Wylie Dufresne is my new favorite person.
Last night I had the sincere pleasure of dining at his restaurant, wd~50, and the evening was an incomparable highlight of my foodie life.
We toasted my sister’s birthday with a bold, wonderfully spicy syrah:
And snacked on a light sesame flatbread once the nearly insurmountable task of choosing our courses was complete:
Wylie Dufresne belongs to a school known as molecular gastronomy, which is basically a scientific study in flavor – chefs experiment with wide varieties of alternative cooking methods in order to play with textures and flavors. At a restaurant of this sort, I think it’s essential to truly go for it and try foods you might not normally consider. The menu was culinary creativity at its most exquisite, and for me, that means ordering with the most adventurous spirit.
So, I began the meal with an appetizer of smoked eel, which was beautifully plated with shaved black radish, yuzu infused tofu, campari, and spiced breadcrumbs. One of my favorite things about the construction of each dish was that they were actually deconstructed – the diner was able to create a variety of flavorful bites, simply by uniting different elements. Such a fun way to dine.
For an entree, I selected the Mediterranean bass, accompanied by artichokes, puffed bamboo rice, halva (!), and chicory. At this point, the conversation came to a complete halt; my family and I sat in pure silence, experiencing the plates in front of us. From my casual observation of other tables in the intimate dining area, this was a common occurrence. When plates arrived to the table, flavor-induced silence would undoubtedly follow.
Dessert was an easy decision for me; nine times out of ten, I am loyal to chocolate, and I knew I had to experience the inspired take on mint chocolate:
The plate was described as soft chocolate, peppermint ice cream, black cardamom crumble, and sticky toffee. In simpler words: divine.
And as a final treat, we were presented with miniature balls of coconut milk ice cream, encased in a chocolate cookie coating. Love.
This was an experience in food as art, and every moment was heavenly. Honestly, I could gush for a week about this meal and still find delicious elements to describe. By far, the best restaurant I’ve been to in New York.
What’s the most adventurous meal you’ve ever had?
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very fancy meal~~~ :)
the most adventurous meal? can’t remember any, but I love fancy places like this.
INCREDIBLE meal!!
Most adventurous = escargot.
i have heard so many cool things about wd-50! Wylie is genus!
molecular gastronomy, ohh man..haha…when i was 15 (?) i was so weird i was like obsessed with educating myself on that :) i would read and watch so many things..ahh..maybe it was an ed/food obsessed thing, but i learned a lot and i always wanted to make something really cool or go to a restaurant. lol..anywhoo…enough about that ;)
the food looks so good, such great choices! that entree(halva!!!)wow
the most adventurous thing i have ever had hmm ive had goat cheese ice cream at some restaurant once, so good! and pate in paris, and escargot :)
xo
maya
looks like such a great meal and experience, i have heard so much about wd-50 as well as Wylie Dufresne, i was like so into molecular gastronomy and the idea it, like 2 years ago, and always wanted to go to this restaurant… well anyways lovie, everything looks spectacularly delicious, love your choices!
i am so glad you had a great time,and i hope your sis had a great birthday!
hmm… the most adventurous meal i ever had was when i was 15 i went to some french restaurant with my grandpa in the city in the upper east side near his apartment, and i got frog legs haha, and also had once when i was like 11 i had fried reeses pb cup hahahaha at that place in brooklyn The Chip shop i think its called?… well they are famous for there fried candy bars, not as adventurous more so just a really not like me now thing to do hehe.
That sounds like an incredible meal! so cool!
AH Wiley is a total culinary genius! TOP chef anyone? Haha, he’s been on the masters and the regular one as well. It’s so cool that you got to have such an adventurous meal! The coconut ice cream balls sound amazing. Looks like they’re covered in some sort of oreo crumb! AMMMMAZING :)
wow this looks fantastic! i have sadly never heard of this guy but i will be googling him after this. sounds like a genius.
everything looks perfectly paired together here.
happy birthday to your sister and what better way to start the evening with a glass of syrah!
loads of love
I’ve always been curious! But it ain’t vegan friendly.Still, would love to try some of the cuisine.
Dinner looked divine!! Most adventurous meal (not by my choosing haha!) was back in high school when my then-boyfriend’s father made me eat his “famous” chicken livers…. ugh not my cup o’ tea :/
All of the food looks fantastic! I’m especially loving the coconut milk ice cream balls! Glad you had a great time!
im so happy you documented/blogged this dinner! i always loved when he WD was on top chef because he is just so talented and brilliant in finding new food cretaions! it looks like your sister’s bday was a success!
That looks absolutely amazzzzzing. What a great night! I’m glad you had fun!
I’m not very daring. I’ll try anything but I like to order the things I know I like. I think the most daring was escargo. It was ok. Kinda like really butter, garlic mushrooms.
Wow…… beautiful post!!!!!!! I love the pictures! Beautiful food!
-A