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Daniel Humm, chef and partner at Eleven Madison Park, with Grant Achatz, chef and partner at Alinea. In late September, Alinea took over Eleven Madison Park; now, Eleven Madison Park is taking over Alinea.
This bar was built by Eleven Madison Park in New York and installed in Alinea's bar-less dining room. Here, guests were served the "20th Century Cocktail": Beefeater gin, creme de cocoa, Cocchi Americano and lemon, shaken and served up.
Eleven Madison Park at Alinea
Eleven Madison Park at Alinea
Eleven Madison Park at Alinea
"Make it nice" is the mantra of Eleven Madison Park's kitchen. This poster is a replica of one that hangs in EMP's kitchen.
The meal's first course is a pair of savory black-and-white cookies flavored with black truffle and parmesan.
Eleven Madison Park at Alinea
Eleven Madison Park at Alinea
Eleven Madison Park at Alinea
Eleven Madison Park at Alinea
Eleven Madison Park at Alinea
Eleven Madison Park at Alinea
Eleven Madison Park at Alinea
Eleven Madison Park at Alinea
Eleven Madison Park at Alinea
Sea-urchin custard with seafood ragu and sweet baby shrimp
Eleven Madison Park at Alinea
Eleven Madison Park at Alinea
Most guests will receive the suckling pig as their main course. Those who don't will receive the duck. Here, the duck is being prepared.
Eleven Madison Park at Alinea
Chefs Humm and Achatz
One of several amuse bouche: cranberry gelee with housemade ricotta
Cranberry gelee with housemade ricotta
Eleven Madison Park at Alinea
Eleven Madison Park at Alinea
Eleven Madison Park at Alinea
Cucumber "snow" with pickled cucumber, demi-sec grapes and yuzu yogurt
Eleven Madison Park at Alinea
Eleven Madison Park at Alinea
Eleven Madison Park at Alinea
Eel Foie Gras: foie gras terrine with an eel tuile, topped with swiss chard
Eleven Madison Park at Alinea
Eleven Madison Park at Alinea
Sturgeon course, part one: Sturgeon sabayon
Preparing the second part of the sturgeon course
The smoked sturgeon
Part two of the sturgeon course: smoked sturgeon encased in smoke
The complete sturgeon course (part two): The smoked sturgeon served with baby gem lettuce, soft-poached quail eggs, pickled onions, everything bagel "crumble," toasted rye crisps, cream cheese topped with caviar and dill pickles
The sturgeon course
Eleven Madison Park at Alinea
Eleven Madison Park at Alinea
Eleven Madison Park at Alinea
Eleven Madison Park at Alinea
Eleven Madison Park at Alinea
Eleven Madison Park at Alinea
Eleven Madison Park at Alinea
Eleven Madison Park at Alinea
Breads and butters: A laminated butter roll with goat's-milk butter, cow's-milk butter and Long Island sea salt
Roasted and raw beets, served with horseradish and a rye crumble
Eleven Madison Park at Alinea
Eleven Madison Park at Alinea
Eleven Madison Park at Alinea
Eleven Madison Park at Alinea
Eleven Madison Park at Alinea
Eleven Madison Park at Alinea
Eleven Madison Park at Alinea
Eleven Madison Park at Alinea
Eleven Madison Park at Alinea
Eleven Madison Park at Alinea
Preparing for the carrot tartare
Carrot Tartare: For this course, carrots are ground tableside, and guests are offered nine different garnishes with which to flavor it.
Eleven Madison Park at Alinea
Carrot tartare
Butter-poached lobster with meyer lemon, charred leeks, and a black shellfish bisque
Eleven Madison Park at Alinea
Eleven Madison Park at Alinea
Eleven Madison Park at Alinea
Clam Bake: In the teapot is a truffled clam velout�. In the bowl is celery root, lentil granola, pickled chanterelle mushrooms, sea beans and a clam vinaigrette. On the longer plate: a nori madeleine.
Clam bake
Clam bake
Roasted suckling pig with plum and kale in several forms: Plum pur�e, seared plums, baby kale leaves, fried kale, kalepur�eand some bone marrow.
Eleven Madison Park at Alinea
Eleven Madison Park at Alinea
The "picnic" course is EMP's cheese course. The cow's-milk cheese has been washed with the beer it is served with. (That beer, called Picnic Basket Ale, is a pale wheat ale that EMP made in conjunction with Ithaca Beer Company. Murray's Cheese washed the cheese in the beer for EMP.) It's served with grapes, a pretzel and plum mustard.
The picnic course
Eleven Madison Park at Alinea
Eleven Madison Park at Alinea
Eleven Madison Park at Alinea
Eleven Madison Park at Alinea
The "kitchen cocktail" course is so-called because at Eleven Madison Park, it really is made for guests in the kitchen. Here, it's made tableside.
The "kitchen cocktail" is a rye Manhattan. The rye is turned into a sorbet tableside; the cherries and vermouth are made into a meringue.
Kitchen Cocktail: Manhattan
The "kitchen cocktail"
The "kitchen cocktail"
"Milk and Honey": a dome of milk sorbet with honey inside. When the dome is broken, the honey oozes out. Also on the plate: dehydrated milk, milk "snow" and bee pollen.
Eleven Madison Park at Alinea
Eleven Madison Park at Alinea
Eleven Madison Park at Alinea
Cheesecake with huckleberry and lime
Eleven Madison Park's now-famous card trick begins the chocolate course.
Eleven Madison Park's card trick
The final bite: More black and white cookies. This time, they are traditional black-and-whites, and served with apple brandy.
SLIDESHOW: Eleven Madison Park takes over Alinea
Last night was the first night for part two of 21st Century Limited, the ambitious project whereby New York's Eleven Madison Park and Alinea trade places. In September, Alinea completed a week at EMP; Now, it's time for EMP's run in Chicago. The $495-per-plate dinner runs through Sunday, but is completely sold out. So TOC photographer Erica Gannett snagged a spot in the kitchen so she could show everyone the entire meal, course by course.
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