wd50: round one

Eating dinner at wd50 is not merely to swallow food on a plate – it is to reveal the flavours, textures and customs we usually associate with food, and turn them on their heads. Completely. The food is art, pure and simple, and yet there is nothing pure and simple about it. It is the most creative, inventive meal you will ever eat, and you should definitely make plans to eat it. I discovered wd50 via my daily must-read, Grub Street, the food blog of New York magazine. It frequently sings wd50’s praises, and reveres its head chef and owner, Wylie Dufresne (pictured here with yours truly), as one of the chief architects of the city’s new wave of fine dining. After reading so much about it, I decided it was the equivalent of Tetsuya’s, in Sydney, and that while in New York, I absolutely must go. So I did – twice.

The first, on a sweaty Wednesday evening, was nothing short of incredible. Yes, there was a forty-five minute wait for our (reserved) table, but apologies were made and champagne was proffered to tide us over. When we were seated, the menu wasn’t explained properly, unfortunately. There is a tasting menu (US$140 per person, and everybody at the table must participate) and an a la carte option. We had only seen the a la carte menu, and so we chose from it. While it would have been nice to hear about both options, Caliban and I were blown away by our a la carte choices. Jeffrey, our inimitably wonderful sommelier, chose wines to match our dishes – a conceit I truly appreciate, since I’m rubbish at doing it myself.

I ate the "hanger tartare, smoked almond, banana, hibiscus," (right, below) and Caliban ordered "sunflower seed-miso soup, brook trout, melon, shiitake, malt" (left, below) for our entrees. Since Caliban is a vegequarian, I take any opportunity I can to eat meat - good meat - when we dine out. This was definitely an example of good meat. Steak tartare should be soft, supple and room temperature. So many tartare dishes are too cold (or worse still, too hot - how does that work?) making the dish unappetising, to say the least. Hanger is a cut that's becoming more and more popular (possibly because it's relatively cheap) and while it's not very tender, it has remarkable flavour. I'm not a huge fan of meat and fruit, but the banana mousse tempered the rich steak. As for Caliban, the sunflower-seed miso soup was "amazing." Rather than broth, which is what miso normally is, it was a thick, cold soup - almost like a vichyssoise. The miso had a really robust flavour that wasn't salty at all - it tasted creamy and light.

For our mains, I chose the "duck breast, worcestershire spaetzle, parsley root, mustard greens" and Caliban ordered "Arctic char, snow pea, fried yucca, cherry-black bean." In case you're wondering (and I was), spaetzle is a type of Austro-German egg noodle. They're very small, almost like tiny gnocchi. I am a sucker for duck, and I really don't care how it's cooked or what accompanies it - but the mustard greens were a great side dish. The duck itself was the hero, of course, and it lived up to its title. Crispy skin enveloped the moist, soft, rich breast - and along with my glass of Zinfandel, it was just about heaven on a plate. I didn't try the Arctic char (which is a type of fish related to salmon and trout) but Caliban assured me (through gulpfuls of cold sake) that it, too, was heavenly. Ah, the gluttony.


Finally, we moved into dessert. To segue the movement, we were given an amuse bouche of "vanilla icecream, raspberry streusel and balsamic vinegar." Anyone who's tasted raspberry vinaigrette knows how well raspberry and vinegar go together. It was basically a round of icecream covered in raspberry powder (which had an unbelievably potent flavour - all sweetness and no light) with a burst of balsamic vinegar inside. Have I mentioned heaven yet? For dessert, I had the "soft chocolate" plate (far left), which was a mix of soft mint chocolates, peppermint icecream, black cardamom dusting and toffee. Caliban chose the caramelised brioche with apricot, buttercream and lemon thyme (above, left). To be honest, I didn't think this dish held up so well against the others - the brioche was too heavy, it didn't pack enough flavour. That said, the buttercream was delightful.

After dinner, we were given the best petit fours I've ever tasted (see below). Served on a bed of granite, we were each given a "cocoa packet" and a "chocolate ball." The cocoa packet was such a feat of gastronomy - it looked like a little leather parcel, and when you bit through it, the outer layer (the "leather") was chewy and unctuous, but inside was a burst of cocoa powder. It's great when a chef surprises you. The chocolate ball was a ball of icecream covered entirely with ground dark chocolate. According to head chef Wylie, it's a play on an American cinema candy bar treat. I thought it was delightful (and far better than anything you can find inside a cinema - movies included).


Would I recommend wd50? Of course...because we went back again, four nights later, on our last night in New York. Post to come.

wd50
50 Clinton St, New York
212-4772900
www.wd-50.com