WD-50 in NYC Yea or Nay?
- Thread starter drssouth
- Start date
Jay Miller
Jay Miller
Yea AND Nay.
Though I've only been there once and that a few years ago so take my vote with a grain of salt. Once of the fancy pretty ones.
Though I've only been there once and that a few years ago so take my vote with a grain of salt. Once of the fancy pretty ones.
Great, really interesting food.
Last time I was there the wine list sucked, and had an unfortunate corkage experience.
My note from a year ago:
A couple of recent dinners (one pre-Bruni, one post) have continued a very high standard. The pork belly is exemplary. But the list is slipping. Glenn has gone back to Australia, and Duffy has no one leaning back on the tiller, so it's hard to starboard and the New World. Knowing this, I did a little BYO with a bottle of Allemand sans souffre I wanted to show to a visiting winemaker pal. I mentioned it to the hostess, who told me of a $40 corkage fee. We bought a bottle off the list, gave the som a glass of the Allemand, and so on. I was saddened to have a $50 fee appear on the check. So with the list going south (we were going east before the turn to starboard), and $50 corkage, the attraction of the place is diminished a bit for me. (was posted here)
they now have half-price wines if you buy the tasting menu, but you should have a look at the wine list to see what you think.
The food is great, though.
Last time I was there the wine list sucked, and had an unfortunate corkage experience.
My note from a year ago:
A couple of recent dinners (one pre-Bruni, one post) have continued a very high standard. The pork belly is exemplary. But the list is slipping. Glenn has gone back to Australia, and Duffy has no one leaning back on the tiller, so it's hard to starboard and the New World. Knowing this, I did a little BYO with a bottle of Allemand sans souffre I wanted to show to a visiting winemaker pal. I mentioned it to the hostess, who told me of a $40 corkage fee. We bought a bottle off the list, gave the som a glass of the Allemand, and so on. I was saddened to have a $50 fee appear on the check. So with the list going south (we were going east before the turn to starboard), and $50 corkage, the attraction of the place is diminished a bit for me. (was posted here)
they now have half-price wines if you buy the tasting menu, but you should have a look at the wine list to see what you think.
The food is great, though.
Zachary Ross
Zachary Ross
Holy shit, I have rarely seen such a preposterously overpriced list! There are four red wines that cost less than $80 -- KTHXBAI
Sharon Bowman
Sharon Bowman
Where are you getting the Allemand sans soufre in NY?
(P.S. soufre = sulfur; souffre = I suffer. Yes, one never suffers from Allemand, but then, is that ever even a possibility? Signed, Ms. Picker-o'-Nits)
Lou Kessler
Lou Kessler
Does Plotnicki still recommend this restaurant? This is very important to me. (Says Lou Kessler, sarcasm dripping from his lips.)
Hey, they have Wind Gap Syrah! I brought some to a party in Napa a couple of weeks ago. I had it pretty late in a long evening and don't want to be too analytical, but I liked it. Good St. Joe, maybe? No urge to pay $135 for it, but you could drink it.
I like Wind Gap wines, so far.
evan hansen
Evan Hansen
I second that vote. I've also only been there one time, but I had a very mixed experience.
This was well over a year ago, but I think I had an appetizer there that involved a root vegetable puree and yellowtail. The textures were off-putting, and I couldn't really find the harmony in what I was eating. Even the amuse bouche was a bit strange, consisting of an interesting twist on a tater tot that was delicious -- hindered by a streak of some sort of reduced tomato sauce that was far too intense (and not pleasingly so). I couldn't get the flavor out of my mouth for 10 minutes.
Conversely, as part of my entree, I had a perfect piece of lightly smoked cod, and I had a very subtle, elegant desert -- a sort of banana custard "piped" onto the plate in a snake shape somehow and served with a number of complimentary, crazy accompaniments. The whole package was beyond delicious.
I was only there for lunch by myself, and while I thought about getting a bottle for myself, the prices of the wines I was interested in were off putting, so I stuck to glasses... early on, an ESJ rose, and with the cod, a wine that has now slipped out of memory.
Anyhow, my impression is that "unique" is the watchword at WD~50. The food is about creativity and invention, and while all of it was interesting, only some of it was good.
Jay Miller
Jay Miller
Exactly my takeaway. Some of it was very very good, but some of it seemed inventive for the sake of creativity with taste not really one of the required goals.
I think we're all pretty much in accord. I had lunch there a year ago, with their recommended wine pairings (since the list looked dubious and pricey even then, and though there were still a few interesting holdouts, I doubted they'd go with what I was eating).
Several of the dishes were real standouts in taste and creativity. Some were interesting more than good, though they weren't bad either (the little foie gras crispies come to mind). And there was one, how-could-they-put-this-on-a-plate failure, which involved a cinnamon dashi that completely obliterated everything else in the dish. But, overall, I quite enjoyed the experience.
The wines paired with the tasting menu were more or less OK (the "less" was a blush-style Californian from, I think, syrah...which did "go with" the breakfast-ish dish with which it was paired, but which was a horrid wine nonetheless). There was a really nice rum at the end of the meal.
Afterward, there was a sludgy and deliriously yummy chile-infused chocolate drink at Cocoa Bar, down the street.
Several of the dishes were real standouts in taste and creativity. Some were interesting more than good, though they weren't bad either (the little foie gras crispies come to mind). And there was one, how-could-they-put-this-on-a-plate failure, which involved a cinnamon dashi that completely obliterated everything else in the dish. But, overall, I quite enjoyed the experience.
The wines paired with the tasting menu were more or less OK (the "less" was a blush-style Californian from, I think, syrah...which did "go with" the breakfast-ish dish with which it was paired, but which was a horrid wine nonetheless). There was a really nice rum at the end of the meal.
Afterward, there was a sludgy and deliriously yummy chile-infused chocolate drink at Cocoa Bar, down the street.
Plotnicki showed up in a dream last night. I have no idea what he actually looks like, but in my dream, he was about my height or maybe an inch or two taller, wore faded black jeans and smoked Marlboro Lights. I don't imagine any of these things to be true and I have no idea why he was there.
Also got capped twice in the back of the head by an old chef I used to know. There was no exit wound but I was slowly dying and bruises started to appear on my forehead and I could feel my consciousness slipping.
Lots of garlic in my pasta and strange, strange dreams.
Cory Cartwright
Cory Cartwright
Hopefully this helps you sleep better:
Holy hell, VLM! Lay off the hard stuff before it permanently fucks you up. Regarding P*nicki, why not just friend him up to get a peek at the man behind the legend?
Always there for you,
Mark Lipton