NY trip report

[Ling]

Bon bon trolley didn't wow me, though, and the chocolates had thick shells, heavy fillings and were generally uninteresting.

The pyramid chocolate shells were a little thick. I did enjoy the chocolates more at Jean Georges, but agree that the desserts themselves were not as good as the ones we got at Gordon Ramsey. I liked the macaroons at Jean Georges too! They were the tiniest things...1/2" diameter. The strawberry ones were the best, and the pistachio flavour was too mild.

Dinner at Momofuku. Pork buns were as delicious as the first time I ate them. Soft, juicy, salty, a bit sweet with a slight crunch from the cucumber

I liked the pork buns (and well, Henry LOVED them, but he loves any combination of bread and pork belly ) but I gotta say, we do a tastier version at home.

Patisserie Claude: Delicious croissants. Flavorful, a bit salty, a bit sweet. Flaky on the outside, but a bit heavy on the inside (which I'm not used to, but turned out to be fine). Definitely the best croissant I've had outside of France.

I am sorry I missed out! I ran in to look at the pastries on our way to the subway, but they were out of croissants and we needed to catch the plane...

Sounds like you had a great time in NY as well!

[Sneakeater]

I find your reactions to WD-50 interesting. Because, when it first opened, my feelings about WD-50 were about the same as yours. Over time, I've come to like it very much. I've always wondered how much I've moved toward them, and how much they've moved toward me.

Given that a substantial number of other commentators have seemed to have undergone the same evolution of feelings about WD-50, I've always suspected that it was the restaurant that's done most of the moving.

But reading your posts, I wonder. I mean, what you said is almost EXACTLY what I'd have said after my first couple of visits, when the place was new. So maybe it really is that many of us are getting used to it at similar rates, simultaneously undergoing similar evolutions in our appreciation.

Interesting.

Edited December 18, 2006 by Sneakeater (log)

[BryanZ]

Following what SE said, I wonder if you could elaborate a bit further on your wd~50 experience. I wholeheartedly agree with your assessments of the other locations, but I'm perhaps a bit troubled by the fact that wd~50 didn't live up to your expectataions.

[hhlodesign]

corned duck on rye--this was far and away the best dish of the night

Top 5 for me. Great contrast of textures. The toasted rye was perfectly crisp. There was a hint of horseradish in the foam. I think this elevated the dish from excellent to outstanding for me.

hangar steak tartare with bearnaise ice-cream

Another fabulous dish! It was clearly all about the bearnaise ice cream. The bites I took without it didn't do much for me.

squid noodles with mullet skin...this dish tasted very bitter to me. Henry and our friend were indifferent to it as well.

I love the concept. Didn't care much for the flavors. The mullet skin had a distinct bitterness to it that detracted from the dish for me.

Tongue with fried mayonnaise--Henry and our friend loved the fried mayonnaise, but again, it tasted horribly bitter to me.  Love the plating, though.

Yes, I was a fan of the fried mayo. I didn't get the bitterness that Lorna experienced.

pork belly (this is 1/3 of a main serving). I think the cubes are fried yucca.

I enjoyed this dish overall, but was just a bit underwhelmed. Maybe the flavors were a bit too subtle for me. With pork belly I usually expect much bolder flavors.

foie gras with sea grapes, watermelon, pistachio, and foie gras powder--this flavours in this dish didn't work for any of us

I can't say I enjoyed this particular preparation of foie. There just seemed to be to many things going on on the plate, and in my mouth. the flavors just didn't seem to complement each other as I would have liked.

I think my overall impression of WD-50 may have been different had we done the tasting menu. In all fairness, we were still pretty full from lunch (and Joe's Shanghai). So we opted to only order a la carte and split a few dishes. Maybe our impressions may have been different if we had not half-assed it and jumped into the deep end. I will say that every dish was beautifully presented and the duck and hangar dishes were extremely tasty.

[Ling]

Sneakeater and BryanZ: We ended up only getting six items on the menu, the majority of them being appetizers. Maybe my expectations for WD-50 were too high. I certainly felt the flavours in the foie gras dish were an odd combination. The sea grapes were quite briny--they tastes exactly like seaweed, but popped between your teeth. The watermelon was just that--pieces of watermelon. The server told us the powder was "foie gras powder", but I couldn't taste the foie in it. It was just...powdery, with a finish that reminded me of the way the science lab smelled in high school. I would have been delighted with cutting-edge food that tasted good, but I didn't feel this was the case with a few of the items we chose. If you take away the beautiful presentation on the plates (and the "coolness" factor from certain ingredients/techniques), the taste of the food overall left me underwhelmed.

With the fried mayo and the squid noodles, I definitely tasted something that started out very bitter, and then both items left a metallic taste in my mouth. That obviously prevented me from enjoying the two dishes. I gotta say, the tongue dish left us all thinking: "This tastes almost exactly like bologna."

The pork belly and its accompaniments were average. I think I would have preferred bolder flavours, as Henry said.

Again, the corned duck on rye was tasty, and the bearnaise ice-cream made the hangar steak tartare memorable.

I thought the plating was very creative and beautiful, but unfortunately I didn't enjoy the food as much as I hoped I would.

Edited December 18, 2006 by Ling (log)

[little ms foodie]

I had the same feelings from my experience at wd-50 but I really did love the tongue and mayo dish. And my favorite was the weird cotton candy truffle I had at the end of the meal. I'm a much bigger fan of the flavors that Alinea does as the one's from Wylie just don't always seem to mesh for my palet- but I know MANY who love it! It's good you got a chance to experience it for yourselves.

Did you go to any nice bars besides Pegu?

[Ling]

Just to clarify. When Lorna says "medium" she means "medium rare." that's how this and most meats I order are prepared. Which is perfect for me. She likes her meat somewhere betweeen "blue" and "rare."

The venison was barely pink throughout--medium!!

[Ling]

Did you go to any nice bars besides Pegu?

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No, but Pegu is apparently one of the best. The cocktails were definitely the best I've ever had. I tasted at least 8 different ones, and they were all very good. They make their own ginger beer for some of the cocktails as well! We were going to go to Milk and Honey if we had time, but we didn't.

[hhlodesign]

Just to clarify. When Lorna says "medium" she means "medium rare." that's how this and most meats I order are prepared. Which is perfect for me. She likes her meat somewhere between "blue" and "rare."

The venison was barely pink throughout--medium!!

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Again, When Lorna says "medium" she means "medium rare."

And to revise:

She likes her meat somewhere between "blue" and "alive."

Edited December 18, 2006 by hhlodesign (log)

[whitners]

Everything looks fabulous. That sounds like one killer trip. Was there a sauce for the beet ravioli, or did it just have the poppy seeds on top? I think I really would have enjoyed that one.

Whitnee

www.cookingrevealed.com

Bringing the Culinary Classroom into the Comfort of Your Home

[little ms foodie]

Did you go to any nice bars besides Pegu?

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No, but Pegu is apparently one of the best. The cocktails were definitely the best I've ever had. I tasted at least 8 different ones, and they were all very good. They make their own ginger beer for some of the cocktails as well! We were going to go to Milk and Honey if we had time, but we didn't.

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It definatley is, I've been before and we'll go again but it's always fun to try other places too. Thanks Lorna!

[Ling]

I remember tasting butter--perhaps it was just some melted butter on top? Daniel can elaborate. Yes, those were poppyseeds. It was a great dish, and very pretty too.

[Sneakeater]

With the fried mayo and the squid noodles, I definitely tasted something that started out very bitter, and then both items left a metallic taste in my mouth.

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It's also interesting you'd say that. I've noticed that taste, as have some others. But still others say that don't.

Interesting.

[Ling]

^Yes, I just browsed through the last two pages on the WD-50 thread and read that tony h and ulterior epicure made the same note about the fried mayonnaise. I also read on the last page that Wylie seems more comfortable using bitter flavours in his food. I like bitter flavours--I love bitter melon, for example--but it was a different, sharp bitterness in the fried mayo that I can't quite describe...

The fried mayo was a highlight for Henry and our friend, though.

Edited December 19, 2006 by Ling (log)

[alanamoana]

... I would have been delighted with cutting-edge food that tasted good, but I didn't feel this was the case with a few of the items we chose. If you take away the beautiful presentation on the plates (and the "coolness" factor from certain ingredients/techniques), the taste of the food overall left me underwhelmed...

...I thought the plating was very creative and beautiful, but unfortunately I didn't enjoy the food as much as I hoped I would.

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ling, i could not have said it better myself. this is how i felt the desserts were as well.

[docsconz]

... I would have been delighted with cutting-edge food that tasted good, but I didn't feel this was the case with a few of the items we chose. If you take away the beautiful presentation on the plates (and the "coolness" factor from certain ingredients/techniques), the taste of the food overall left me underwhelmed...

...I thought the plating was very creative and beautiful, but unfortunately I didn't enjoy the food as much as I hoped I would.

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ling, i could not have said it better myself. this is how i felt the desserts were as well.

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This is one of the things that keeps the world and eGullet Forums interesting. While I love this restaurant I have been less than thrilled with restaurants beloved by others. Perhaps it would not have made a difference, but I still have to wonder how much of an impact the day's eating might have had on the experience at WD-50. I know that it would have for me. Obviously you are different people with different metabolisms and younger than myself. Nevertheless.... Regardless, I do admire the shared gastronomic stamina of Ling and Henry:smile:

[H. du Bois]

That's a seriously impressive 66 hours of dining! I have to commend you on your photography - the shots are beautifully clear and composed. It's nice seeing the aesthetics of the food depicted aesthetically as well.

[Domestic Goddess]

Dear Santa,

I would like to ask for another present. Please give me the gastronomic stamina of the likes of Ling and Henry. Thank you.

Doddie

[bgut1]

Ling - Thank you for a most enjoyable read. The one thing that I found amazing about your trip was that you were able to see and meet practically every chef. What luck. The fact that your pocket book was returned meant the gods were truly smiling on you. Now I would love to know what your credit card bill is for the trip.

Edited December 19, 2006 by bgut1 (log)

[Ling]

Ling - Thank you for a most enjoyable read. The one thing that I found amazing about your trip was that you were able to see and meet practically every chef. What luck. The fact that your pocket book was returned meant the gods were truly smiling on you. Now I would love to know what your credit card bill is for the trip.

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Yes, we were very lucky to meet almost every chef! There's one other big name coming up...I took a picture with him. You'll see it soon!

(The trip was expensive, but it was also our Christmas gift for one another this year. )

BTW, thanks H. du Bois. The lighting was very dim in some of the restaurants so some of the pictures didn't turn out as well as I would have liked. But our lunch pics turned out quite nice! It helps when you are photographing beautiful food.

Domestic Goddess--anyone can have gastronomic stamina, but you have to pay for it afterwards at the gym!

Edited December 19, 2006 by Ling (log)

[bgut1]

Ling - Thank you for a most enjoyable read. The one thing that I found amazing about your trip was that you were able to see and meet practically every chef. What luck. The fact that your pocket book was returned meant the gods were truly smiling on you. Now I would love to know what your credit card bill is for the trip.

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Yes, we were very lucky to meet almost every chef! There's one other big name coming up...I took a picture with him. You'll see it soon!

(The trip was expensive, but it was also our Christmas gift for one another this year. )

BTW, thanks H. du Bois. The lighting was very dim in some of the restaurants so some of the pictures didn't turn out as well as I would have liked. But our lunch pics turned out quite nice! It helps when you are photographing beautiful food.

Domestic Goddess--anyone can have gastronomic stamina, but you have to pay for it afterwards at the gym!

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Don't tell me .... you also meet Anthony Bourdain on your trip!?! No really, I'm guessing Jacques Torres or David Bouley.

Edited December 19, 2006 by bgut1 (log)

[hhlodesign]

Don't tell me .... you also meet Anthony Bourdain on your trip!?!

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Not on this trip, but make sure you watch the Pacific Northwest episode of No Reservations. I think it airs Jan. 22nd.

[Sentiamo]

Lordy but this thread has me positively drooling and green and pissed off that I live SO far away from NY!

What gorgeous food you both have had placed in front of you, and the prices for your lunch...well Im bowled over. $28 for 2 courses then $12 each course after?

And freebie eggs and pineapples chucked in too? lolol

If I could find the appropriate bowing down emoticon it would be here, a whole line of 'em.

Congratulations Lorna and Henry for sharing your wonderful photos, explanations, and love of the finer things in life with us. I cant wait until you post the next installment.

So. Are you awake already?

[bgut1]

Don't tell me .... you also meet Anthony Bourdain on your trip!?!

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Not on this trip, but make sure you watch the Pacific Northwest episode of No Reservations. I think it airs Jan. 22nd.

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Henry - Too funny. I was already looking forward to the new season. Now I have another reason to watch. Thanks.

[Pan]

The meal at Jean-Georges really looks great! I can't convince my brother to go there when he visits New York, because he's soured on Vongerichten since he expanded to Vong, which never impressed us, and then further expanded, with resulting deterioration in several of the restaurants in his chain (including Jo Jo, which used to be my family's favorite restaurant in the 80s and which just never seemed as good in either food or service after the renovation). I keep telling him that many people I respect say the fate of Mercer Kitchen, etc., has not rubbed off onto Jean-Georges at all, but he tends to just discount their opinions.

By the way, I.M. Pei and I share a periodontist. I've met him, and he's a very nice man, soft-spoken, humble, and dignified. I respected his privacy and didn't talk to him about architecture, just greeted him as one person to another. My periodontist and her receptionist say that Mr. Pei is one of their kindest patients.

Edited December 19, 2006 by Pan (log)