Eleven Madison Park is returning as an all-vegan restaurant—and people are all sorts of mad about it

As New York City’s culinary institutions reopen for fine dining service, the return of Michelin-starred Eleven Madison Park with a vegan-only menu is sending ripples throughout the restaurant community—and the announcement has prompted polarizing reactions from critics and vegans alike. This past week, chef and owner Daniel Humm revealed to NPR’s Guy Raz: “The way we have sourced our food, the way we’re consuming our food, the way we eat meat, it is not sustainable. And that is not an opinion… So we decided that our restaurant will be 100 percent plant-based.” But will he be able to justify the as-yet-unrevealed all-vegan tasting menu, which will cost $335 per person, excluding add-ons such as drinks and gratuity, without exotic game? While there are plenty of naysayers who believe this limited vision is not a sustainable business model, others are just mad that this news is being heralded as revolutionary when establishments like Amanda Cohen’s Dirt Candy (or even the dearly departed Candle 79) have existed for more than a decade? Only time—and budgets—will tell.