I never thought I would like fried beef tendon. But I did. It was delicious actually. In fact, every course was delicious at NYC’s molecular gastronomy spot wd~50.
If you’ve never heard of this restaurant before, let me fill you in. The restaurant, which opened in 2003, is a sci-foodie’s dream. Owned by chef Wylie Dufresne, this restaurant blurs the lines between the lab and the kitchen by creating dishes with unusual ingredients and flavor combinations. I could go on to bore you with the details of molecular gastronomy (some of which are discussed here), but I thought pictures would be more fun.
One of the more popular techniques used in molecular gastronomy is deconstruction. Here I show Dufresne’s deconstructed version of Truffled Carbonara, an Italian pasta dish traditionally composed of cream, bacon, eggs, Parmesan cheese, and black pepper. As you move across the plate, you are able to taste each element of the dish individually.
From left to right, the Truffled Carbonara dish is composed of bacon, garlic chips, orzo (to substitute for pasta), and black truffles. The entire dish is set on egg yolk and topped off with Parmesan crackers (the round balls) and pepper whip cream.
Another example of deconstruction (and the most famous dish at wd~50) is the Eggs Benedict. Only this time, the egg yolk has also been modified to stand alone by using a gelatinizing agent to make it sturdier. You may also be wondering about the hollandaise sauce, which seems to be missing from the dish. It is actually inside the fried cubes. The sauce is frozen in a cube shape mold, rolled in an English-muffin breading, and fried. So when you break open the cubes, there is a liquid center.
A not-so-classic Eggs Benedict.
The next dish is an example of how Dufresne mixes unusual flavor combinations. Pictured here is squab (domestic pigeon) with butternut squash noodles, carob crumbles, and cream soda jelly. The squab is cooked using a French slow-cooking technique called sous-vide, which helps to maintain the fat content of the meat, improve texture, and preserve the heme-rich flavor of the squab. While it may seem that these ingredients are uncomplimentary, the sweet flavors help to balance out the intense flavor of the meat.
A heme and sweets treat. Who knew?!?!
Dinner was great. But let’s not forget about dessert. Here, Dufresne used some of his more unusual techniques to trick your taste buds. This dish is composed of vanilla ice cream, raspberry crumbles, and balsamic vinegar. The crumbles are dehydrated, so the acidic taste that is normally present when eating a raspberry is missing (they taste a bit strange when eaten alone). Once you break open the ice cream and expose the vinegar (which Dufresne gets into the center by using a similar technique to the hollandaise sauce), the familiar acidic flavor returns and the crumbles complement the ice cream.
Balsamic vinegar: Not just for salads.
Even though my pockets are now empty (wd~50 is pricey), I still think this was a truly extraordinary eating experience. NYC is one of the few places in the world where you can delve into a mixed up, gelatinized meal and come out satisfied.