A real-time reaction to Eleven Madison Park’s decision to bring back meat alongside its plant-based menu.
Eleven Madison Park is reintroducing animal proteins after four years of serving an exclusively plant-based tasting menu. On its site, chef Daniel Humm writes, “Starting October 14th, we will integrate our new language into a menu that embraces choice. We will offer a plant-based menu, of course, but also select animal products for certain dishes — fish, meat, and yes, our honey-lavender-glazed duck.” He adds, “Eating together is the essence of who we are, and I’ve learned that for me to truly champion plant-based cooking, I need to create an environment where everyone feels welcome around the table.”
Why is Eleven Madison Park no longer vegan?
The shift follows a headline-making pivot in 2021, when the restaurant reopened as fully plant-based and subsequently retained its three Michelin stars — an unprecedented distinction at the time for a vegan menu. That era ends, at least in part, on October 14, when EMP will offer both a plant-based pathway and dishes featuring meat or fish. Reporting today from the New York Times, Eater, Forbes, and Fast Company contextualize the move within broader fine-dining headwinds: diner expectations, private events, wine pairings, and financial pragmatics in a luxury market that is warming to vegetables, but not always exclusively.
So, with affection for cabbage leaves shaped like couture and a tender respect for anyone who has ever cried happy tears over a beet, here are 47 thoughts I had after learning the news.
- Is vegan over?
- Okay, no, but also…kind of?
- Do people just really hate vegetables?
- Or is it that people really, really love meat?
- Was Eleven Madison Park actually in trouble?
- Or is this just a vibes recalibration?
- Is this the duck everyone keeps posting about?
- Oh god, yes, the honey-lavender one.
- Why do I suddenly feel like I’m cheating on a salad?
- Also, I’ve literally never eaten here — why am I taking this so personally?
- Wait, did the plant-based thing not make money?
- Fine dining margins are already like…0.5 percent, right?
- Maybe you can’t pay Manhattan rent with turnips.
- Was this the most famous vegan restaurant in the world?
- Or am I forgetting somewhere in Copenhagen?
- Why are vegan restaurants closing left and right this year?
- I thought we were all eating healthier. You know, RFK and the Blue Zones, right?
- Is it GLP-1s? Is it the rent? Is it us?
- What if healthy food is winning — like, vegetables still get top billing, meat just shows up in a cameo?
- Or is that framing just to make us feel better about ordering the duck?
- Why do people hate vegans so much?
- Why do vegans hate meat so much?
- Why am I acting like the UN of dinner service?
- Should food be this complicated?
- Maybe that’s the point.
- Oh, the internet is definitely fighting about this.
- God, the takes.
- “Betrayal.” “Growth.” “A necessary evil.”
- Why does this feel like politics?
- Oh right — because it is.
- The comments section is basically the Iowa caucuses now.
- Wait, does this mean the plant menu is cheaper?
- Nope — still $365.
- Okay, kind of respect that.
- Keeping plants priced like luxury is the only way they stay luxury.
- This might be the Taylor Swift effect of food news.
- One post, and suddenly we’re all rearranging our values.
- Remember when the entire climate discourse was on their plant pivot?
- Feels like 2019 again.
- Do omnivores actually order plant menus when there’s a choice?
- Or do they just say they will?
- What happens to the three Michelin stars if you split the menu?
- Do I still get to brag that I “support” EMP if I don’t order the duck?
- Do I still get to judge you if you do order the duck?
- I hate that I even thought that.
- Is the real win here that we’re all talking about the ethics of dinner again?
- God, I hope so.
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