EMP
I was a bit underwhelmed at Blue Ribbon this summer as well. Don't get me wrong, it was good but not at all outstanding.
By far my most pleasant experience at a restaurant this year was my last visit to NYC at Eleven Madison Park. I was a bit hesitant at first because the staff seemed very over-attentive. Numerous staff members checking in at our table in a very short period of time. I understand this comes with the territory but it can also ruin the experience.
To speed things along, this went on for about 10 minutes while making our wine and food selections. EMP then comes out with a series of amuse bouche, the first of which came out in a somewhat traditional dome topped platter. When they removed the lid, it revealed a miniature hamburger, a bit smaller than a slider. Odd to say the least given the restaurant but I dug in. Upon finishing, two staff members made comments about my burger, one mentioning something along the lines of "hope it was better than the one you had at the airport".
I was completely baffled at this point and starting to feel uncomfortable. The Maitre d then made his way towards our table and explained that they monitor twitter for any EMP related material. A day earlier, I had tweeted jokingly to my girlfriend while at the airport burger king, a picture of my burger accompanied by the message "My amuse bouche to Eleven Madison Park tomorrow". Needless to say I completely forgot.
The meal and the burger was wonderful and I think that this is one of the most quirky yet thoughtful things I have seen a restaurant do. They took the time in finding my name in the reservation book and specifically preparing that one special item for only myself and my girlfriend...may not seem like much but made for an extremely memorable evening. I'm curious if any New Yorkers have heard of similar stories.
I was a bit underwhelmed at Blue Ribbon this summer as well. Don't get me wrong, it was good but not at all outstanding.
By far my most pleasant experience at a restaurant this year was my last visit to NYC at Eleven Madison Park. I was a bit hesitant at first because the staff seemed very over-attentive. Numerous staff members checking in at our table in a very short period of time. I understand this comes with the territory but it can also ruin the experience.
To speed things along, this went on for about 10 minutes while making our wine and food selections. EMP then comes out with a series of amuse bouche, the first of which came out in a somewhat traditional dome topped platter. When they removed the lid, it revealed a miniature hamburger, a bit smaller than a slider. Odd to say the least given the restaurant but I dug in. Upon finishing, two staff members made comments about my burger, one mentioning something along the lines of "hope it was better than the one you had at the airport".
I was completely baffled at this point and starting to feel uncomfortable. The Maitre d then made his way towards our table and explained that they monitor twitter for any EMP related material. A day earlier, I had tweeted jokingly to my girlfriend while at the airport burger king, a picture of my burger accompanied by the message "My amuse bouche to Eleven Madison Park tomorrow". Needless to say I completely forgot.
The meal and the burger was wonderful and I think that this is one of the most quirky yet thoughtful things I have seen a restaurant do. They took the time in finding my name in the reservation book and specifically preparing that one special item for only myself and my girlfriend...may not seem like much but made for an extremely memorable evening. I'm curious if any New Yorkers have heard of similar stories.
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