wd-50 2004 - 2007

[M.X.Hassett]

am I the only one seeing little blue ? mark boxes. This has been the biggest let down this year

[646522]

These are in reverse order, but Ive nearly had an embalism figuring this out!!

Hazelnut parfait, foamed tangerine, chocolate toffee

Warm coconut tapioca, candied black truffle, lime

Smoked duck breast, speghetti squash", parsnip "ricotta", cocoa nibs

Langoustine, beet juice, soybean, asian pear

Butternut- parmesan "sunny-side up", truffled toast

Roasted foie gras, onion compote, pineapple, clove

American caviar, warm egg, bread crust, chives

Oyster "pearls" pickled cucumber, borage

I did it!!!!!!!!

More pics to come

Edited January 3, 2006 by 646522 (log)

[646522]

There got it!

Edited January 3, 2006 by 646522 (log)

[iheartoffal]

And without my help! I'm so proud of you.

[oakapple]

Can I propose that we merge this into the main WD-50 thread? That way, it is more likely to be part of our ongoing WD-50 discussion, to which people regularly contribute.

Edited January 3, 2006 by oakapple (log)

[646522]

[culinary bear]

Cracking pictures, not only of the food, but of the kitchen.

The stoves look wonderful; I cook on a 15 year old Bonnet stove which although a joy to use, is a bit of a temperamental beast.

Would you be willing to give us a run-down of the major equipment on the kitchen?

[Pumpkin Lover]

Too cool. Thank you for the pictures!

[tan319]

Great pix!!!

Great menu!

Thanks for posting them

[docsconz]

Awesome menu! The only thing that I can imagine better than how the food looked is how it must have tasted. I wish I was there! Thanks for sharing the pics.

What was in the water bath set at 40 degrees C?

[BryanZ]

They appear to be eggs. But at 40C, interesting. When I did eggs at 40C they weren't that impressive.

[philadining]

A friend and I visited WD-50 recently, and had an extremely interesting meal. After following this thread, I almost felt as if I’d already eaten most of these dishes, the tasting menu was made up mostly of offerings that have been discussed here quite a bit, so I doubt I can present any new descriptions or insights…but I’ll blather on nonetheless…

Lighting was pretty dim at our table, so I didn’t try to take pictures, and I actually was relieved to not feel like I needed to, as previous posters here have already provided excellent illustrations. Doc’s great shots are upthread here and 646522 has some great pix, including a couple of things we had, here

Our menu consisted of:

Oyster “pearls”, pickled cucumber, borage

This is a pretty funny send-up of the signature Thomas Keller starter, and while not nearly as luxuriously opulent, it was pretty tasty. Most of the appeal was from the interesting mouthfeel of the oyster, somehow transformed into small tapioca-like pearls, but the subtle marine flavor of the oyster remained, and the bright kick of the cucumber balanced this out nicely. (Just checking: pickled cucumber…uhhh… Isn’t that, you know, a pickle?) Anyway , I liked it.

Foie Gras with Pea Soil, Candied Olives and Beet Juice

A WD-50 classic, and indeed a stunning presentation. The foie itself was almost overwhelmingly rich and buttery, maybe a little one-dimesional. The candied olives were great, as was the beet juice, and both went some distance toward tempering the intense richness, but I’m not sure about the pea soil, it looked cool, but just didn’t taste like much of anything to me.

Carrot-Coconut "sunny-side up"

Another justifiably famous dish, there’s just something so amusing about the dissonance between what you’re seeing and what you’re tasting, that it’s hard not to laugh while eating it. I thought this tasted quite good, but I’m not sure it would be especially thrilling without the visual pun.

Shrimp Canelloni, Chorizo Emulsion, Thai Basil

I can’t eat shrimp, so I didn’t have this, but there are many good descriptions of this upthread. My friend thought it was really interesting, intensely shrimpy, with a grassy overtone from the basil.

Instead of the shrimp, they sent me the

Octopus, Pineapple, Mojama, Marcona Almonds

This was one of my favorites, with firm, yet tender octopus, the inherent flavor of which is so often obscured by charring on a grill, or strong marinades. This version let the Octopus taste vividly of itself. That’s a relatively subtle sensation though, so the accompanying pineapple, sliced thin and rolled into two cylinders, was a welcome addition. A little pile of gravel off to the side was made of chopped almonds, and dried tuna, which leant an ethereal, smoky overtone. Very nice all together.

Pickled Beef Tongue, Fried Mayo, Tomato Molasses

Another WD-50 standard, and a fun one too. The Tongue itself was good, and the fried mayo is novel enough that one can forget about the fact that the deli guy would beat you to death with a half-sour pickle if you ordered mayo on a tongue sandwich. I didn’t love the tomato molasses, but the other components of the plate were oddly compelling: a dust of dehydrated onion and an amazingly fine brunoise of Romaine lettuce ribs. Mixing various combinations of these flavors was endlessly amusing.

Cocoa-Dashi with instant lemon yogurt noodles

This is a bit of a gee-whiz trick, and above that it tasted pretty good, but again, I couldn’t help thinking that this would not be impressive to the visually impaired.

Langoustine, celery root, banana mustard

Out of possibly misplaced shrimp paranoia I skipped the langoustine course, but I managed to steal a bit of the celery root and banana mustard, which I found really enjoyable.

Instead, I got Turbot with smoked bulgar wheat, sous-vide-poached salsify and coffee-saffron emulsion

This one crept up on me slowly, it was so subtle that I almost missed its charms. The fish itself had a fascinating texture from being cooked extremely slowly, apparently just barely on the heat in a pan on the edge of of the flattop. I suppose it would be jarring to add particularly loud flavors to this quiet preparation, but I found most of the rest of the components were a bit blah.

Venison Loin, pickled cherry puree, brussels sprouts, oatmeal panna cotta

I have to agree with agree with tammylc’s comment upthread, that this seemed so conventional that I was a bit surprised to find it on this menu. The venison was quite flavorful and tender from the slow sous-vide cooking, and very nicely done, but not dramatically different from what one might get elsewhere. The pickled cherry puree was a nice match but didn’t taste especially unusual. The oatmeal panna cotta was appropriately weird, but I didn’t really like it. Sprouts were good…

Moving into desserts:

Warm coconut tapioca, candied black truffle, lime

This was REALLY good, the ethereal lime zest anchored by the funky truffle.

Lemon curd, basil meringue, huckleberry puree

Lemon curd was good, but the basil meringue was amazing, Together, they were transcendent.

Butternut sorbet, pumpkin seed cake, mole, chocolate soil

I’m of two minds about this: on one hand the sorbet was refreshingly clean and bright, but on the other, it had a distinct, raw, pumpkiny vibe that had me wishing it had been made into a more creamy gelato to round-off that edge. The pumpkin seed cake was awesome, and both the chocolate soil and the feathery wisp of mole toffee really complimented the other elements.

Cocoa cotton balls played on the expectation of a heavy truffle, while delivering an airy wave goodbye.

We decided to forego the wine pairings, we had a long drive a head of us, but we went part-way, getting a few glasses from the suggested pairings. A glass of Cava Brut, Avinyo (NV) and a glass of “G” Domaine Gerovassilou (2004) carried nicely through most of the early courses, and I indulged in a pour of “House Wine” from the Magnificent Wine Company, with matched nicely with the venison.

Service was very friendly, informed and helpful, but there was a surprising amount of glassware flying around a few different times! My buddy actually ended up with a not-insignificant amount of Cava spilled on him, and the sincere apology really was sufficient, but we started wondering if we needed protective headgear. But hey, things happen, it was no big deal.

Overall, this was certainly the most creative meal I’ve ever had, but sometimes more interesting than delicious. And that’s OK, I appreciate being surprised and interested and amused. I enjoyed the experience immensely, even though I’m not sure any of the courses have made it into that amorphous list of things I can’t wait to have again someday.

But I’ll certainly look forward to going back and trying more of their innovations someday!

Edited January 4, 2006 by philadining (log)

[Dryden]

Jose Andres does an "Egg 147", but that's quite a bit higher than 40C...

[xdrixn]

just a reminder, dufresne vs batali on iron chef america this sunday (1/8) 9pm et/pt

[peteswanson]

I'm assuming they were already precooked, and simply being warmed at 40 degrees?

[Bux]

I look forward to my next visit even if it's not New Year's Eve, but that appears to be a truly amazing meal. Is that "sunny-side up" as convincing in person as in the photo? Did you announce the ingredients before serving? I covet a taste of every dish, which is a tribute to my indoctrination, because I can't imagine some of those combinations would otherwise have such an appeal to a traditionally educated palate. With each visit of ours, I think the novelty of the preparation increasingly takes a backseat to the taste.

[oakapple]

For posterity, I'm adding this link to the WD-50 New Year's Eve 2005 menu thread.

[Bux]

. . . .  (Just checking: pickled cucumber…uhhh… Isn’t that, you know, a pickle?) 

That was my immediate reaction when I read the description of the dish on the New Year's Eve thread, but while "pickle" alone is almost synonymous with pickled cucumber in western cuisine it's not so in others. In Japan, for instance, a pickle need not mean cucumber and is more often some other pickled vegetable.

I have to agree with agree with tammylc’s comment upthread, that this seemed so conventional that I was a bit surprised to find it on this menu.

Although Wylie has a reputation for creativity and originality, I think he'd sacrifice originality before flavor. I don't mean to dismiss your comments about the visual importance of most dishes. There does seem to be a growing interest in visual puns.

My buddy actually ended up with a not-insignificant amount of Cava spilled on him, and the sincere apology really was sufficient, but we started wondering if we needed protective headgear. But hey, things happen, it was no big deal.

←

Years ago, I had a bit of white wine spilled on the sleeve of a linen jacket. It was during an exceptional meal in the dining room of a fine restaurant noted for its service. I paid no attention to the matter not wanting to interrupt the evening. Alas, the next day I found the wine had actually bleached the fabric and noticeably changed the color where it had landed on my sleeve. It turned out to be a more expensive meal than I had planned, but as you say, things happen. I've continued to enjoy that unnamed restaurant and figure that if I have enough meals there, I will amortize the loss of the jacket over many meals so that the average cost is only raise a few bucks a head. I lost a good tie to a bowl of soup once. I will never again knowingly wear a new tie to restaurant where a soup course appears on the tasting menu, otherwise, a good meal is far too important to ruin with distractions. I think we agree.

[Sneakeater]

Do we all agree that over time WD-50 has at least seemingly moved toward giving more attention to how dishes taste as opposed to how cool they are conceptually? That's been my (happy) experience there.

[Sneakeater]

Or are we (by which of course I mean "I") just getting more used to this style of cooking (actually "conceptualizing" might be a more appropriate word than "cooking" here)?

[Bux]

Do we all agree that over time WD-50 has at least seemingly moved toward giving more attention to how dishes taste as opposed to how cool they are conceptually?  That's been my (happy) experience there.

←

Either that, or once I've gotten used to the concepts, I've been able to focus more on the taste. My guess is that like any artist, Wylie will tell you he hasn't changed. He's doing what he always does. That's why we have art critics and historians--to tell us what's really going on.

[bpearis]

just a reminder, dufresne vs batali on iron chef america this sunday (1/8) 9pm et/pt

←

Thanks to a friend who works at the Food Network, I got to attend the taping of this match -- which happened way the hell back in the first week of May! (I remember because I saw New Order play at Hammerstein Ballroom the same day). Because of taping delays, they actually dismissed what "audience" there was before the Judging, so I have been wondering who won for eight months. I won't reveal the secret ingredient, but will say Wylie brought his own Xantham gum.

I'm eating at WD-50 in a couple weeks for the first time for my birthday. Very excited.

[Bux]

just a reminder, dufresne vs batali on iron chef america this sunday (1/8) 9pm et/pt

←

Thanks to a friend who works at the Food Network, I got to attend the taping of this match -- which happened way the hell back in the first week of May! (I remember because I saw New Order play at Hammerstein Ballroom the same day). Because of taping delays, they actually dismissed what "audience" there was before the Judging, so I have been wondering who won for eight months. I won't reveal the secret ingredient, but will say Wylie brought his own Xantham gum.

I'm eating at WD-50 in a couple weeks for the first time for my birthday. Very excited.

←

I'm wondering if they didn't dismiss the audience simply because in the past there have been "rumors" of "recounts" until the judges got it right.

[bpearis]

just a Because of taping delays, they actually dismissed what "audience" there was before the Judging, so I have been wondering who won for eight months. I won't reveal the secret ingredient, but will say Wylie brought his own Xantham gum.

I'm wondering if they didn't dismiss the audience simply because in the past there have been "rumors" of "recounts" until the judges got it right.

←

Perhaps, but this seemed more of a time issue to me. Taping started at least 90 minutes late. There is down time between the end of the battle and judgement anyway, so it was like "they've suffered enough." The audience is an afterthought. Apart from the two rows you actually see on camera, most of the invited guests sit on folding chairs or stand around the edges of the set. You can't really see a whole lot, and there's no PA so you can't hear much either (though Alton is good at projecting his voice). It was cool to go, from a behind-the-scenes point of view, but it's not like seeing a taping of Conan on Oprah. We did get free aprons, though.

[WillieLee]

I forgot the finale....Cocoa cotton balls