WD~50

You might have heard of WD~50 from last year’s Masterchef when the eventual winner Tim Anderson was placed with the chef Wiley Dufresne in his restaurant. WD~50 and Wiley Dufresne himself have won several awards and has also consistently flirted in and out of inclusion in Restaurant Magazine’s World’s Top 50 list. Dufresne’s penchant for deconstruction of classics, atypical compositions and utilisation of molecular techniques meant that when I decided to visit New York, WD~50 was right at the top of my list of places to visit. Unfortunately, due to the last minute nature of the visit, I didn’t hold out much hope that I’d be able to get a table during my trip, considering WD~50 is usually booked out a month in advance. Once again though, I struck lucky and there was space midweek at 10pm. Quite late for a tasting menu, but sometimes you’ve got to make sacrifices right?

WD~50 is located once again in the Lower East side (I was starting to realise that despite its initial appearances, this is quite an up and coming area full of quality restaurants) and I found myself back on Clinton Street.  Inside was a very lively atmosphere with a generally young crowd and one of the first things I noticed was the attentive and affable nature of the staff. Any questions throughout the meal were eagerly answered. As I already alluded to, I had checked out the menu online beforehand and already decided that I had to do the tasting menu here. This was an opportunity I just couldn’t allow myself to miss.

Dining Room

Bar

Just reading the menu itself you get a feel for the unconventional outcome that lies ahead and this was signalled further by the bread service, which was copious volumes of crispy sesame flatbread. First up were slivers of almost translucent scallops with peppercorns, leeks and barbeque vinaigrette. The sweet and subtle sauce accentuated the soft, slightly gelatinous scallops. A tasty dish but nothing too memorable.

Sesame flatbreads

Scallops, corn, leek,
barbeque vinaigrette

However, the next dish was certainly remarkable. Titled ‘everything bagel, smoked salmon threads and crispy cream cheese’ this was the classic sandwich staple completely reinvented. The ‘bagel’ was made from bread ice cream and rested atop crispy fine shards of dried-out smoked salmon (arranged in a shape reminiscent of a fish). A sheet of crispy cream cheese shielded the sweet red onions beneath. The conventional flavours were there but the complete alteration of textures was a wonderful shock to the system.

Everything bagel, smoked
salmon threads, crispy
cream cheese

‘Foie-lafel’ was another playful twist on a familiar dish of falafel in pitta. This wonderful dish smacked of the very essence of your post-night out saviour food. The falafel was actually balls of creamy foie gras with a falafel coating inside a superb warm and soft pitta. The tahini sauce and bulgar wheat tabouleh with romaine (cos) salad were fresh accompaniments.

Foie-lafel

Sweetness from beansprouts and Caesar dressing cut through a rich and gooey poached egg. But the cheeky addition to this was the delicate but edible ‘shell’ made from brown butter.

Poached egg in the shell,
pumpernickel, caesar
dressing, bean sprouts

The fifth dish was supposed to be some King oyster udon but they had run out. Its replacement was a dish of cold fried chicken, one that I have previously read about online. I had been quite looking forward to see what this dish could provide. Cold fried chicken was unusual and came with cold ricotta whilst the Tabasco honey sauce injected some mild heat to lift the dish. Unfortunately it reminded me of the post-school oven-made food I used to consume as a child and was one of the more disappointing and forgettable dishes of the evenings.

Cold fried chicken,
buttermilk-ricotta,
tabasco, caviar

Thai snapper with cubes of cucumber, coffee crumble and an onion and Asian pear tart was sometimes overpowered by its smoky tomato sauce and was a bit lukewarm. However the sweetness and various textures provided some sort of rescue.

Tai snapper, onion tart,
coffee, asian pear

Quail was expertly cooked and full of gamey flavour whilst nasturtium yoghurt was a slightly sweet and a surprisingly good accompaniment.

Quail, nasturtium yoghurt,
turnip, nutmeg

The lamb dish with ‘red beans and rice’ was an absolute triumph. Perfectly cooked and tender lamb was superseded by the ‘beans’. These were pine nuts cooked in a pressure cooker so that they became soft and the same texture as beans, with the addition of bacon and shallots. Rice was rolled out into thin sheets to form crunchy crackers whilst the chayote squash was pickled and added a slight sweetness to cut through.

Lamb loin, 'red beans
& rice', chayote squash

Our first dessert contained the Scandinavian whey cheese called gjetost. I have only previously encountered this unusual and special ingredient once before on my visit to Noma. This creamy and slightly salty entity carried the intensely sweet Himatchi plum with panache. A frozen piece of watermelon on top was excellently paired with smooth sweet & sour cream soda sauce. Olive oil came in the guise of a streusel (a crumb topping) for further textural enhancement. This dish was described by our waiter as the bridge between sweet and sour and he did not lie.

Gjetost, watermelon,
plum, olive oil

Apricot and rhubarb dessert saw two strong flavours in the apricot (served as a purée) and sour rhubarb competing on an even and tasty keel. Mouthfuls of a green tea foam and powder, along with a wonderful buckwheat sorbet helped to placate this battle down into a smooth and captivating dance on the palate.

Apricot, buckwheat,
rhubarb, green tea

When the final dish arrived it reminded me of a Kandinsky on the plate. A velvety thick chocolate ganache and luscious beet parfait had much needed injections of cold from ricotta ice cream. Whilst the long pepper shortbread helped vary the texture, I felt that maybe this luxurious dessert just needed one sharp element to penetrate through.

Soft chocolate, beet, long
pepper, ricotta ice cream

Petit fours of deep fried rice pudding with Calamansi lime and rice krispies with a marshmallow meringue ice cream were a great way to round off the meal, providing some cherished childhood memories with a contemporary and adult twist.

Marshmallow meringue
ice cream with rice krispies

Deep fried rice pudding with
Calamansi limes

A lovely touch at the end was that they gave us a copy of the menu to take home. I wish more restaurants did that for their tasting menus.

Overall I must admit I really loved WD~50. Particularly because such playful and peculiar combinations of food is the type of cooking that truly excites me. Mr Dufresne's ability to create one food stuff from another (e.g. his bagel made from ice cream or his beans made from pine nutes) is the delight for both the tongue and the brain. Not every dish worked, but I found it very easy to forgive such oversights because the majority were bang on the money. If you don’t like your food to test and intrigue you then I would advise you to stay away from WD~50, but if you look forward to wacky attempts and moments of pure inspiration then this is one that’s worth the trip.

Price: 11 course tasting menu $140. Main courses $27-37

Where to go before/next: Try and score yourself a reservation at the infamous & exclusive Milk & Honey on Elridge Street or check out the more casual & reasonably priced Pianos or Max Fish, both on Ludlow Street.

Website: Click here

Location: 50 Clinton Street, New York, NY 10002

Nearest Subway: Delancy St & Essex St

Opening Times: 18.00 – 23.00 (Mon – Sat) 18.00 – 22.30 (Sun)