wd-50 2004 - 2007

[646522]

just for the record........... the flavor of the "ice-pop" was spicy grapefruit, and the spice element was a small amount of pure capsicum oil and then pieces of fresh anise-hissop.

sam

[Luckylies]

this thread has me so psyched. I'm amped out of my mind I'm going on wed on a family dinner!!!!!!!!!!! TASTING!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! there will be no converstion, just the soft sound of me muttering contentedly to myself and perhaps the odd dazed smile. I CAN'T WAIT!!!!!!

[Sethro]

I'm going tonight. My first and only other time was at the opening, so I assume alot has changed. Needless to say I'm looking foward to it tremendously. I'll report back anything exciting...

[Sethro]

Well, I'm back. The signature dishes are still the best (Nori Foie, Calves tongue mayo...), and some of the new quarter's need a little fine tuning.

BTW, does anyone know what Sam Mason uses to spin his ice creams and sorbets? All of their texturs were literally perfect. The grapefruit foam in the "Grapefruit in Grapefruit" dessert was phenomonal too--I have no idea how it's achieved...

[tan319]

According to Sams starchefs.com interview, a Taylor Batch Freezer and a Paco-Jet.

I would think the Paco's way with ice creams and sorbets is what is wowing you.

Besides his recipes, that is.

The Paco is a pretty amazing bit of gear, indeed!

The grapefruit foam???

Maybe he'll post and let us know.

Looks kind of like it's immersion blended right before it goes out, or maybe an 'air' technique, ala 'Bulli?

[iheartoffal]

He did it right in front of me last time I was there with a hand mixer. Not sure what else besides grapefruit juice was in the bowl, though.

Oh, and I'll get around to posting about the rest of my meal sometime this week. I've just been hesitant to it do it because I don't remember every single detail (forgot to bring home the menu to use as a reference).

[Sethro]

We used a pacojet for all our ice creams at Spice Market, but they weren't nearly as consistant as what I had tonight. Maybe its just the wine pairing speaking, but I was really impressed by the smooth uniformity of texture in all the ice creams and sorbets at WD.

As for the foam, what was cool about it was the fact that it was quenelled around a quenelle of sorbet. Not sure how that happens...maybe the quenell of sorbet is just dragged through the foam? Anyways, it's a very cool effect, not unlike a cadbury egg.

[SamanthaF]

I had the lamb chop dish in Dec 04, and although it was fine ( I really do like WD-50) I couldn't help but think they were really "old" lamb due to the size of them. Slightly tougher than the English and Welsh chops that we enjoy.

[docsconz]

This is generally true for lamb in the US. It is very difficult to find very young lamb here. By the same token, it is possibly even more difficult to find mutton. There is very little demand for that in the US. "Older" lamb still has a fair amount of subtlety without the overly strong flavor of mutton. Most importantly though is the economics. For some reason, it doesn't pay for lamb growers to sell their lamb too young. At least that is what a quality lamb raising friend told me recently.

[Weissman]

We used a pacojet for all our ice creams at Spice Market, but they weren't nearly as consistant as what I had tonight. Maybe its just the wine pairing speaking, but I was really impressed by the smooth uniformity of texture in all the ice creams and sorbets at WD.

As for the foam, what was cool about it was the fact that it was quenelled around a quenelle of sorbet. Not sure how that happens...maybe the quenell of sorbet is just dragged through the foam? Anyways, it's a very cool effect, not unlike a cadbury egg.

←

At the restaurant where I work in Jersey, I use an inverted sugar to prevent the ice creams from becoming a brick. You replace a certain amount of sugar with the inverted sugar and boil the dairy and continue with the ice cream as normal. Dairyland is very good in ice cream production.

Not too say that wd-50 uses any!!

[Sethro]

Yep, I'm an invert sugar guy myself. It'll definetely prevent hard-freezing, but it's not like it ensures smoothness.

Soft /= smooth.

I have a hunch that perfecting texture has alot to do with the kinds of fats and sugars you use, not just the fat-to-sugar ratio. More on that when I actually know what I'm talking about...

(I mean it's not like my frozen stuff SUCKS, its just not perfect. Very good is achievable, but perfect is tricky.)

[David McDuff]

Shall we get the ball rolling again? I made a second visit to WD-50 during a long weekend in the city recently. Having dined a la carte on my first trip, I decided to explore the chef's tasting menu, along with accompanying wines, this time around. I've taken the liberty of posting an image of the tasting menu -- here's the link:

WD-50 Tasting Menu Image

I could go on at length, I suppose, but I'm a bit more tempted to just post the menu and see what kind of questions it generates. I'll be more than happy to share thoughts about the experience.

I'll at least get the ball rolling by giving kudos to Wylie's dad -- I think his name is Dewey -- for putting together some very fine wine matches with the wild array of courses. It was particularly pleasing to find something as unusual and tasty as the Ciro Rosato making the grade.

[Pan]

I see some of the paired wines are called "non-vintage." What does that mean?

[fauxtarga]

I'm guessing that it's the standard NV sparkling wine thing, blended in a given house style.

[David McDuff]

I see some of the paired wines are called "non-vintage." What does that mean?

←

Quite simply, non-vintage means that the fruit going into the wine came from more than one vintage (annual growing season). Non-vintage wines exist in all categories but are most common, at good quality levels, in sparkling and dessert wines. That is exactly the case here, as evinced by the Cava (Spanish bubbly) and Commanderia St. John (Cyprean dessert wine).

[bcsuka]

I'm about two weeks late in posting this, but better late than never, as they say!

Met a small group of friends in NYC two weeks ago for a relaxing night out and, after stopping at Fish on Bleecker for a tasting of beer and oysters from their raw bar, we made our way to wd~50. We had planned to eat at the bar, but the hostess was kind enough to seat the four of us at the table right in front of the window. We were still served by the bartender, so I guess technically we were still "at the bar."

The evening started off with a few mixed drinks as my buddy and I noticed the selection of ginger beer at the bar. "Four Dark n' Stormys, please!" For those who may not be familiar with a Dark n' Stormy, it is a mix of 2oz. Gosling's Black Seal rum, a bottle of ginger beer and 1 slice lime. Deeeeelicious!

Moving on to food, we decided that our family-style approach was working well, so we split two appetizers:

Pickled beef tongue, fried mayo and onion steusel

Venison tartare, edamame ice cream and cruncy pear

Both appetizers were excellent, although we agreed that the Pickled beef worked better as a whole concept -- a deconstructed deli sandwich! Fantastic (how DO they fry the mayo?!?!). The individual pieces of the venison dish were amazing, but I didn't find that they necessarily complemented each other as much. I'd love to hear others' opinions on this.

To the main course:

Monkfish, oyster mushroom, spaghetti squash, pumpernickel cocoa and pear consomme

Short ribs, smoked flatiron beef, kimchee spaetzle and papaya ravioli

Both dishes were tremendous, each with unique distinguishing features. The majority sided with the monkfish as the superior dish, but both were given two big thumbs up. The part that impressed me was how perfectly the individual pieces were prepared. The short ribs practically fell apart yet were moist and full of flavor; the monkfish was firm and complemented so well by the pear consomme. Wow, oh wow!

Dessert time:

Caramel panna cotta and sweet corn streusel

My notes were illegible for this last one, but it was a pineapple dessert with a pineapple cake, etc.

These desserts were a perfect end to the meal as they were just the right blend of sweet (but not TOO sweet) and savory.

Overall we had a great time. We arrived a few minutes before 7:00 on a Friday and the place was about half full. By the time we were finished a few hours later, it was jam-packed and bustling. The part that impressed me the most, however, was that even with the overflowing crowd, the hostess still brought my buddy and myself back to meet Chef Dufresne. The kitchen was a blur of activity, but so finely tuned, that it worked perfectly. Both Chef Dufresne and Chef Mason were present, and we had the pleasure to talk (albeit briefly -- we could obviously see how busy they were and we didn't want to cause any issues) with both of them (a simple "wow, you guys rock!").

Now I need to find the time to go back and try the tasting menu!

[Sethro]

Ihow DO they fry the mayo?!?!

Good question. If I had to guess, I would say it's frozen on a sheet pan, cut into cubes and just thrown in the deep fryer...

On second thought, it probably involves gellan and at least three other ingredients I have no idea how to use.

Edited June 7, 2005 by Sethro (log)

[iheartoffal]

Ihow DO they fry the mayo?!?!

Good question. If I had to guess, I would say it's frozen on a sheet pan, cut into cubes and just thrown in the deep fryer...

On second thought, it probably involves gellan and at least three other ingredients I have no idea how to use.

←

fried mayo

[Sethro]

Ha HA! Gellan and micri. Man I have alot to learn...

[iheartoffal]

I've never actually heard of micri before. I know it says it's a "neutral sauce base", but what is its usual application? Is it usually an industrial ingredient that Wylie coopted for use in his cuisine?

[milla]

I've never actually heard of micri before.  I know it says it's a "neutral sauce base", but what is its usual application?  Is it usually an industrial ingredient that Wylie coopted for use in his cuisine?

Micri is the creation of a Catalan chef/neurosurgeon who has a *star michelin restaurant outside of Barcelona. He has a website devoted to his restaurant and his product here.

It is essentially cassava root powder placed in suspension with water and is fairly easy to make yourself. The bought product is expensive though and has a very short shelf life requiring constant refridgeration, a tough thing to do when you are importing it from Spain.

[iheartoffal]

Wow! Thanks for the link. Very interesting.

I bet it makes a great exfoliating mask, too.

[bcsuka]

Thanks for the awesome links iheart and milla -- that's what is great about this board, just ask and ye shall learn! Not that I'd actually be capable of duplicating that recipe for fried mayo.

Guess I'll just continue to leave the experimentation to talents like Chef Dufresne -- while I get to enjoy eating it!

[Weissman]

I saw previews today for a second season of Iron Chef America. Chef Dufresne is one of the challengers. However, I couldn't tell who he was up against. My guess would be Morimoto because of his challenging spirit! But who knows!!

It still ought to be entertaining since I saw his menus online. Yet, I still have to get there.

[iheartoffal]

Oh wow! Can't wait to see that...