June 3 (Bloomberg) -- Danny Meyer's Eleven Madison Park, a few months shy of its 10th anniversary, isn't far from becoming one of Manhattan's great dining destinations. Of course, the food didn't always take center stage.

I first learned of the venue while watching its most famous critic dine there -- on ``Sex and the City.''

``These steps are very dangerous,'' shouted the fabulous Carrie Bradshaw, played by Sarah Jessica Parker, after tripping down the dining room stairs, loaded on cosmopolitans. She stormed out in high-heeled ignominy.

That was in 1999. The power scene trumped Kerry Heffernan's capable cuisine. The soaring art deco room was a Grand Central Terminal for wealthy non-commuters, a cafeteria for the upstairs tenant: Credit Suisse. Wild mushrooms were served in a Bradshaw- chic martini stem.

These days, Americans watch ``Gossip Girl'' for dining trends and get culinary news from blogs -- which is exactly where I learned, in 2006, that Daniel Humm, then just 29, would be overhauling Eleven Madison.

The grand room, still filled with natural light and brown banquettes that are too high for short people, finally has its grand chef. No more a la carte dinners. Instead, there's an 11- course tasting menu ($145) and a selection of four at $102 -- about what you'll pay at Jean Georges or Le Bernardin. Three courses cost $82.

If Humm is charging as much as two of the world's most celebrated eateries, this better be four-star dining. And based on a visit last fall and three trips this spring, it can be -- if you construct your meal with caution. The following selections approach perfection.

Fantastic Four

Duck liver: A terrine, pink as skin, melts without resistance. A dice of sour rhubarb cuts through the fat. A cup of pink foam conceals ethereal foie gras custard.

Lobster is butter-poached. Just a hint of sweet brine. But only a few bites. Where's the rest? Enter more pink foam. It covers a super-concentrated lobster bisque.

Though poached chicken breast sounds like a yawn, Humm finishes things off with a gorgeous caramel sear. The bird's flesh is so buttery I'm certain it ate only foie gras in its final weeks.

Quark souffle? The cheesy dessert collapses in the mouth. Green apple sorbet cleanses the palate.

The liver and lobster are $20 supplements. All of a sudden your dinner costs $142. These pricey selections represent the best side of Humm's cooking: European techniques with bold American flavors.

Faux Gras?

Pork is confited, formed into a strip, and topped with crisp crackling. Looks like a candy bar. Try the city's best BLT: extra-smoky bacon, tangy tomatoes and soft brioche. Dense chocolate-caramel ganache is a gourmet take on Riesen.

The chef occasionally dabbles with progressive cuisine. And occasionally fails. I was presented with foie gras lollipops last October. They were covered in beet gelee and tasted like American cheese.

A waiter asked me to drink my salad. On one spoon: liquefied goat cheese. On another: beet juice. Each was bound by an invisible membrane. They pop in your mouth in sweet, cheesy, vegetal bursts. It's molecular mayhem at its most brilliant.

Spring Vegetable Mania

The last savory course of a tasting menu was sleepy beef tenderloin, a bit gritty from a bone-marrow crust. It was imprudently paired with a Super Tuscan, too big for this flavor- deficient cut. Poached egg with caviar and tapioca? Ersatz. Coconut panna cotta didn't taste like coconut. Asparagus spears with quail eggs? The same you've had elsewhere.

Redundancy is a problem. If you're not careful, you'll end up with those ho-hum asparagus spears for an appetizer, then more asparagus with your chicken. Then there are favas, radishes and still more asparagus flanking both your crab cake (tarragon- spiked, excellent) and your tete de cochon (bland, over- vinegared).

Danny Meyer's service machine is a force to admire. Every table is coddled. Wines arrive just a few minutes before each course, enough time to get acquainted with that 1986 Sauternes before the life-changing cheddar arrives.

Skip the 11-course tasting menu. It rendered me so painfully full it negated the greatness of a 72-hour pork belly. And the wine pairing included an absurd 11 pours. It exhausts your palate and blurs your senses. It made me realize how daunting those steps must have been for Bradshaw.

Rating: ***

The Bloomberg Questions

Cost? Three courses $82; four, $102; 11, $145. A la carte during lunch and at the bar.

Sound level? Always bustling but not quite boisterous.

Date place? I call it ``the closer.''

Inside tip? The silky, briny chorizo-crusted scallop with fish soup is only available at lunch.

Special feature? Order half glasses of wine at half price.

Private room? Yes.

Will I be back? When my hangover recedes.

Eleven Madison Park is at 11 Madison Ave., at 24th Street. Information: +1-212-889-0905; http://www.elevenmadisonpark.com.

What the Stars Mean:
****         Incomparable food, service, ambience.
***          First-class of its kind.
**           Good, reliable.
*            Fair
No stars     Poor.

(Ryan Sutton writes about New York City restaurants for Bloomberg News. The opinions expressed are his own.)

To contact the writer of this review: Ryan Sutton in New York at rsutton1@bloomberg.net.

Last Updated: June 3, 2008 00:01 EDT