wd-50 2004 - 2007

[BryanZ]

Just to chime in on some of the most recently discussed points.

I've eaten there both when Wylie has been in and on a Sunday when he wasn't. As others have noted, the execution of the dishes was top-notch, as one would hopefully expect.

I loved the place the first time and on subsequent visits, but then again my tastes tend to align more with docsconz's (our preferred culinary barometer for the present).

Many people are simply not turned on by this style of food. The dishes I have enjoyed least have just not jived conceptually with what I consider a great dish. This is not at all to take away from the theory behind them but merely a statement of my personal preferences.

[ulterior epicure]

I've eaten there both when Wylie has been in and on a Sunday when he wasn't.  As others have noted, the execution of the dishes was top-notch, as one would hopefully expect.

It was me who made the comment, and yes, I was there on a Sunday evening.

Many people are simply not turned on by this style of food.  The dishes I have enjoyed least have just not jived conceptually with what I consider a great dish.  This is not at all to take away from the theory behind them but merely a statement of my personal preferences.

BryanZ, here you describe my take-away perfectly!

[ppace]

Just wanted to let everyone know we had a fantastic time last night at WD50. They worked with my wife to create a tasting menu that worked around what she could and could not eat. Even to the point of changing a dessert. All in all a fantastic 3 hours. We were never rushed and each course was excellent. I am really glad we picked WD50 as our last "Big Night Out" for awhile.

[ckkgourmet]

Just wanted to let everyone know we had a fantastic time last night at WD50. They worked with my wife to create a tasting menu that worked around what she could and could not eat. Even to the point of changing a dessert. All in all a fantastic 3 hours. We were never rushed and each course was excellent. I am really glad we picked WD50 as our last "Big Night Out" for awhile.

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Any course in particular that you loved?

[woofy]

I ate at WD 50 last night, had the 10 course tasting menu with the wine pairing. It was amazing, every course was perfect, everything was seasoned perfectly, the fois gras course was the best fois gras I've ever tasted. The combinations were exciting, interesting and worked on both a cerebral and purely sensorial level. The progression of courses was, again perfect. The wine pairings whilst not being really standout wines on there own worked very well with the food and were very interesting, there was barely a grape variety I reckognised. I actually preffered this meal to a recent meal at mugaritz. Wylie is the real deal.

[DaleJ]

Great to hear, Woofy. I'm flying a thousand miles to the city to eat there next Saturday evening.

[rich]

Great to hear, Woofy.  I'm flying a thousand miles to the city to eat there next Saturday evening.

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It will be worth it and more. There are only two places I would fly to for dinner and WD-50(thankfully I live in NYC) is one of them.

Edited April 28, 2006 by rich (log)

[silentryan]

Sad or happy news, depending on how you look at it:

SAM MASON, the pastry chef at WD-50, plans to leave that restaurant to open a spot, yet unnamed, in SoHo by the end of the year for tapas, desserts and drinks: 525 Broome Street (Thompson Street).

http://www.nytimes.com/2006/05/17/dining/17off.html

[iheartoffal]

Sam can certainly pull that off with the following he has, but I see that Pichet Ong is also opening a similar place. One wonders if the dessert-only market is becoming too saturated to sustain all of these places.

[Dryden]

Other than Goldfarb, and Chika Tillman, is there another?

[Sneakeater]

Well, you could say they'll now be doubling.

Although I think the market won't be saturated so long as the existing ones are in different neighborhoods.

Indeed, last night a friend and I walked over to Room 4 Dessert (which wasn't particularly convenient) when we found that Chikalicious (which would have been) was closed. So I guess the market isn't saturated yet.

Edited May 17, 2006 by Sneakeater (log)

[tan319]

Think that it's a bit early to tell if it's oversaturated, the dessert bar scene, that is, since there are really only two operating at the moment.

Mason has been talking about his concept since that article that was in the 12/03/01/04 FADER mag

Personally, I think they will all differ enough in vibe and content to satisfy all.

Make no mistake, I'm excited and curious as hell how all of this will play out BUT...

I'm also curious as to what Wylies plans are going to be.

I read in the May issue of Food Arts that David Arnold, the equipment specialist at the FCI in NYC is collaborating wih Dufresne on a lab at the FCI that will work on new food technology as well as food in general.

I think Sam is doing something with Arnold at the Pastryscoop.com Spring conference as well.

Sam can certainly pull that off with the following he has, but I see that Pichet Ong is also opening a similar place.  One wonders if the dessert-only market is becoming too saturated to sustain all of these places.

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[docsconz]

Life evolves. I certainly hope that this simply is an evolution and that they remain collaborators. They have been an outstanding team and have each managed to blur the sweet/savory line just a little more. I am confidant that both have what it takes to remain at the tops of their respective games. I wish both continued creative and business success!

[tony h]

WD50 – April 2006

Was really looked forward to this place. First time in lower east side – very different from the almost sanitised soho & the village – also a little scary – we didn’t feel too safe. The restaurant is fairly anonymous from the outside – the banquette down the middle gives the impression of deconstructed restaurant – however – it was not that pleasurable if your not on the comfy central seats.

We went for the tasting menu

Raiser clams with broad beans (aka fava) – fine but miniscule

Carrot & coconut egg: described better elsewhere – fun dish but has a very, very serious flaw: taste of the chemicals used in the dish overpowered everything else. Not pleasant at all.

Foie gras: came as slab and frozen powder of fg. good but needed some bread.

Cannelloni of shrimp – came with “rendered” chorizo - easily best dish of the evening (my notes say)

Beef tongue with fried mayo – oh dear – very strong chemical taste which distracted from the novelty – tongue was surprisingly flavourless

Langoustine sous vide – "snot is a bag" was how we described it – clever,

maybe, but really horrible to eat

pointless dish of miso with little bottle sesame gunk which you squirt into the soup

smoked duck breast with parsnip ricotta & chocolate squash pasta – duck was good but the rest was fairly offensive

a few other dishes followed – only the tonka bean ice cream was worthy of note.

At one point, noting our distaste of a dish, the waiter said – we don’t expect you’ll like everything. Wonder how they’d feel if I said – we’ll you don’t expect I’d pay for everything.

Overall – I really hated this place – from the strong smell of “drains” when I first entered – to the uncomfortable seats – impersonal service (I don’t think we had the same waiter serve us more than once) and – main reason – the a la carte dishes served to other tables looked so bloody good compared to the crap we got.

[ulterior epicure]

Tony...

That's too bad. I'm really sorry you didn't enjoy your meal more. I was slightly deflated by my meal there a while back.

I saw your comment about the beef tongue. I couldn't put my finger on it at the time - but now that you mention it, there was something "chemical" about the taste of that dish - I think that's why I didn't care for the sides. I though the tongue itself was great, but everything else on the plate, together, tasted rather unnatural to me...

u.e.

Pickled Beef Tongue:  The pickled beef was very tasty and the most tender tongue I've ever had.  In fact, one could easily mistake the tongue for soft prosciutto.  Unfortunately, everything else on the plate was just poorly matched (for my palate). 

First, can anyone tell me what is so astounding about fried mayonnaise?  I've read rave reviews about the fried mayonnaise - I just don't get it... what's so special? 

Second, if anyone has had the pickled beef tongue starter, can you tell me what was the dark-coloured paste?  It was deep and sweet - I want to say figs or prunes?  It wasn't bad, but didn't quite work with the fried mayo and tangy beef tongue. 

Third: I didn't get the "onion strudel" - I couldn't figure out if that was the little assembly of translucent little gelatin crumbles and or whether it was the dark paste (which didn't taste like onion strudel at all).

[edited for spelling mistake]

Edited May 20, 2006 by ulterior epicure (log)

[docsconz]

I am sorry that Tony Higgins and Ulterior Epicure did not enjoy their experiences at WD-50. While we have agreed on some, U.E. and I have disagreed on a number of other restaurants including WD-50. Perhaps their palates are much more sensitive than mine, but having dined there on a number of occasions I have never noticed anything tasting remotely "chemical" in any dish and I have had the dishes specifically mentioned. What I have noticed are clean, delicious flavors. This is neither a right nor wrong issue as it is clearly a matter of subjective taste and opinion. While I was surprised by a number of the points raised, I was particularly surprised by this one, however.

[tony h]

i based my comparisons on visits to the Fat Duck in the UK which "mucks" around with tastes & textures but in a far, far superior way

[oakapple]

Was really looked forward to this place. First time in lower east side – very different from the almost sanitised soho & the village – also a little scary – we didn’t feel too safe.

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Although the LES has a gritty look to it, in fact it is about as safe these days as any neighborhood in Manhattan.

At one point, noting our distaste of a dish, the waiter said – we don’t expect you’ll like everything.

Although I very much enjoyed the chef's tasting menu when I visited WD-50, I must say that the server's comment strikes me as in appropriate.

[docsconz]

i based my comparisons on visits to the Fat Duck in the UK which "mucks" around with tastes & textures but in a far, far superior way

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Nor is it El Bulli. WD-50 is a totally unique restaurant that mixes very creative and IMO delicious food with a strong NYC vibe. It clearly is not for everyone nor is it meant to be. Even so, like Oakapple, I too am surprised by the server's comments.

You had the experience that you did. It is always unfortunate when one is disappointed with a restaurant that one hs beeen looking forward to for a long time. Sometimes things get off on the wrong foot and they snowball. I have had that experience elsewhere, most notably at Pierre Gagnaire, a restaurant I know you have favored in the past. I can fully appreciate that. Perhaps the aesthetic and ambiance of WD-50 is one that wouldn't suit you under any circumstances. I can appreciate that as well. The principle issue I chose to address though was your claim of tasting "chemicals" in the food. I didn't taste the very dish that you did, but your statement is so far outside of my own exprience there that I felt the need to add a dissenting voice. I also have to wonder what could have been so "offensive" about the other elements of your duck dish? Not work for you - sure, but "offensive"? That is a pretty strong statement.

[tony h]

our differing experiences I believe may have a lot to do with palate. I noticed in many restaurants that I ate & loved on my recent trip (bluehill, anasia, toqueville) many of the sauces were quite sweet - sugar being added, i guess, to suit local n american tastes. Is it possible that you're also more used to processed food taste & didn't notice the strong chemical element? I do remember finding it quite hard adjusting my eurpopean palate when I lived in the states a few years ago.

[ASM NY]

our differing experiences I believe may have a lot to do with palate.  I noticed in many restaurants that I ate & loved on my recent trip (bluehill, anasia, toqueville) many of the sauces were quite sweet - sugar being added, i guess, to suit local n american tastes.  Is it possible that you're also more used to processed food taste & didn't notice the strong chemical element?  I do remember finding it quite hard adjusting my eurpopean palate when I lived in the states a few years ago.

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This may be a more appropriate discussion for another topic, but I honestly believe that places like Bluehill and WD-50 don't create their menus with what the average American will like in mind. I also think that in this day and age, and particularly in New York, you can go with as much or as little processed food as you'd like. Much in line with what you would experience in Europe.

[docsconz]

our differing experiences I believe may have a lot to do with palate.  I noticed in many restaurants that I ate & loved on my recent trip (bluehill, anasia, toqueville) many of the sauces were quite sweet - sugar being added, i guess, to suit local n american tastes.  Is it possible that you're also more used to processed food taste & didn't notice the strong chemical element?  I do remember finding it quite hard adjusting my eurpopean palate when I lived in the states a few years ago.

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Tony, our palates may inded differ, although sweetness in food is something I tend to shy away from. I also tend to shy away from commercially processed foods living as I do in prime farm country and eating mostly local farm-raised foods. I never mind spending more for a better product. back to sweetness, I don't mind some balanced sweetness, but in this sense, I believe my palate is more "European". As I said in an earlier post, taste and preference is clearly subjective with no right or wrong. By no means am I questioning whether or not you liked the flavors or even should have. I simply have never picked up any chemical off-flavors in the food there. You did. Prior to your posting and U.E.'s response I never heard anyone else mention it either. I am simply surprised.

[ulterior epicure]

In fact, it was this "chemically" taste that I found off-putting in a number of my sides - like the horse-radish foam that came with my Beef Sirloin and the chickpea batons that came with the ocean trout plate.

Perhaps "chemical" isn't exactly the right word to describe its effect on my palate, but there was certainly something a little odd about the way some of these things tasted.

u.e.

[NYC Mike]

I also think that in this day and age, and particularly in New York, you can go with as much or as little processed food as you'd like.

I think these two, Blue Hill and WD-50 are the exact extremes on both ends of the spectrum with the rest of NYC falling inbetween somewhere.

mike

[Sneakeater]

Perhaps "chemical" isn't exactly the right word to describe its effect on my palate, but there was certainly something a little odd about the way some of these things tasted.

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FWIW, I'm pretty sure I know what you mean. I've never really been able to put my finger on it (much less articulate it), either.

I think part of my coming to like WD-50 was my getting used to it.

(I keep saying "it" because I can't come up with a word for the taste/flavor element I'm/we're talking about.)