Eleven Madison Park is Reopening 6/10/21

Paywall-free link. And it’s a helluva read.

https://archive.ph/6z95M

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Questlove :+1: :+1: :+1: :+1: :+1:
tableside magic tricks: :-1: :-1: :-1: :-1: :-1:

Wow that is brutal.

Wow. I eventually started scanning and then finally quit.

Me too. It was too sad to finish. I say that with a grain of salt knowing Business Insider is New York Daily News level.

The Daily News is pretty accurate and not very sensationalist. Maybe you mean the New York Post. Or the Daily Mail.

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From its inception, the idea that this restaurant could become a vegan/vegetarian eatery without adjusting prices accordingly borders on lamebrain. Please do not take this as a knock on the lifestyle. Just a stupid business idea.
Meanwhile, I hear that Humm’s restaurant in Britain still serves all the meats you want…

As far as I know, he has no restaurant in the UK. Are you mis-remembering this story? Or is there another I’m not aware of?

Thanks, small h, for the reminder. Apparently, his concept did not work there and does not seem to be working here. Perhaps he needs to bring his big idea to a smaller, less grandiose space and charge prices that are commensurate with the product?

@gutreactions Saying “his concept didn’t work there” (“there” being the London restaurant) is not accurate. He never served his vegan menu at Davies and Brook because the owners of Claridge’s didn’t allow him to make that change as they felt it wasn’t right for their clientele.

Edited to add: Davies and Brook closed last December.

@small_h Thanks so much for posting the paywall-free link! Not being a subscriber to Business Insider, I was able to read only what Eater included in their post about the article.

How much credence do you give the article? Since you’re very familiar with EMP. And I’m not so familiar with Business Insider.

Here’s a link re Business Insider. Sounds more up and up than many.

Yes, I stand corrected.

@small_h Like you, I’m not familiar with Business Insider. Despite that, the assertions made by those interviewed for the article all seem quite credible to me.

That’s what I thought, based on the way the information was presented in the article. Thanks for offering your perspective.

I still follow EMP on Instagram. After the article appeared, they immediately tried to repair the damage by posting two different photos of the kitchen and foh teams together with very laudatory descriptions. For example, “Our team…is the heart and soul of everything we do here.” Also on IG, I’ve seen recruitment posts for positions both kitchen and foh, something the article mentions and which I’ve never seen before.

You may have discussed this elsewhere, but have you been back since the switch to a vegan menu?

No, we have not been back since our last meal there for Mr. R.’s birthday in Jan. 2020. We have no interest at all in a completely vegan menu. I should also add that the staff members we were closest to are no longer there. EMP is now firmly in our rear view mirror.

Edited to add: This was discussed on MF.

I knew I saw it somewhere.