wd-50 2004 - 2007

[twodogs]

I must interject. To make a reservation for which you hope to be at a minimum a half an hour late at the end of the evening is well...wrong. If you have called the restaurant and let them know your situation and they say no worries, then go for it, but if you believe that taking the last reservation for the evening is good and then stretching it a half an hour and then adding a ten course tasting menu on top will be good for everyone around I think the boat has left.

Alex

[alanamoana]

beyond how that would affect the restaurant, what mood are you going to be in after flying in from england? i know i would be in no mood to try to rush from jfk to downtown manhattan after sitting on a plane for six or seven hours only to sit in a restaurant for another three hours at minimum trying to enjoy a relatively expensive meal...

edited to add: i have to second what twodogs said. if the restaurant offers reservations at 11pm, then they must be able to (and often have to) handle late diners...but they are probably assuming that the diner will arrive on time for that 11pm reso.

Edited September 6, 2006 by alanamoana (log)

[kkwchan]

Thanks Twodogs and Alanamoana. Sigh... I guess I have to cancel this WD plan.

Too bad they don't open for lunch... I am trying to fit all the restaurants that I want to go within few days.. that's why.

[docsconz]

Thanks Twodogs and Alanamoana.  Sigh... I guess I have to cancel this WD plan.

Too bad they don't open for lunch... I am trying to fit all the restaurants that I want to go within few days.. that's why.

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If your culinary interests lean towards hypermodernism than WD-50 should be a priority as it is the best example in NYC and one of the best in the US and beyond. The style is uniquely WD.

[alex stupak]

Ugh.  If I never again eat a cough drop turned in to cutting edge cuisine, I'll be okay with it.

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Found pics of Alex Stupaks new desserts on flikr here.

Very impressive looking.

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what Sethro said...

Nice!

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i appreciate that anybody has taken interest in what ive been doing so far. After going thru a stressful move.... a brand new job at a busy restaurtant and a complete overhaul in staff im happy to hear anything positive....its highly reassuring and i cant wait to get my fall ideas into circulation. as far as the menthol mousse....dont be too thrown off by it....i dont use cough drops to flavor it....i actually use pure pharmectical grade menthol crystals....it was an intriguing product to me because it is the pure chemical found in all mentha species of plants that offer that cooling-bracing effect....without any mint flavor at all......so to me it was a seasoning unlike others i have used.....it would be seasoning something with pure capsaicin without the flavor of chilies......along with the lactic acid present in the system by way yogurt i find the dish to be really succesful....

[twodogs]

so could you use this product to make hot food taste cold?

ie hot ice cream

Alex

[chefboy24]

Thanks Twodogs and Alanamoana.  Sigh... I guess I have to cancel this WD plan.

Too bad they don't open for lunch... I am trying to fit all the restaurants that I want to go within few days.. that's why.

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if you are getting into new york late, go to mas(farmhouse)

don't be caught up in all this talk of michelin stars and nyt stars and who's doing what and "you have to go here"

then again i'm telling you to go to mas....but you seem to want great food, and a new york experience. mas is open till 3 am and is certainly the best late night food in new york, hands down.

[hshiau]

i appreciate that anybody has taken interest in what ive been doing so far. After going thru a stressful move.... a brand new job at a busy restaurtant and a complete overhaul in staff im happy to hear anything positive....its highly reassuring and i cant wait to get my fall ideas into circulation. as far as the menthol mousse....dont be too thrown off by it....i dont use cough drops to flavor it....i actually use pure pharmectical grade menthol crystals....it was an intriguing product to me because it is the pure chemical found in all mentha species of plants that offer that cooling-bracing effect....without any mint flavor at all......so to me it was a seasoning unlike others i have used.....it would be seasoning something with pure capsaicin without the flavor of chilies......along with the lactic acid present in the system by way yogurt i find the dish to be really succesful....

My wife and I went last week for my birthday and I had the menthol mousse. I thought it was excellent...very delicate. I think my wife prefers bolder flavors in her desserts but I thought it was great.

[BryanZ]

so could you use this product to make hot food taste cold?

ie hot ice cream

Alex

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So like "cold" hot "ice cream." That would be such a trip. I want it. twodogs, please attempt.

[ulterior epicure]

I've never understood "hot ice cream" - I've had it once at Moto, and all I can say is that it's like a warm custard... can someone expound on the texture/qualities of "hot ice cream?"

u.e.

[twodogs]

Here is a link to what we have done and our recipe.

Hot Ice Cream

Alex

[ulterior epicure]

Here is a link to what we have done and our recipe.

Hot Ice Cream

Alex

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Thanks Alex. Your version looks (and sounds) like a more successful version of the one I've had.

Question: Is agave nectar for taste, texture, chemical necessity or all three?

Have you experimented with other flavors? And, where can the common home cook find Methocel food gum SGA150?

u.e.

[docsconz]

OK, folks, let's keep this topic on track with discussion of items directly related to WD-50. Hot ice cream, as cool as the concept is, should be discussed elsewhere, unless it is coming out of WD-50's kitchen.

[tupac17616]

I stopped by wd~50 last night with two friends. Having already had dinner elsewhere, we had dessert on our minds. I was very excited about trying out Chef Stupak's work, so we opted for the 5-course dessert tasting. And as we were finishing up, we saw there were just two more desserts on the dessert menu that we hadn't had, so we asked to try those as well. The kitchen kindly obliged.

Of the seven on the current menu, there was really not a glaring weakness in any one of them. The "Peach puree, soy milk, strawberries, buckwheat ice cream" was not my favorite, but was certainly not bad. Same for the "Chocolate cream, pecan, beet, kola nut". That was probably my least favorite.

But there were really some standouts, and certainly more highs than lows throughout:

Our unanimous favorite was "Shortbread, jasmine ice cream, banana, saffron." This was outstanding, and as the pictures in the link above show, a beautiful presentation as well. Not really sure how to describe it, but the saffron cream on the plate was especially good, and really worked well with the banana and the crunchy bits on top of the banana, I thought.

A very close second was "'Irish Coffee,' chicory, coconut, hazelnut sorbet." The cylinder of "Irish coffee" was simply incredible. Very reminiscent of the foie gras torchon with beet juice that Wylie has offered on the regular menu from time to time. It was like a cylinder of coffee ice cream, that once cut into, oozes whiskey out from the center. Really delicious.

The "Black currant cake, black sesame, shiso, meringue" was interesting. The ice cream (I believe black currant) had a very peculiar mouthfeel. It left almost an oily sensation on the tongue. I asked Chef Stupak about it later, and he mentioned that it had been made from a traditional ice cream base, unlike some of the other ice creams/sorbets we'd had (lime, for example), so perhaps my taste buds were a little off, or I just don't have the palate to detect those kind of nuances in ice creams. Either way, it was certainly not bad. Quite flavorful in fact. Just a unique mouthfeel. Almost like the olive oil gelato can be at Otto from time to time. That tongue-coating effect is an interesting one.

Lastly, the "Menthol mouse, lemon, chartreuse, melon sorbet" was pleasantly (even surprisingly) refreshing. A wonderful palate cleansing effect.

N.B.: This is not the order in which we had the desserts, but rather just the random order in which I chose to report about them.

I took pictures of all seven (some much darker/blurrier than others ), so hopefully I'll get around to posting them sometime in the coming days.

Like I said before, just stunning presentation overall. One look at the "Soft chocolate, avocado, licorice, lime" dessert, for example, is enough to show that Chef Stupak is really an artist as well as a wonderful pastry chef, not to mention a very nice guy (we took a tour of the kitchen afterwards and spoke with him for a bit). This dessert, by the way, was a standout as well. How does he create a mousse that holds that shape? Amazing.

I, for one, am very grateful to have had the opportunity to try out his work already. He has certainly hit the ground running at wd~50, and I can only foresee great things in his future, as he continues to grow in his new environment. Thanks, Chef Stupak, for a wonderful experience last night. We will certainly be back. And soon.

Edited September 9, 2006 by tupac17616 (log)

[tan319]

Nice one, tupac!

I'm glad to see that Alex's work is being welcomed and making people happy!

[jwjon1]

December 2006 tasting menu

Dish 1: Spanish mackerel, nori, kohlrabi, mustard paired with Champalou Vouvray Brut Method Traditionelle NV

Dish 2: Carrot-coconut "sunny-side up" paired with Champalou Vouvray Brut Method Traditionelle NV

Dish 3: foie gras, candied olives, green peas, beet juice paired with Wegeler Kabinett Wehlener Sonnenuhr 2005

horrible funky photo of foie gras mold displaying beet juice

Dish 4: crab "roll", black bean, mint, pickled ginger paired with Blanc de Morgex et de la Salle 2005

Dish 5: beef tongue, fried mayo, tomato molasses paired with Blanc de Morgex et de la Salle 2005

Dish 6: miso soup, sesame "noodles" paired with Au bon Climat Pinot Noir 2005

Extruding and congealing the sesame "noodle"

Dish 7: langoustine, popcorn, hibiscus, endive paired with Au Bon Climat Pinot Noir 2005

Dish 8: squab breast, beets, wood sorrel, coconut pebbles paired with Isis els Guiamets 2003

Dish 9: cream cheese, concord grape, black sesame, brioche

interior of cream cheese mold showing grape pocket

Dish 10: yuzu curd, spruce yogurt, pistachio paired with Scheurebe Spatlese Herrenberg Pfeffingen 2005

Dish 11: soft chocolate, avocado, licorice, lime paired with Commanderia St. John NV

Dish 12: cocoa shortbread, menthol cream

hanging with Wylie

Night caps at Loreley, a killer German Beer Bar a short distance from WD-50 (off-topic, but an excellent end to a wonderful evening)

I cannot comment on repetition of menus as this was my first visit to WD-50. I did not find any of the tastes from this menu repetitive, however. In fact, I'd be hard pressed to find a common string between the dishes (although the curd and soft chocolate dishes played well with each other and would have succeeded even if served simultaneously). That said, there were plenty of aesthetic ties to be had in the dishes, so much so that I nearly went through imagery overload having just walked through MOMA prior to hitting WD's :-) . And I think it a fair and high compliment to compare WD's and AS's platings to many of MOMA's pieces.

While the lack of a theme might have put off some diners, I was more than up for the experiment as was the rest of the group. I don't feel qualified to discuss in detail the merits of each dish, but I can say that I didn't detect the chemical qualities discussed elsewhere in this thread in any dish. Rather, as with docsconz, I found the quality and freshness of the ingredients to be extremely high. The entire table commented on the high quality ingredients, particularly of the mackerel, squab, and crab.

From a taste only standpoint, the weakest dish by far was the "fried egg"; our entire group agreed on this one. But I can also say that this dish was the most memorable to me for other reasons, including its uniqueness, creativity, irony (vegetarian eggs? but is a coconut a vegetable or a nut?), and overall execution.

My personal favorite dish was the squab. I love fresh beets and eat them any way I can get them (saved for pickled, that is). But I have never even thought about rubbing an extremely flavorful and rich cut of meat in chopped beet. And then to pair the richness of the squab (which was perfectly cooked, to no one's surprise) and the earthiness of the beet with well-portioned slightly sweet coconut morsels and the slightly spicy sorrel was a stroke of sheer genius.

As for describing the coconut pebbles: maybe WD or AS can comment? I have no clue how they were prepared, but if I had to guess, I'd say fresh coconut was ground to a paste and then suspended in some time of confection to add firmness and a touch of sweetness. But chances are I'm way off.

I'll concur with the richness and salinity of the foie gras mentioned previously as well, but I also could have gorged myself on this dish. The play in texture and taste contrast with the dry peas was exceptional. This was one the favorite dishes for one of my dining companions, who fortunately was able to eat a small portion off the plate of another companion who found it too rich to finish. So as has been written before: not for everyone.

The langoustine dish had a lot going on with it, but the hibiscus (was it candied? it kinda was like a glassy hibiscus roll-up. strange yet fun. and tasty.) overpowered the dish rendering the endive and seafood moot. Most likely this was a concentration effect as the volume of hibiscus was overwhelming as can be seen above. Nevertheless, for me, the star of this dish was the popcorn paste which is not something I had seen before. My guess is that it was prepped from coarsely ground grits and not popcorn at all, but I was the only one at the table with this conviction. The langoustine, paste, and endive tips sin hibiscus worked well. But let me reiterate that I did enjoy the hibiscus, just not en mass with the subtle shrimp/grits things going on.

My second fav. dish of the night was the yuzu curd. All the dessert courses were QUITE tasty (I don't know any better, but I would find it hard to believe that the quality of WD-50 has suffered with the departure of Sam Mason given the kick ass work Alex is churning out) and exceptionally pleasing to the eye, but the curd did it for me. Nice and tart, with excellent consistency and none too sweet. Made me want to incorporate a pistachio crust into the next key lime pie I attempt to fail at.

Continuing with the dessert praise, I found that the best pairings of the night came from the pastry chef. All worked well. The traditional vouvray played well with the mackerel, but not the "egg". The medium dry riesling complimented the salty foie gras; I would have preferred a pinot gris with the crab over the too-fruity Blanc de Morgex which also didn't work too well with the beef tongue; the Isis els Guiamets needed a serious decant or time in the bottle to pair with the squab... as it was served, it didn't work at all.

Finally, as for the Au Bon Climat, this pinot was a sub in for a Burgundy from a producer who's name escapes me right now. It isn't such an extracted PN that it didn't work at all with the soup and langoustine, but it certainly didn't add anything to the food, or the food to it. Again, not recalling the original pairing but wildly assuming it to be more acidic and less fruit forward than the Au Bon Climat, I still struggle sensing how well the original would have paired with both dishes.

Ironically, the group ordered a bottle before dinner started and I discussed with the waiter options for something that would work with a number of courses. In particular, I made it known that I had been DYING to find any Radio Coteau offerings and lo and behold, here was one on the menu! Sadly, he described it as a fruit bomb and did not recommend it with the menu, instead pointing us to a 1er Cru Burg (Chambolle Musigny 2001). I folded to the will of the table and waiter. So imagine my disappointment when another "fruit bomb" (waiter's words, not mine) showed up with the tasting menu! Given the wine menu switch, I promptly asked for him to sub in the Radio Coteau in lieu of the Au Bon Climat, to which he politely replied that he couldn't do it because of the price differential. My only disappointment of the night. Should have gone with the Radio Coteau to start so I could have finally tried a jar :-) .

I've rambled enough so let me end with a final praise for WD-50: while it sounds like the fried mayo and friend ginger are WD staples, I found myself blabbering on and on with my companions about how I planned to try to recreate them at home. If these comments are not obvious enough, I truly felt inspired by this meal which I suspect is WD's intent. Well, that and encouraging diners to come back. Clearly, I'll be back.

[edited to correct my lazy editing. gin infused ginger anyone?]

Edited January 4, 2007 by jwjon1 (log)

[Pan]

"Dish 4: crab "roll", black bean, mint, pickled gin paired with Blanc de Morgex et de la Salle 2005"

Pickled gin?

Interesting, also, that they used wood sorrel, which is tasty but a plentiful weed.

[docsconz]

Thanks for the report. The Tasting was a nice mix of classic and new WD-50. I must concur with Michael - pickled gin? I do enjoy the plating aesthetic.

[BryanZ]

How was the Au Bon Climat with those noodle and lagoustine dishes? That wine is so out of control (in the literal sense) that I'm having a hard time imagining it with two seemingly subtle dishes. To be honest, I can see their chardonnay being paired with those, but even that wine is total madness. Naturally, I've got a bottle in the fridge.

[Mayur]

Is it my imagination, or is the tasting menu getting a mite repetitive?

Will have to stop by and see if the a la carte menu is changing a bit more rapidly...

[Ling]

What did you think of the way the food tasted?

[Sethro]

Can anyone describe "coconut pebbles"?

[oakapple]

Is it my imagination, or is the tasting menu getting a mite repetitive?

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Well, I had the tasting menu on New Year's Eve (report here), and none of the dishes were the same as the report upthread.

I also had the tasting menu about two years ago, and while memories have faded a bit, most of the dishes have seem to have changed.

[docsconz]

Is it my imagination, or is the tasting menu getting a mite repetitive?

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Well, I had the tasting menu on New Year's Eve (report here), and none of the dishes were the same as the report upthread.

I also had the tasting menu about two years ago, and while memories have faded a bit, most of the dishes have seem to have changed.

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Mark, that is an excellent review which I believe captures the essence of WD-50. One of the things I love about the restaurant is that it is not like any other. It has its own personality - one that works very well for me. Too many restaurants want to be like somewhere else.

[Mayur]

Is it my imagination, or is the tasting menu getting a mite repetitive?

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Well, I had the tasting menu on New Year's Eve (report here), and none of the dishes were the same as the report upthread.

I also had the tasting menu about two years ago, and while memories have faded a bit, most of the dishes have seem to have changed.

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Maybe I've just been unlucky. I've been to WD-50 three times in the past eight or so months, and I can say with some certainty that the carrot-coconut dish, the foie gras, the crab roll, the miso, the beef tongue, the squab, and the cream cheese dish all have appeared on the menu at least two out of those three times (the first five have been on all three degustation samplings).

Good to know your experience has been different. Maybe I should just call and ask before I show up next time...

For the record, WD-50 *is* one of my favorites. I don't drop $105 on a tasting menu three times a year just anywhere. But a wider sampling of dishes would have made me happier.