wd-50 2004 - 2007

[flinflon28]

Admin: An archive of previous discussion on wd-50 may be found here.

Has anyone visited WD-50 recently? Wylie had a table at the Time Out New York tasting two weeks ago and it was delicious! He was also very friendly. Has anyone had a recent experience they'd like to share? I'm thinking of making a reservation for next month.

Edited November 4, 2004 by slkinsey (log)

[Nathan]

I ate at the bar on Friday night .... first time in a few months....interesting fall menu.

Began with venison tartare and edamame ice cream....this dish was more cerebral than tasty...it needed some sort of bite (maybe the obvious -- wasabe?)

Delicious, unctuous pork belly...highly recommend this. For fun, I asked the bartender to pair a beer with this dish -- he chose an Anchor Steam Porter....which, of well-known brews, was a fine choice.....however, I was looking for something more artisanal/obscure....I didn't look at the beer list but I'm surmising that it must be rather ordinary...

dessert: pineapple with tequila ice cream and chili sauce (which would have worked with the venison tartare)....terrific. thankfully, the rumors of Sam Mason leaving a few months ago were untrue....he's still going strong.

[Jaybert41]

I happened to have eaten there Friday night also, and it was stunning. Certainly recommended. The veal tongue, endive soup, lamb rack, and monkfish were all amazing. Sam was trying out a few new dessert that night which were also top notch. The chocolate cream with Tonka bean ice cream is worth a trip to NYC alone...

WD~50 has some really cool stuff that everyone who is interested in expanding their horizons must experience. I warn you: It is not the kind of pace that you would want to eat twice a week, but it will provide you with a sense of discovery in a way that will make you both analyze and simplify food as we know it

[flinflon28]

This sounds great! Thanks for the feedback!

[reuvens]

did anybody eat the foie gras terrine with a liquid center? i just saw the picture on the wd-50 website and i just can´t imagine how he prepared this amazing dish....

vue

[Jaybert41]

Yup, I had the Foie Gras. The textures are absolutely amazing, though I didn't care for the Nori flavor (I found it too assertive). A highly recommended dish on execution alone.

[reuvens]

Yup, I had the Foie Gras.  The textures are absolutely amazing, though I didn't care for the Nori flavor (I found it too assertive).  A highly recommended dish on execution alone.

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the nori is also in the liquid center ? is it a kind of vinaigrette or coulis or what is it ?

[Jaybert41]

Yup, I had the Foie Gras.  The textures are absolutely amazing, though I didn't care for the Nori flavor (I found it too assertive).  A highly recommended dish on execution alone.

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the nori is also in the liquid center ? is it a kind of vinaigrette or coulis or what is it ?

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The nori in the center could probably be considered a syrup. It was so dark and sharp in flavor that I wouldnt be surprised if Wylie was using some anchovy product; ala his signature dish. The Foie Gras is certainly inspiring.

[646522]

The caramel is made from water, sugar and nori sheets. It is thickened with gellan, frozen and placed into the center of the foie.

[MobyP]

You can't remove the sensuality from eating. To say that Dufresne doesn't stretch his food by the pleasure principle is only to say that it's all very nice without actually being . . . very nice. For those who haven't eaten widely along these lines: This isn't because it's avant guarde - but because it's Dufresne's cooking. Gagnaire certainly had me groaning with visceral pleasure (not to mention squirming with shock). Blumenthal's ice-creams (not to mention his other dishes) - bacon and egg, sardines on buttery toast, pommery mustard - were nothing if not absolutely sensual. To hear Tarka speak of Achatz is a study in adjectival sensuality.

A meal last week at WD-50 had me agreeing with many of the above posts. The cooking was very well done, imaginative, well crafted - but none of it in a world of limited budgets was a reason to return.

The most exciting dish was actually a tagliolini made with pureed shrimp which Wylie sent us as an extra course (I was fortunate enough to be dining with a aquaintence of his).

Generally I thought the apps portions were too small, and oddly, the mains were rather over-large. Perhaps catering to some New York quirk. The crowd was interesting - it didn't seem to have many train-spotters (like meself), just New Yorkers out for a good meal.

The deserts, I thought, were sensually the most successful - especially the Carrot-lime ravioli, coconut tapioca, lime sherbet, cumin. A fantastic dish, and a real adventure to eat.

[docsconz]

I've been following this thread with interest as I expect to finally visit WD-50 with some friends in December. I very much enjoyed WD's food at 71 Clinton. I particularly enjoy creative food so long as it is successful. What I had at 71 Clinton most certainly was on every level. In what way or ways is his food different now than then (for all or anyone who can compare)?

[Suzi Edwards]

You can't remove the sensuality from eating. To say that Dufresne doesn't stretch his food by the pleasure principle is only to say that it's all very nice without actually being . . . very nice. For those who haven't eaten widely along these lines: This isn't because it's avant guarde - but because it's Dufresne's cooking. Gagnaire certainly had me groaning with visceral pleasure (not to mention squirming with shock). Blumenthal's ice-creams (not to mention his other dishes) - bacon and egg, sardines on buttery toast, pommery mustard - were nothing if not absolutely sensual. To hear Tarka speak of Achatz is a study in adjectival sensuality.

A meal last week at WD-50 had me agreeing with many of the above posts. The cooking was very well done, imaginative, well crafted - but none of it in a world of limited budgets was a reason to return.

The most exciting dish was actually a tagliolini made with pureed shrimp which Wylie sent us as an extra course (I was fortunate enough to be dining with a aquaintence of his).

Generally I thought the apps portions were too small, and oddly, the mains were rather over-large. Perhaps catering to some New York quirk. The crowd was interesting - it didn't seem to have many train-spotters (like meself), just New Yorkers out for a good meal.

The deserts, I thought, were sensually the most successful - especially the Carrot-lime ravioli, coconut tapioca, lime sherbet, cumin. A fantastic dish, and a real adventure to eat.

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*blushes*

i'm there on saturday night. if only we'd been able to organise diaries....i'll look out for that desert.

[Phatlouie07]

what's the attire? is it casual (e.g. jeans etc.)

[Early Girl]

what's the attire? is it casual (e.g. jeans etc.)

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When I went earlier this year, all the waiters were wearing Levi's.

[Schneier]

Last month I dinnered WD-50 in New York -- first visit -- and had their tasting menu.

Course 1: "Fluke, artichoke soup, papaya, tuna powder." Not a great beginning. The artichoke and papaya worked well together -- and had an interesting high sour note -- but the fish was lost in the noise.

Course 2: "Foie gras, grapefruit-basil crumble, nori caramel." A nice dish. The nori caramel was inside a foie gras ball, with baby basil leaves, slightly dehydrated grapefruit, brioche croutons, and fleur de sel.

Course 3: "Rainbow trout, pork belly, apple cider, horseradish, miso paper." Pretty good. The apple cider was a cream, and there was also candied lime.

Course 4: "Beef tongue, fried mayo, tomato molasses." An excellent dish which, on another menu, would be called something like "deconstructed deli sandwich." The pickled tongue was delicious, the fried mayo was good, and it came with Romaine lettuce stems and onion strussel.

Course 5: "Shrimp noodles, smoked yogurt, nori powder." This came with prawn crisps and was sprinkled with paprika. A neat dish.

Course 6: "Slow poached egg, parmesan broth, tomato." Course of the night. I've had slow-poached eggs -- 147 degrees is critical -- and they're delicious. This one came with chick pea and parmesan broth, noodles, tomato powder, and baby chives. Absolutely stunning.

Course 7: "Lamb sweetbread, green daikon, eggplant honey puree, chocolate powder." This was the night's only clunker. I wanted the sweetbread to be crisper. The eggplant was delicious,but the daikon wasn't. And the chocolate didn't add. (I'm kind of done with chocolate being the trendy ingredient. Bring back salsify or something.)

Course 8: "Squab, encrusted golden beats, sweet potato juice." The squab was delicious. The beets were covered with crispy beet bits. Everything about this dish was delicious.

Course 9: "Quince tonic, manchego." Palate cleanser. Fine.

Course 10: "Caramelized butternut squash, chocolate consomme." This also came with a puree of graham cracker. Very good.

Course 11: "Chocolate cream, coffee soil, tonka bean ice cream." This came with apricot powder, basil sauce, and apricot sauce. Delicious.

Course 12: "Mulled apple cider, pine-needle cotton candy." The cider was tasty, and the cotton candy was silly.

We expected an edgy menu, and weren't disappointed. Two of the dishes were clunkers, but some were absolutely delicious. All were interesting.

Bruce

[flinflon28]

Had dinner with a friend at WD-50 on Thursday and we had the experience we were expecting...challenging food with some hits and misses.

We were greeted warmly by the hostess which was no small feat as she had been slammed with a party of fifteen ten seconds before we arrived. One thing that struck me as we were seated was that there was not the "smell" you usually experience when entering a restaurant. I suppose it depends on how rich the food is at a particular place but usually there is a mix of aromas that hit me when I am being taken to my seat. For example the smell of what I imagine is a bit of fat and other savory aromas are always linked with being taken to my seat at Daniel. And there's a scent of goat cheese and onion soup at Balthazar.

I imagine that part of this is due to the fact that the restaurant wasn't at capacity when we arrived at 8:00.

Upon being seated I was thrilled to have a view of the kitchen as I am starting culinary school next month and love the sight of a line in action. Wylie was in the house and I was impressed to see how calm everything seemed to be in the kitchen...especially as the orders of the large party downstsairs started flowing in along with those of the regular patrons. The house was definitely full by 8:45. My dining companion was dissapointed to hear that pastry chef Sam Mason was not in that night as my companion has a massive crush on him from the photo on the WD-50 website.

Conventional bread is not served at WD-50 rather a very thin, paperlike starch sprinkled with seeds and possibly pepper. Seeing as how most of Wylie's dishes have a sauce or broth that will not be finished with the main ingrdient a bit of "sop up" bread would be nice but I have to admit that the thin bread is very addictive and most importantly not filling.

Although no one on this forum has really complained about the portions being too small, I have spoken to a number of individuals who said they left hungry.

To be on the safe side we ordered four appetizers to share. The server was kind enough to bring them out as two separate courses. We started with the corned duck on rye crisps and the fois gras with nori caramel. As soon as my companion cut into the fois gras his expression was priceless...it seems he'd forgotten something was going to ooze out and he looked like a gradeschooler who'd done something wrong and was looking to see if anyone had noticed. The combination of nori and cold fois gras was not one that was too appealing. The nori was VERY overpowering. The cool fois gras was tasty on it's own but unfortunately the nori distracted too much for our liking. The corned duck was just what it was...that is not to say it was bad in any sense...in fact it was quite good. I just couldn't really tell the difference between it and corned beef. The rye crisp was lovely and the purple/horseradish/mustard was visually awesome and tasty.

Our next courses were the pickled tongue and the venison tartare. The pickled tongue was a pleasant surprise to me because I never thought I'd ever eat tongue in my life but this is the dish that has fried mayonaise so I HAD to have it. I have to admit that it was pretty good. To me it tasted like baloney...which I guess makes sense. The fried mayonaise is one of those sensations that makes someone stop what they're doing, smack their had like they had a damn good idea and really evaluate what is happening in their mouth. It is like warm heaven and I can't believe it hasn't been done before. A marble sized ball of fries mayo has a delicate skin which pops in your mouth releasing warm liquid on your tongue.

The venison tartare was beautifully presented and must have been a huge hit with my dining companion as he would not part with a bite for me...eventually he relented and I felt the dish tasted like Chrstmas! I can't really explain this feeling but if Christmas with it's snow, pine trees and eggnog where to have a taste it would be this dish. The tartare came with edemame ice cream and cruncy pear.

Entrees came next. I had the monkfish with oyster mushroom, pumpernickel cocoa, pear concome and squash. I felt the portion was quite generous and while the fish was well prepared it was quite bland. I didn't think the pear broth was strong enough to add anything but mositure to the dish and the pumpernickel coca was a jarring and somewhat unpleasant addition to the proceedings. I can almost imagine it tasting good with the squash but if that it is the case it should not have been in the pear broth with the fish.

My friend had the lamb and it was truly the winning dish of the evening. Served with pickled cranberries (how refreshing to not have mint forced upon you when ordering lamb!), goat cheese consome, potato and leek. This was an almost conventional dish and I felt the cut of lamb was the perfect mixture of a bit of fat, lean meat and good flavor. Aces!

Desserts were carrot ginger cake with coconut sorbet and carrot coulis. Stunning dessert and incredibly flavorful and somewhat spicy.

I had the "French Toast" which though laughably small was stunning. It consisted of a french toast stick the size of a lincoln log sprinkled with what I think was cinnamon and a bit of ice cream. There is no description on the menu and I was to gone on sparkling wine to rememeber the explanation.

We also asked for some ginger cotton candy which is only part of the dessert menu but they were happy to oblige...WOW! What a flavor sensation. Delicious.

Our dinner of 4 appetizers, two entrees, two desserts and two bottles of sparking wine was $295 with tip.

Are we going back? Probably not. Did we enjoy our meal and were we challenged? Without a doubt. And I love hearing people's reactions when I tell them about fried mayonaise!

[flinflon28]

what's the attire? is it casual (e.g. jeans etc.)

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Attire is tee shirt casual for some and corporate casual for others...all are welcome.

[docsconz]

Unfortunately, I don't have time to go into a lot of detail at the moment, but I dined at WD-50 last week and in a week of eating at all sorts of wonderful restaurants including Ducasse, Kurumazushi, Babbo, Sripraphai, Sushi Yasuda, Franny's this was my favorite. It is my ideal of a New York restaurant. The food was beautiful, interesting, delicious and fun. The room has received some bad press, though I found it and the service very comfortable. The space, attitude and indeed the food are all perfect for its location. Would I go back? In a heartbeat. My comments on WD-50 are not meant to disparage any of the other restaurants I mentioned. They were all great in their own ways, but none resonated with me quite the way WD-50 did. The two closest were probably Sushi Yasuda and Babbo.

[flinflon28]

I look forward to a more detailed report from you when you have an opportunity!

Does this mean your new avatar will be a picture of you with Wylie?

[docsconz]

It could be, but I'm not sure that he'd want to be seen in my company.

[Babiemindy]

Doc thanks for your brief review and giving WD-50 such a high mark compared to all the other places you went to last week.

I'm thinking about a few places to go for NYE, WD-50 is definitely one of the places I will consider now!

Happy Holidays

[docsconz]

I really enjoyed my meal at WD-50 for the reasons I stated above. Since I was the only one at the table who wanted to order a tasing menu we didn't do it, although they did let us order dishes from the tasting menu. I started with the lamb sweetbreads, green daikon, black bean and chocolate powder, which had a subtle lambiness to them and great texture, as my appetizer and then the squab with beet powder encrusted golden beets and sweet potato reduction for my main course. It was under Chef Dufresne at 71 Clinton that I first had squab. It was a revelation then and it still is under his expert hand. The beets and sweet potato juice reduction were also delicious as well as intellectually interesting and visually beautiful. We had an array of desserts all of which were beautiful, fantastic and previously described on this board. The tonka bean ice cream was particularly fun as the only other place we have encountered tonka beans was at Can Roca in Catalunya (actually my wife had them as I was sick that day and didn't partake:sad:).Contrary to some on this board, though, I found the cotton candy to be fun and extremely tasty.

The wine list, though not extraordinarily large, was interesting, eclectic and fairly priced. We had a gorgeous red from the Balearic Islands that went very well with our diverse, but red-wine friendly meals.

It was too dark to get good photos of our meal, but afterwards I did ask to meet Chef Dufresne since I wanted to tell him how much we enjoyed his meal and his restaurant. Amazingly to me, when I introduced myself to him by my given name (the reservations were in my friend's name), he recognized it and referred to me as "docsconz"! We had an interesting conversation about eGullet (He admits to lurking ), his food, Spain and culinaria in general. He invited us to tour the kitchen and observe some preparation. He was also gracious enough to allow me to take some photos. Even with a digital camera, it is not possible to fully determine when a photo is really good enough. That being said, a few of the photos didn't turn out quite as well as I had hoped and I still missed some opportunities that in retrospect I wish I had taken such as getting a better visual handle on the sous vide cookery.

Some photos from the kitchen of WD-50:

Chef Dufresne cooking at his station.

The finishing station.

Sam Mason checks an order.

An action shot.

From pan to plate.

Finishing touches by Pastry Chef Sam Mason

With Wylie

[flinflon28]

It looks like you had a ball and I'm glad you got to meet Wylie. Interesting about his recognizing you...I'd heard rumors that he little to no experience with the internet. My friend wants me to tell you e is vey jealous that Sam Mason was there on the night you attended. we went last thursday and he wasn't working...my friend has a massive crush on him from the picture on the website!

I LOVED the cotton candy!

[VeryApe77]

Great report + pictures. WD-50 is probably the one restaurant in the states (outside of Chicago that is ) that I will (hopefully) be making a special trip to in 2005.

[Bux]

. . .  Interesting about his recognizing you...I'd heard rumors that he little to no experience with the internet. . . . .

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I met him over two years ago in passing at the Union Square Greenmarket. He was talking to Mike Anthony and Mike and Dan Barber had just done an eGullet Q&A. The subject came up and he said he didn't use or have a computer. I realize that was a long time ago now, but at the time it didn't seem as if it was possible to pursue the subject.