wd-50 2004 - 2007

[BryanZ]

First of all, I commend anyone who makes it to the end of this. With that said, I will begin.

We had a 7:30 reservation and walked into a nearly empty room. This was rather ominous, but by 9 or so the restaurant was full.

Before I get to the food, let me make some general comments. I love the casual and open feel of the room. The semi-open kitchen is perfect for the space and sets the mood for the restaurant. It was exciting to see Wylie and Sam stepping into the doorway from time to time to watch the flow of the dining room.

Like others have suggested, we asked for two separate tasting menus. The kitchen accomodated us without a problem and did a superb job of pairing the courses. We felt as though we were always in sync with each other but also enjoying very different dishes. As I always do, we passed dishes across the table at the halfway point (it's a ritualistic thing) so by the end of the evening I had sampled over 20 dishes. I also requested a pen and notepad, as I had come unprepared, and received both items without a problem.

---Stop reading here if you don't want a course by course breakdown. This is most of the menu so it will be long. I will continue with my post meal feelings after I discuss each course----

These are my impressions of what my girlfriend and I shared:

Amuse: Watermelon, boquerones, lovage, cashew - An amusing twist on an amuse staple, anchovies. Assertive yet playful with the sweet, juicy presence of the watermelon.

Roasted foie gras, passion fruit scramble, saltine puree - Roasted foie should be served at more restaurants. It provides a far more elegant flavor than the omnipresent seared foie. The passion fruit scramble appeared to be a powerfully infused, loose egg custard. Saltine puree was very interesting; it added a powerful savory/salty undertone and possessed a seemingly distinctive Japanese bonito flake flavor.

Foie gras, candied olives, green peas, beet juice - I loved this presentation. I have a particular affinity for deep crimson beet reductions and when this terrine yielded its dark filling, I was particular pleased. The candied olives were a new experience for me, an excellent mix of bitter, savory, and sweet that went well the dish. The textural component these added was also quite welcome. Finally, the pea soil that everyone has been raving about is just as interesting everyone has said. The differences in texture between the dry parts and those wet by the beet reduction is quite distinct.

Octopus, celery pesto, pineapple mojama, marcona almonds - Another dish that played with a wide spectrum of textures and flavors. The crunchy almonds, firm octopus, concentrated sweetness of the pineapple, and bright citrus notes of the celery puree combined very well.

Hamachi, smoked banana, parsley, juniper - At first I thought the soy poaching gave the hamachi too much salt on the palate. When combined with the smoky sweetness of the banana, however, the flavor melded beautifully. The strong herbal and pickled flavors from the parsley salad helped to cleanse the palate after the strong flavors of the fish and banana. Interestingly, puffed rice and crispy skin added the parsley salad added a definite smoky, salty, and, in particular, crispy textural component that was quite different from the vegetable crunch that the pickled parsley stems imparted. I wish I had more of this to fully appreciate the mixture of soy and banana, a rather unlikely flavor combination.

Venison tartare, edamamde ice cream, crunch pear - The tartare had good salt that helped bring more flavor to the lean venison. There seemed to be mint in the tartare, as well. The edamame ice cream was my first taste of the many revelatory sorbets, ice creams, and foams to follow. It certainly tasted like edamame but also had a nutty/vegetable protein flavor that seemed very fitting to the sorbet. The dried pear with what I think was cinnamon and/or nutmeg added further spice to this dish.

Beef tongue, fried mayo, tomato molasses - Perhaps the definition of an exceedingly creative deconstructed dish. The beef tongue was quite tasty but I might've preferred it sliced slightly thicker. I realize that this might lead to the tongue overpowering the dish, but I think that beef tongue is not seen enough on menus, so I wanted a more assertive, meaty presence. The tomato molases, serving double duty as the "tomato" and "barbeque sauce" in the deconstructed dish, was deeply savory with strong caramelized overtones and sweet molasses/brown sugar undertones. The fried mayo was amusing in its deceptive simplicity. It reminded me of the boardwalk and the requesite fatty, fried, and savory goodness of that kind of food. I know, however, that this mayo is gelatinized in a process that I don't even understand. Finally, the finely minced romaine lettuce hearts linked imparted a cool essence in both flavor and literal temperature.

Shrimp noodles, smoked yogurt, sweet paprika, nori - For god's sake, this is a noodle made of shrimp, in itself an accomplishment! I had read about the enzyme isolated to make these noodles but this was the first time I had tried it. Other than the distinctive shrimp flavors the salty powdered nori and acidic smoked yogurt sauce served as good foils for one another.

Shrimp cannelloni, chorizo, thai basil - Imagine a the combination of a Vietnamese shrimp spring roll, liquid sausage, and the controlled citrus acid of preserved lemon and you have this dish. The wrapper of the canelloni was, again, made of shrimp and was filled w/ more shrimp, preserved lemon, and Thai basil. What was most suprising about this dish, however, was the smooth sauce that honestly tasted just like liquified chorizo. It was spicy, meaty, a little bit fatty but presented in a cream-like sauce; I was baffled. An unlikely flavor combination between the cannelloni and the chorizo but, no surprise, it worked.

Slow poached egg, parmesan broth, tomato - my notes for this dish begin with "EGG!!!!". This dish was marvelous beyond my wildest imagination and, again, baffled me with its deceptive simplicity. The egg is slow poached at 147 degrees for one hour in its shell and transforms into the most perfect example of eggy goodness. I just recently returned from Japan where raw and lightly cooked eggs are far more popular than in this country and was yearning for a dish that captured the true essence of egg. This dish did that and further elevated it to far greater levels. The addition of the rich, smooth, and pungent parmesan consomme only added to the depth of the dish. Finally, the crunchy chickpea noodles added a crunch textural component.

Carrot confit, hibiscus sorbet, nasturtium, crispy lamb belly - This is another dish I wish I had more of. It still confuses me, though I must admit it works on many levels. First of all, various types of sweet come through in this dish. The carrot confit showcases the carrot's inherent sweetness, while the hibiscus sorbet adds a delicate floral and herbal sweetness. The lamb jerky bacon anchors this dish in more savory ground as it gives a strong but pleasant lamb flavor from a very thin piece.

Beef flat iron, smoked lilly bulb, radish, lovage - Again, I've recently returned from Japan so I know true Wagyu beef. This was a decent version, though, I must admit, not as good as particularly good beef in Japan. With that said, however, the sauce that accompanied the beef was both smokey and sweet. The composed salad that was also served with the beef was an eclectic mix of lilly bulb, radish, and frozen grapes. An interesting mix of temperatures and textures.

Squab breast, mango-ricotta, pumpkin seeds, sansho - This squab breast was ridiculously tender, probably the most tender squab I've ever had. This was topped with a fascinating savory chocolate sauce with Japanese dashii. This sauce was both bitter and salty and complemented the slight sweetness of the squab. Again, the use of a toasted seed or nut, in this case pumpkin, added a roasted flavor component and a crunchy textural component. Finally, the mango-ricotta sauce was a very light cheese sauce with a distinctive but light essence of mango. This also added brightness and depth to the dish.

Duck breast, pickled leg, parsnip pudding, rye berry - This duck breast had a marvelously rich duck flavor that is characteristic of well-prepared, high quality duck. I love how the rich essence of duck lingered on the palate even after the dish was eaten. The ryeberry sauce was an interesting choice for the duck, as it imparted a grainy, mealy flavor that was quite a departure from the traditionally sweet sauces. Parsnip puree is a favorite of mine, as I love the bitter and sweet flavor, as well as the smooth, silky texture.

Grapefruit in grapefruit - Grapefruit is my favorite citrus, and arguably one of my favorite fruits. Therefore, I liked the double dose of grapefruit presented in this dish. The light grapefruit foam was served around a scoop of tart grapefruit sorbet. The foam would rise to the top of my mouth with each bite, a very pleasant effect. At the bottom of the dish were shortbread cookie crumbs with cinnamon, nutmeg, and mace that were evocative of ginger snaps.

Ice cold milk, cereal - This toasted rice sorbet was unlike anything I've ever had. The toasted, slightly burned flavor characteristics of toasted rice were obviously present in this dish. This dish also included a jelly beneath the sorbet that I believe was red bean. This smooth jelly and slightly icy sorbet were served with the toasted rice grains, the cereal part of this dish. Finally, a cilantro syrup added a herbal tartness to the whole dessert.

Lemon curd, basil meringue, blackberry chutney - This smooth eggless lemon curd was toppoed with bits of crumbled pie crust. Beneath this was the blackberry chutney that was actually more like a syrup. The curd itslef was very clean and tart, quite palate cleansing. The lemon basil foam was of particular interest. Distinctively herbal and sweet, as basil always is, but highlighted by the citrus acid of the lemon.

Tomato-mango, yogurt sorbet, pink peppercorn - This was the first time I had had tomato in a dessert. It was very tasty, and the stewed, softened texture lended itself well to the rest of the dessert. The yogurt sorbet tasted very much like a sour cream sorbet that I make with both sour dairy and sweet flavors. The pink peppercorn added a subtle heat and spice to the dish and went well with the tomato.

Local strawberries, paremsan ice cream, sansho pepper - After having being recently exposed to true strawberries, it is rather difficult to eat the supermarket variety. Now that I have had strawberries with parmesan ice cream I think that eating strawberries any other way seems a crime (though the bruleed strawberry foie gras tart at Jean-Georges is none to shabby either). The parmesan ice cream was rich and cheesy without being too heavy, and, of course, the strawberries were beautifully ripe, small jewels. This dessert was also served with a smooth, seedless strawberry gellatin of some type that had a very concentrated strawberry flavor.

Caramelized banana, chocolate ice cream, licorice - I had sampled this classic flavor combination at lunch that day, as well, at DB Bistro. Both desserts were very nice but very different in execution. This dessert presents a banana custard along with a bruleed, slightly spiced banana. The rich, slightly bitter chocolate ice cream along with the licorice flavor cut the creamy sweetness of the banana.

Caramel panna cotta, sweet corn streusel - This dish was surprisngly unsweet. The corn streusel included slightly dried corn in a crumb like meal, very similar to the pea soil from the beet foie course. This streusel was excellent and matched well with the deep but subtle sugar flavors of the panna cotta.

Curried chocolate almonds - Many people would say that the curry that coats these is overpowering. I thought so, too, but found that once gets the past the initial curry blast, the interplay between the lingering curry and chocolate is very interesting.

---The end of the course by course breakdown. I hope most of that is accurate, though there are bound to be grave misinterpretations.---

After the meal we got to meet both Chef Wylie and Chef Sam, but to be honest I was at a loss for words at this point of the evening. We were at the table for about 3.5 hours and by the time we had finished I was delirious with contentment. It is a testament to the chefs that my 94-pound girlfriend matched me bite for bite throughout the entire meal. It is also a testament to Sam Mason's skills and good looks that my girlfriend wanted to seduce him.

The only dark spot on the meal was an incident with a more than slightly inebriated man sitting next to us. He seemed to be upset that we were enjoying our meal so much and felt it his job to point his inherent disatisfaction with our topics of conversation. He proceeded to call our discussion of the dishes "boring" and generally made a fool of himself. Naturally, I do not fault the restaurant for this and our thoughtful waiter, I believe his name was Tona, handled this tactfully.

As has been made very clear by this point, I cannot rave about this restaurant enough. I love how we were never once treated like children or ignorant teenagers. This happens from time to time, as we dine out very often at rather high-end places and are always the youngest couple in the restaurant. The staff was always respectful and knowledgable as to the origins of the more obscure ingredients.

A great, fabulous, inspiring meal. I cannot wait to go back.

[vivin]

Guess it is time to go back.

Glad you enjoyed it. I first went to WD-50 right after it opened. It keeps

getting better and better.

[Zeemanb]

Fantastic review! I never get tired of reading about people's experiences at WD-50. The more I read the more I realize, as much as I WANT to always try different restaurants on my NYC visits, I'm sure I'm going to end up back at WD-50 on my next trip. The tasting menu I had last year was one of the most memorable food-related experiences of my life, and it sounds like they are only getting better and better.

[Andy Lynes]

Wylie Dufresne is the cover story of this weeks (21-27 July) Caterer and Hotelkeeper magazine in the UK. The story includes my interview with Sam Mason and his recipe for parsnip cake. This will probably be archived on the Caterersearch.com website. I'll post the URL on this thread if and when that happens.

[Sethro]

/\ Much appreciated. That parsnip cake rocks.

[tan319]

Thanks Andy!!!

Looking forward to it.

[cupcakequeen]

Thanks Andy!!!

Looking forward to it.

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any update on the parsnip cake recipe? i'm dying to try it!

[WillieLee]

Parsnip cake!!!!

http://www.caterersearch.com/Articles/2005...ic+American.htm

[tan319]

Genius article, Sir Andy!!!

Probably the best stuff I've read yet on Wylie or Sam, thanks for it!

[Andy Lynes]

Genius article, Sir Andy!!!

Probably the best stuff I've read yet on Wylie or Sam, thanks for it!

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I must point out that I only contributed the Sam Mason interview to the piece and did a little bit of work on presenting the parsnip cake recipe, the main interview with Wylie is by Joanna Wood, the editor of Caterer and Hotelkeepers "Chef" section. My credit makes it look like I wrote the whole thing.

[tan319]

Nice one to Joanna also!!!

Thanks

[tan319]

Damn, I look like a fan-boy but I have a question...

Has the Iron Chef America been on yet with Wylie?

Just getting my cable hooked back up, seen the commercials but???

Thanks to all,

T

[Sethro]

Damn, I look like a fan-boy but I have a question...

Has the Iron Chef America been on yet with Wylie?

Just getting my cable hooked back up, seen the commercials but???

Thanks to all,

T

←

For some reason Wylie's ep isn't appearing on FoodTv.com's episode guide.

Apparently I'm a bigger fanboy than you, because I checked just for that reason.

[BryanZ]

I think it'll be coming in the fall. As I understand it, they're only showing the "summer" shows on the website for now.

[eagleton_g]

I recently took a trip to New York to eat at as many restaurants I could within the four day period I was able to sneak away from work and WD-50 was one of them. Overall with the whole restaurant I was impressed with the modern fine dining feel they have achieved. Along with the food, they have created (or have perpetuated) Eclectic American Dining. Interesting food and a youthful, brash, response to what used to be known as fine dining(stuffy dining rooms, chandeliers, white table cloths, pompus wait staff). In general the food was tasty, smart, and absolutely beautiful. I ordered the tasting menu, and in general I have to say that it was amazing. But, there was something that made me realize there is a price for the overly creative dishes. On the foie gras, beet juice, pea dirt, and candied olives, the "pea dirt" threw me off. To be used as a textural component they dehydrated/freeze dried(?) and crushed the peas, leaving them lacking the beautiful pea flavor that in-season peas have. They took away the pea-ness (yeah that sounds kind of funny if you say it out loud). Its essential to be creative and take things to different ends of what the whole ideal of food in restaurants is, but dont sacrifice perfect high quality produce to make flavorless, semi-interesting garnishes.

[Bux]

Ferran Adria did a similar thing to foie gras once when I ate at elBulli. Pierre Gagnaire managed to do an even more impressive thing, he took away the oysterness from an oyster and I still enjoyed the flavor. They say you can't make an omelet without breaking the eggs, which is not unlike saying you can't make an omelet without taking away the eggness of the egg. They're all pushing the envelope of cooking dinner and take it to a degree that loses many, perhaps most, diners. I know that in a long tasting menu, there's likely to be a dish that goes further than I'm prepared to accept, though likely not too far for me to think about what's being done and to stretch my mind and taste buds. Dining can be as stimulating as reading or working out at least for some diners. "Sacrifice" and "flavorless, semi-interesting garnishes" are subjective.

[Dryden]

So, five of us will finally be able to make it to wd-50 next Friday to celebrate my wife's birthday - it'll be the first time we've had Wylie's food since right after 71 Clinton opened.

Anything in particular we should be sure not to miss? I'm deeply looking forward to trying everything Sam Mason can throw at us...

[Bux]

So, five of us will finally be able to make it to wd-50 next Friday to celebrate my wife's birthday - it'll be the first time we've had Wylie's food since right after 71 Clinton opened.

Anything in particular we should be sure not to miss?  I'm deeply looking forward to trying everything Sam Mason can throw at us...

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Somehow the tasting menu seems to be the way to go. I'd like to just eat a three course dinner there some day just out of curiosity. Is anyone able to compare the experience to having the tasting menu?

[iheartoffal]

I've had both menus. Obviously, at place like this, you want to try a little bit of everything, so the tasting menu is naturally the most logical choice. I must say, though, that everything I've had on the a la carte menu is also absolutely fantastic. When my friends and I go out to eat, we end up passing every single plate around and sampling everything, so what we end up with is basically a tasting menu even if we order a la carte. I guess if you really want to go all out, you can order multiple tasting menus, as they apparently don't have a problem doing that in the kitchen there, though I'm not sure about five people. Whatever route you take, you'll leave 100% satisfied.

[docsconz]

I've had both menus.  Obviously, at place like this, you want to try a little bit of everything, so the tasting menu is naturally the most logical choice.  I must say, though, that everything I've had on the a la carte menu is also absolutely fantastic.  When my friends and I go out to eat, we end up passing every single plate around and sampling everything, so what we end up with is basically a tasting menu even if we order a la carte.  I guess if you really want to go all out, you can order multiple tasting menus, as they apparently don't have a problem doing that in the kitchen there, though I'm not sure about five people.  Whatever route you take, you'll leave 100% satisfied.

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I've had both and concur with this.

[Weissman]

If you are a group of four for example, can two order a la carte and two order tastings? Or all of you required to be on the same track? I know that some places are not accepting of this.

However, iheartoffal and docsconz might be right to order a la carte and order different dishes and pass around. However, I know a lot of people who probably would ruin the experience and order the same thing or skip a course! BORING!

I generally will order something different than others to either try someone elses or vice versa. Sometimes I will order something funky just so no one would touch my dish either. There's always a brave soul.

[cupcakequeen]

are mignardises offered on the menu? if so, what have you had?

[greensNbeans]

A question to those who have the pleassure of dining at Wd-50. Are the chairs comfortable? I want to know if the became a little tough to set in by the end of your meal.

[iheartoffal]

Honestly, I don't remember whether the chairs were comfortable or not. I didn't think about them, which leads me to believe that they were.

As far as mignardises, they usually will give you either curry-chocolate covered almonds, or some sort of cotton candy--usually flavored with something you wouldn't expect, like saffron (verrrry tasty).

[Dryden]

Going tonight... so very much looking forward to it. Will try to make a note of what the chairs feel like...