levels of financial success since introducing the vegan menu.... Bookings for private events, an essential stream of income, have been particularly sparse. 'It’s hard to get 30 people for a corporate dinner to come to a plant-based restaurant'...."
Maybe there's just no way to be expensive and vegan. Pick one. It is, apparently, too much of a strain to shore up the customer's delusion that nonmeat items are very, very posh. We're told there was "tonburi, the seeds some call land caviar."
पोस्ट्स
४८ टिप्पण्या:
"...Now its chef wants to be more welcoming — and popular" (NYT)."
That's code, for 'profitable'.
We're told there was "tonburi, the seeds some call land caviar."
"That some call" is a guarantee that the claim is bullshit
It's not so much the paying hundreds of dollars for a bowl of vegetables as the paying hundreds of dollars for a bowl of vegetables and then going down the street to pay another $5 for a slice of pizza because you're still hungry.
"Maybe there's just no way to be expensive and vegan."
Free hooker with every meal.
The primal human survival diet includes a mix of protein, carbohydrates, and fats. Meats have a ton of protein and fat, and like Brawndo, it's what bodies crave. Fruit and veggies are carbs, and you'd die if that's all you ate. Grains, nuts, and beans fall in the middle, but would you pay $200 for a plate of rice and lentils topped with almonds and avocados?
Vegans start from ideology rather than biology. They struggle mightily to find tasty and satisfying proteins. Not. gonna. eat. even. eggs. or. cheese! As with drinking decaf coffee, paying for a luxury vegan meal is a primal "why bother" situation.
i like that they WEREN'T JUST veggie.. they went full vegan!
if you're cooking, and you don't use eggs or dairy..
what are you cooking? stir fried bok choy and rice?
Revealed preference
If you don't like the resturant, don't go. I think that it's weird that some people feel the need to constantly criticise other people for not doing things exactly the way that they would.
I think that the public would be much better served with a basic restaurant review that wasn't filled with other people's opinions.
My friend Mike famously declared back in the '80's..
that if Meat is Murder.. Salad is Slaughter!
Stop Slaughtering innocent plants!
Too many rich people can't figure out what to do with their money.
‘Land caviar’ is what Bill Clinton serves his interns.
RR
JSM
Ah the vagaries of rich NYC swells. This place is probably highly rated on the SWPL index too.
There is a vegetarian restaurant in San Francisco called Greens. I first went there in the early 80's. It's the only good vegetarian restaurant food I have ever had. The secret was that with ample cheese, butter, and sauces you almost forgot it was vegetarian. The house made bread and butter alone were almost worth a visit. And, it wasn't that expensive and had a fabulous view of the Bay from floor to ceiling windows. So, it can be done.
Looks like meat's back on the menu, boys...
(low hanging fruit I know, but somebody had to do it)
I never understood the idea of being vegan but then trying to dress up my vegetables as "meat." Maybe that is why Beyond Burgers is on the verge of bankruptcy.
Speaking of food, How come the Palestinians are always running out of food and water, but never out of rockets and bullets?
It's the experience, not the food.
And, another win for Trump, as "climate change" is apparently no longer a concern.
With likely the most ideological and plain false anti-meat song lyrics of all time, I offer you The Smiths "Meat is Murder" for dinner:
Heifer whines could be human cries
Closer comes the screaming knife
This beautiful creature must die
This beautiful creature must die
A death for no reason
And death for no reason is murder
And the flesh you so fancifully fry
Is not succulent, tasty or kind
It's death for no reason
And death for no reason is murder
And the calf that you carve with a smile
It is murder
And the turkey you festively slice
It is murder
Do you know how animals die?
Kitchen aromas aren't very homely
It's not comforting, cheery or kind
It's sizzling blood and the unholy stench of murder
It's not natural, normal or kind
The flesh you so fancifully fry
The meat in your mouth
As you savour the flavour of murder
No, no, no, it is murder
No, no, no, it is murder
And who hears when animals cry?
I'd like to take this opportunity for a shout out for a hero of my youth... Graham Kerr, The Galloping Gourmet!
I raise my glass. of buttermilk, in a toast.
Tim,
A friend of mine and his wife took son and I to le cirque in Las Vegas.
Food was great but the was damned little of it.
Especially for $150 or so per person (2009)
We went to Mcdonalds on our way back to our hotel.
John Henry
"tommyesq said...
I never understood the idea of being vegan but then trying to dress up my vegetables as "meat." Maybe that is why Beyond Burgers is on the verge of bankruptcy."
I do seasonal vegan fasts for religious reasons. While I used to eat fake meat quite frequently, I've gone off it lately during fasting periods. While initially it was nice to eat something that approximated meat, I've found that, not only does eating approximated meat just make you miss real meat all the more, but the taste itself didn't justify the expense, when I was going to be equally fulfilled eating much more natural tasting kidney beans instead. I suspect this is a real issue with these products: Almost meat is still not meat, and legumes are more authentic in terms of taste.
"I offer you The Smiths "Meat is Murder" for dinner:"
The Smiths are a brilliant band, but this is probably their worst song. It's helpfully the last song on that otherwise brilliant album, so therefore easily skipped, but occasionally I will do an ironic melodramatic singalong to it.
@ChrisC: "There is a vegetarian restaurant in San Francisco called Greens."
I ate there once, and it isn't bad for the genre. The reasonable prices follow from the sincere "share and live in peace" hippies in SF. It has a great location.
There's a famous vegetarian restaurant in Zurich, Switzerland named Hiltl. It was founded in 1898 and could be the progenitor many later European-derived vegetarian movements and restaurants for all I know. I ate there. Butter and dairy are served, and some of the menu was derived from Indian food. It was light and I was hungry afterwards.
Kyoto, Japan has tofu-only restaurants that do everything from soup to "steaks" to custard desserts. It was probably the most filling of the vegetarian restaurants I've tried, but rather narrow and repetitive.
"It's not so much the paying hundreds of dollars for a bowl of vegetables as the paying hundreds of dollars for a bowl of vegetables and then going down the street to pay another $5 for a slice of pizza because you're still hungry."
Ha! When I was a grad student back in the Bronze Age I got invited once or twice to go to dinner with a seminar speaker. Once we went to a famous vegetarian restaurant called "Moosewood" (still there in Ithaca, apparently). I remember the enormous plates and tiny portions. After dinner, I headed straight for McDonalds.
Tell me what I just watched where the guy said I had an event at Eleven Madison, the Super Bowl was on and there were no Tvs?
I think there is no way to exclude a large customer base and still make money by rubbing it in their faces. BBQ joints across Texas still offer a salad option (and a lot of other vegetable sides). Even the fanciest restaurants will have off menu options for children. But to be Vegan, you have to insist people eat the slop you put in front of them and like it. Not a lot of people will pay for that experience.
I did want to try the pre-vegan Eleven Madison, but the chef's decision to switch to a faddish all vegetable menu does make me suspect that his palate may not really be what I want, even if he's decided to add meat back. Some of my favourite dishes are vegetarian (if not quite vegan), e.g. the sweet tomato tart at Sezanne or the turnip at L'Effervescence, both in Tokyo. But they come in the middle of, and benefit from, being in a course meal with fish and meat dishes. And at the Eleven Madison price point, the course needs to be satisfying as a whole.
Boobs are back in advertising and meat is back on the menu. So much winning.
I once asked a vegan friend why, when you walk past the vegan section at the store, it's always vegan beef, or vegan turkey or vegan chicken. If you eschew animal products, why would you want something that tastes like animal?
He ignores my question.
Difficult to top a Culver's ButterBurger and vanilla shake. Every once in a while...
Rubes of United States, unite!
The times, they are a changing
As Hannibal might put it. The problem with plants is that they are NOT like us.
So now they have the meats?
Like Arby's?
The Galloping Gourmet is still alive at 90.
All I remember is the guy's bizarre fascination with ghee.
When we went to NYC in April I was considering going either to Le Bernardin or Eleven Madison Park based on previous reputation. It was impossible to get a reservation for Le Bernardin, but we could have gone to Eleven Madison Park on any day we wanted, at any time. Not sure whether I’d want to try now that they’ve gone back to the meat side. On another note, we ate at a vegetarian restaurant in Vienna called Tian where we had one of the finest meals we’ve ever had anywhere. Nothing pretended to be meat, and everything was stunning and delicious. Highly recommended.
I've dined there both when it was serving meat and in its vegan incarnation. In the early part of the covid shutdown, we would get their take-out offerings too. Never thought I would like an expensive vegan meal (it wasn't my choice) but enjoyed its inventive dishes quite a bit. Look forward to going back as it returns to a more sensible menu.
Lazarus said,
“ All I remember is the guy's bizarre fascination with ghee.”
Recently I discovered popping popcorn in a wok (with a lid) using ghee instead of oil. Prebuttered and delicious.
A couple of the places I went to for meditation retreats had vegetarian meals and a vegan option. The vegetarian meals were pretty good probably because of the liberal use of dairy products and occasionally eggs. One thing I found interesting was that some (many?) of the yogis brought jars of peanut butter or cans of tuna fish eat in their room to supplement their diet. After two weeks with no meat many seemed to feel sluggish or tired. Also, the vegan option was simply canned beans, pinto or black.
Iman said...
"How come the Palestinians are always running out of food and water, but never out of rockets and bullets?"
well, the Palestinians WITH the bullets NEVER run out of food.
because they Take it from the other Palestinians.
"Salad is not food. Salad is a promissory note saying food will soon arrive."
I'll have the burger that was assigned meat at birth.
My wife and I ate at 11 Madison Park. The staff was very nice and attentive. A few of the dishes were interesting and flavorful. The bill came to just short of $1000-offset somewhat by a gift card-which was obnoxious, offensive and usurious. Reverting back to a non-vegan menu isn't surprising, given all of the empty tables.
This restaurant was featured on the Netflix series Seven Days Out. The whole series is excellent and this episode was outstanding.
Doomed to failure. The never offered free range vegetables.
"Nothing pretended to be meat, ".
Now THERE'S a catchy phrase to lure people into your vegan joint. The fact that this is a rarity....
I always have reservations when someone suggests a vegan restaurant. Strong reservations.
I guess one could open a steak house and brag our sirloins have been genetically modified to taste like broccoli. Reservations not required.
"Maybe there's just no way to be expensive and vegan."
Say, dear, didn't that server take an awfully long time placing the napkin in your lap.
Shhhhh.... afterglow.
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