wd~50

You know when you go into a restaurant, and it gets busy and they start a waiting list, and they start calling out names, "DuFresnes, party of two." They say again, "DuFresnes, party of two." But then if no one answers, they'll just go to the next name, "Bush, party of three." Yeah, but what happened to the DuFresnes? No one seems to care. Who can eat at a time like this? People are missing! And they're hungry! That's a double whammy! "Bush, search party of three!" You can eat once you find the DuFresnes! - one of my fave jokes from Mitch Hedberg

Ok...so the only thing to tie this joke into my post is the chef. His name is Wylie Dufresne. Pronounced 'Do - frane'. Every time I hear that name I think of that joke. Ok...moving on. Wylie was formerly the sous chef at Jean Georges and in 1999 became the chef at 71 Clinton Fresh Food. wd~50 is the first restaurant where Wylie is both the chef and an owner along with his partners, former employers, Jean Georges Vongerichten and Phil Suarez.

Here is picture of the dining room.

When we came in we only wanted to try an appetizer, so we sat at the bar.

The menu at wd~50 is what is called molecular gastronomy. It utilizes elements and techniques from a wide array of cuisines. Both Wylie and the pastry chef, Alex Stupak, have garnered praise for their inspired culinary combinations, cutting edge culinary techniques, and innovative use of ingredients.

This was the first appetizer we had. Corned duck, rye crisp, purple mustard, horseradish cream. It was amazing. The horseradish really tied it together. I could have eaten a million of those.

Also, I can't blog about wd~50 and not talk about the bartender. Our bartender was hands down one of the best bartenders in NYC. He had been working for Wylie for about 6 years or so and he truly loved his job. He was talking about the different types of drinks he has made and while I forgot most of the crazy concoctions they've created - we got to taste a few samples of some really out there stuff. Plus, the drinks are to die for. Expensive but out of this world!

I tried to look up the names of the drinks we had but they aren't listed on the website. But you know what is? Crazy pictures of all the food they serve! Go check it out here!

They served us these crazy sesame wafers at the bar. They looked intimidating but were suprisingly light and delicate. Yummy. We also had another appetizer that I forgot to get a picture of. It was aerated foie, pickled beet, tamarillo-molasses, brioche. It was also good.

Wylie and wd~50 have been honored by the following James Beard Award nominations: 2000, Rising Star Chef (while Wylie was the chef at 71 Clinton Fresh Food); 2004, wd~50 for Best New Restaurant; 2008 and 2009, Wylie for Best Chef, New York City. Restaurant Magazine (UK) voted wd~50 34th in its annual "The World's Best Restaurants" issue, 2005. In New York magazine's 101 Best Restaurants edition (January 9, 2006), wd~50 was awarded four stars (out of a potential five) and was ranked fourth restaurant in New York. Frank Bruni of the New York Times awarded wd~50 three stars in March of 2008.

In 2006, in the Michelin Guide's inaugural American edition, wd~50 received one star, which it has retained through 2009. I don't get to eat at a lot of restaurants with a Michelin rating, so this was truly a notch on the ol' belt. In fact, it is the only restaurant in the LES with a Michelin rating!