WD-50
WD-50 has been open for three years and if you're into food and New York you've probably been there. If you haven't been you've still probably heard of it as the place that does funky things with food (if you haven't heard of it, it's WD-50, not to be confused with WD-40). I'd read fairly positive reviews and heard interesting things about the restaurant (namely that there was a dish with beef tongue and fried mayonnaise) and its chef, Wylie Dufresne, who like Bobby Flay, is an alum of the French Culinary Institute. Pickled beef tongue isn't normally the first thing I'd order when seeing it on the menu and certainly not something I would usually make a specific visit to a restaurant to try.
Walking around the neighborhood where the restaurant is made me realize how much exploring I still have to do in Manhattan-- there are a lot of little places to explore. WD-50 (which combines the chef's name, Wulie Dufresne with it's address, 50 Clinton Street) is not exactly one of those "litle places." The outside of the restaurant seems minimalist but inside it goes a fair way back. The decor is crisp and clean with lots of wood and exposed ceiling beams and there's an open kitchen in the back out of which I was surprised to see Chef Dufresne looking out frequently into the dining room. Perhaps was a VIP in the room who I didn't recognize or he was just intent on gleaning his customers' reactions to the food-- either way it was interesting to see a chef paying so much attention to his clientale.
Beyond reading the reviews I'd done little research as to the current menu. The cocktail menu gave me my first inkling of what was to come. I ordered what I remember being called a cidanero ($11) a sweet and smoky drink with a little kick which I believe was from habanero. It was a delicious drink, the kind of thing that made me remember a once-upon-a-time wish to work my way through the bartender's bible and learn how to make various cocktails, only in this case as a precursor to exploring possible variations.
We ordered and were quickly brought a small container filled with our bread alternative. It was a light smear of some kind of crisp, paper-thin bread. Almost as if we were being served the very outermost layer of a bread crust. Another intriguing pre-cursor, tasty, playful and yet not very filling-- clever. Then our appetizers, three of them, pickled beef tongue, fried mayonnaise, onion streusel ($15), the corned duck, rye crisp, purple mustard, horseradish cream ($14) and the hangar tartare, pickled Asian pear, amaro, bernaise ice cream ($15). The tongue (right, courtesy wd-50.com) was very thinly sliced with a smear of something sweet on the side, and piles of micro-brunoise, finely chopped vegetable to the point of almost being a dust along with the fried mayonnaise, fried crisp on the outside and smooth inside. I'd expected to enjoy the fried mayonnaise but the tongue pleasantly surprised me as well.
The duck (right, courtesy wd-50.com) was barely three bites (more on three-bite theory later) and while tasty it was gone before I'd really found anything that special about it. The hangar tartare with bernaise ice cream that followed however was a delight-- especially creamy.
For dinner, the turbot, salsify, smoked bulgur, coffee-saffron ($30) and the chicken, green olive, green apple, sake soubise ($28). The chicken was juicy and enjoyable but largely forgettable. The fish was the clear winner of the two dishes, moist, tender and flaky complemented by the earthiness of the bulgur.
To finish we ordered the manchego cheesecake, foamed pineapple, thyme ($11) and kumquat confit, carob ice cream, soy caramel ($11). The candied kumquat made me think about revisiting my disappointed efforts at playing with the fruit (I'd done a too-bitter sorbet). The manchego cheesecake was gamey and pleasantly offset with the pineapple foam (how do you make pineapple foam anyway?).
It was time to sit back and consider the meal. For one, though my wallet was protesting the thought, I was still hungry and wishing I'd orderd the nine-course tasting menu. While $105 wasn't unreasonble in comparison to other tasting menus considering the playfullness of the food I've indulged quite a few times recently so perhaps another entree or appetizer would have helped. It's not something I've expereience frequently, leaving a restaurant a bit hungry but mostly satisified. In this case what would usually be a major drawback still allowed for an enjoyable experience.
And that's what it was, an experience. I've heard that WD-50 is about "cerebral cuisine," and that each bite is more about thinking than tasting. Sure, the room left in my stomach allowed more space for my brain to stretch out and focus on two specific thoughts. One, there's a fine line between inventiveness and pretentiousness, doing adventurous things with food because they can be done and because they need to be done. WD-50 will self-satisfy the people visiting from Pittsburgh who have money to burn and need to ask the waiter questions to which they already have the answers but, two, what Chef Dufresne does in his restaurant, what we were all told not to do as kids, playing with food and having fun doing it will draw all types of people interested in the exploration he's embarking upon. That's inspiring to me-- it makes me want to continue learning basic culinary technique and to explore the possiblities science brings to food that has been thoughtfully varied and combined.
TOTAL SPENT: $165.81 (including 4 alcoholic beverages)
20 WORDS OR LESS: You won't leave with a full stomach but there's fun to be had with food and an explored palate.
Walking around the neighborhood where the restaurant is made me realize how much exploring I still have to do in Manhattan-- there are a lot of little places to explore. WD-50 (which combines the chef's name, Wulie Dufresne with it's address, 50 Clinton Street) is not exactly one of those "litle places." The outside of the restaurant seems minimalist but inside it goes a fair way back. The decor is crisp and clean with lots of wood and exposed ceiling beams and there's an open kitchen in the back out of which I was surprised to see Chef Dufresne looking out frequently into the dining room. Perhaps was a VIP in the room who I didn't recognize or he was just intent on gleaning his customers' reactions to the food-- either way it was interesting to see a chef paying so much attention to his clientale.
Beyond reading the reviews I'd done little research as to the current menu. The cocktail menu gave me my first inkling of what was to come. I ordered what I remember being called a cidanero ($11) a sweet and smoky drink with a little kick which I believe was from habanero. It was a delicious drink, the kind of thing that made me remember a once-upon-a-time wish to work my way through the bartender's bible and learn how to make various cocktails, only in this case as a precursor to exploring possible variations.
We ordered and were quickly brought a small container filled with our bread alternative. It was a light smear of some kind of crisp, paper-thin bread. Almost as if we were being served the very outermost layer of a bread crust. Another intriguing pre-cursor, tasty, playful and yet not very filling-- clever. Then our appetizers, three of them, pickled beef tongue, fried mayonnaise, onion streusel ($15), the corned duck, rye crisp, purple mustard, horseradish cream ($14) and the hangar tartare, pickled Asian pear, amaro, bernaise ice cream ($15). The tongue (right, courtesy wd-50.com) was very thinly sliced with a smear of something sweet on the side, and piles of micro-brunoise, finely chopped vegetable to the point of almost being a dust along with the fried mayonnaise, fried crisp on the outside and smooth inside. I'd expected to enjoy the fried mayonnaise but the tongue pleasantly surprised me as well.
The duck (right, courtesy wd-50.com) was barely three bites (more on three-bite theory later) and while tasty it was gone before I'd really found anything that special about it. The hangar tartare with bernaise ice cream that followed however was a delight-- especially creamy.For dinner, the turbot, salsify, smoked bulgur, coffee-saffron ($30) and the chicken, green olive, green apple, sake soubise ($28). The chicken was juicy and enjoyable but largely forgettable. The fish was the clear winner of the two dishes, moist, tender and flaky complemented by the earthiness of the bulgur.
To finish we ordered the manchego cheesecake, foamed pineapple, thyme ($11) and kumquat confit, carob ice cream, soy caramel ($11). The candied kumquat made me think about revisiting my disappointed efforts at playing with the fruit (I'd done a too-bitter sorbet). The manchego cheesecake was gamey and pleasantly offset with the pineapple foam (how do you make pineapple foam anyway?).
It was time to sit back and consider the meal. For one, though my wallet was protesting the thought, I was still hungry and wishing I'd orderd the nine-course tasting menu. While $105 wasn't unreasonble in comparison to other tasting menus considering the playfullness of the food I've indulged quite a few times recently so perhaps another entree or appetizer would have helped. It's not something I've expereience frequently, leaving a restaurant a bit hungry but mostly satisified. In this case what would usually be a major drawback still allowed for an enjoyable experience.
And that's what it was, an experience. I've heard that WD-50 is about "cerebral cuisine," and that each bite is more about thinking than tasting. Sure, the room left in my stomach allowed more space for my brain to stretch out and focus on two specific thoughts. One, there's a fine line between inventiveness and pretentiousness, doing adventurous things with food because they can be done and because they need to be done. WD-50 will self-satisfy the people visiting from Pittsburgh who have money to burn and need to ask the waiter questions to which they already have the answers but, two, what Chef Dufresne does in his restaurant, what we were all told not to do as kids, playing with food and having fun doing it will draw all types of people interested in the exploration he's embarking upon. That's inspiring to me-- it makes me want to continue learning basic culinary technique and to explore the possiblities science brings to food that has been thoughtfully varied and combined.
TOTAL SPENT: $165.81 (including 4 alcoholic beverages)
20 WORDS OR LESS: You won't leave with a full stomach but there's fun to be had with food and an explored palate.
posted by Turo at 12:59 AM
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home