Eleven Madison Park: Style Over Substance

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It was February 6th, 2014 and I was browsing an email newsletter from "I Know The Chef", a service that allows members to book prime time reservations at popular restaurants and receive VIP service. At the bottom of the email, a same day 7:45pm table for 4 at EMP opened up and was available.

My heart skipped a beat. I had recently picked up Danny Meyer’s book, “Setting the Table: The Transforming Power of Hospitality in Business” which chronicles how he opened EMP as well as the challenges faced and lessons learned while employing the power of hospitality and service in the food industry.

Eating at Eleven Madison Park (ranked 4th in the world with 3 Michelin stars) has been a dream of mine ever since moving to New York in the summer of 2007. From my early exposure to Shake Shack, where I learned what a real quality burger tasted like, to the venerable Gramercy Tavern where I received some of the best service in recent memory, EMP would be the crown jewel that would meld both concepts at the highest level.

Without hesitation, and with 3 empty seats to fill, I had called and confirmed the reservation with IKTC’s Joshua Stern who was a pleasure to deal with. Luckily, over the next 2 hrs, I was able to find 3 of my friends willing to drop $225 for a dinner happening in a few hours.

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How I won a free trip to Jamaica - Part 1

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"Yeah mon! Welcome to Jamaica, would you like a cold bottle of Red Stripe and some plantains?" yelled the bartender above the clanging of steel drums and blasting of trumpet.

We were in NYC, 1500 miles away from Jamaica in the middle of a loft once owned by Andy Warhol and Jean-Michel Basquiat in the 80’s.

Just minutes ago, after ducking into a non-descript entrance and walking down a dimly lit hall, we found ourselves in the middle of a reggae dance party. 

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72 hour Shootout Wrap Party

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“Can I get a TC?” yelled Brad.

“Time check! 7:00pm!” I yelled, adrenaline coursing through my veins. The room we were sitting in instantly became smaller and hotter.

It was June 9 and we had 1 hour left until the deadline to submit our short film for the 10th Annual 72 Hour Film Shootout competition sponsored by The Asian American Film Lab. This is how it works: You assemble a team (director, writer, editor, DP, sound, actors, etc) and on Friday night at 8pm ET, the contest announces a theme (This year’s was “Color of My Hair”) and you have until Monday night at 8pm ET to submit a finished product. Finalists get their films shown at film festivals. My teammates and I had that weekend free and decided to enter.

“We still need music!” shouted Lawrence, the director. “Brad, go to the keyboard and just play something that fits the intro scene. Think sad. Pixar Sad.”

My team’s experience allowed us to brainstorm an idea and execute everything in the short time frame. We had all the shooting done over the weekend and now we were on the final lap of editing which usually takes the most time. Despite our collective experience, making a short film in 3 days still proved to be challenging.

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The Lure of JKP

Lure FishBar
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I was running 15 min early to catch up with my dear friend, JKP, and decided to partake in happy hour at Lure, a seafood-centric restaurant located in Soho. To get the party started, I ordered 2 dozen Blue Point oysters- slick, briny, and ample. These aren’t the anemic, shriveled specimens you find at other happy hours. The dish of shrimp tempura was also delicious - crispy breading topped with a spicy mayo sauce. After washing that down with a glass of their house chardonnay, I dug into the deviled eggs and the fried oysters with tartar sauce, which is up there with my favorite rendition at Pearl Oyster Bar.

The aroma of Drakkar Noir wafted from behind and I knew JKP had arrived. We exchanged pleasantries but things quickly turned for the worst. You see, JKP is many things: a shrewd businessman always on the hustle, an unselfish wingman who jumps on grenades with arms wide open, and a Jewish Usher/Timberlake/Chris Brownesque dancer that delights the crowd at many bar mitzvahs and K-town karaoke bars.

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Jeepney: Hands-On Heaven

Jeepney
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Christine was the first foodie I met way back in 2007 before I knew anything about food. I remember the casual potlucks at her apartment where she would cook elevated dishes that nobody appreciated at the time (like cauliflower puree) since her friends' college diets consisted of Popeye's and Chinatown porkchop over rice.

Her Brooklyn apartment was nicer than the closet-sized "apartments" of my other friends and had a proper kitchen with utensils, All-Clad pans, and fancy things like bottles of balsamic vinegar glaze. Lastly, I enjoyed hearing her talk about her favorite restaurants and what places to avoid. We lost touch for a few years but recently reconnected last December when we organized a Scrumphsus Supper at Jeepney, a Filipino gastropub located in the East Village.

Our group was there for Kamayan Night, a family style feast where you get to chow down on two appetizers and three entrees that you have pre-ordered a week in advance.

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