Yummy Yummy, Molecular Gastronomy

Sunday night I met up with Giggles, Skips and Skips's man Specs (I love his glasses) for dinner at wd~50, Wylie Dufresne's Lower East Side shrine to the art and science of molecular gastronomy and #45 on the list of the World's 50 Best Restaurants.  It took us months to get a reservation, so I ate super light that day to make sure I could eat and enjoy every last bite.  Giggles, Skips and Specs had the standard tasting, while I requested a pescetarian tasting.  We ordered a bottle of 2008 Donkey & Goat Chardonnay "Brosseau Vineyard" that was suggested by our waiter since it was in our price range and the bizarre name of the vineyard was intriguing.  We started off with an amuse-bouche of a smokey mackerel, which prepared our tummies for for all of the deliciousness to come.

Next up was the "Everything bagel, smoked salmon threads, crispy cream cheese" which was - SURPRISE - not at all bagel-like but kind of like if a jewish deli decided to churn out ice-cream!  Skips and Specs talked about the $500 vet bill for their ailing dog's bladder infection and their "exemption" list of dudes they are permitted to cheat on each other with.  And then..

Hamachi with asparagus and - SURPRISE - ricotta that looks like little fish eggs.  This was AMAZING and ended up being my very favorite course of the evening.  The others had "Foie gras, passion fruit, chinese celery" - which ended up being Giggles's favorite course.  While we were eating, through the doorless kitchen entrance we could see Wylie himself obsessively plating, drizzling sauces with his brow furrowed as he carefully inspected each dish.  It was surprising to see him there, but impressive to see he hasn't been totally swept up in his celebri-chef status and turned all his food over to his staff.

The "Poached egg in the shell, pumpernickel, caesar dressing, lily bulb" was next for the table - SURPRISE - the egg shell is edible.  I scraped up every last bit of the dressing that I could manage with my fork and would have licked the plate if possible.

Then the "Peekytoe crab roll, salt ‘n vinegar chips, celery mayonnaise" for me and the "King oyster ‘udon’, sweetbreads, banana-molassas, pickled ginger" for the others.  Skips pondered over where sweetbreads come from - I said brain and Giggles said lung.  Both equally gross but both wrong.  They're actually the thymus glands of cows, lambs or pigs in either the throat or heart.  Never a fan of the organ meats, even when I did eat meat, I was happy to munch on my mini chips.

Next course - "Black bass, artichokes, forbidden rice, white chocolate-green olive" for me and "Bay scallops, bone marrow, parsnip, black sesame" for the rest.  The crispy black rice was delicious but I started to feel a fullness in my belly creeping in.

Then "Cod, peas-n-coconut, nori, carrot dashi" for me and gnocchi in a beef broth for the rest of the crew.  The gnocchi was Specs's favorite for the night.  I sipped my wine now completely focused on my growing discomfort.  Skips looks around for celebrities, but sadly there are none in the restaurant tonight.   He then recalled his Lucy Liu spotting at 15 East, Giggles recalled her spotting of "that dude from Sex and the City who wanted to pee on Carrie" and I could only think of the time I saw Cousin Larry from Perfect Strangers having a drink with some dude that was on Nip/Tuck at Corner Shop Cafe.  Sadly, Balki Bartokomous was not there.

Finally, "Monkfish, white bean-brown butter, blood orange, brussels sprouts" for me and "Squab breast, cheese pumpkin, corn bread, pickled cranberries" for my also stuffed dining companions.  A squab is a young pigeon but tasted pretty much like chicken according to Specs.  I had eaten most of my plate, thus officially consuming every gill-bearing vertebrate in the ocean.

We then were served our "pre-dessert", a concoction of white beer ice cream, apple, caramel, caraway.  Giggles loves a good foam and dug in.  I took one bite of the foam and said "It tastes like when I get shampoo in my mouth!"  I can't recall when I've ever gotten shampoo in my mouth but it was oddly bitter and herbal in a way that I would imagine a mouthful of Pantene suds would taste.

Then dessert number one - "Grapefruit curd, campari, hibiscus, sorrel"  The sorrel was that green gel dot on the side.  The piece of campari infused grapefruit was polarizing at our table.  Skips nearly gagged on it while me and Giggles delighted in the sweetly sour flavor.  I was seriously about to explode at this point.

I had really hit my limit when the Jackson Pollock of desserts (see above) was placed in front of me - "Soft chocolate, beet, long pepper, ricotta ice cream"  I let out a slight whimper of near defeat as I dug my spoon into the chocolate but soldiered on.  Our plates were cleared and our waiter asked us if we wanted anything else to which Specs replied "Can we see a dessert menu?"  And then the check came...they presented the check with chocolate pouches and frozen rice krispy treats to soften the blow.

Giggles got up from the table and declared "Thank god I wore stretchy pants!"  The rest of us were not so fortunate.  Molecular gastronomy had turned into gastrointestinal distention and I wanted to go home immediately and swap my non-stretch jeans for sweat pants.  But it was a great, albeit expensive experience!  Fine dining in a casual setting, amazing eats and a bottle of wine with fun foodie friends.  Wylie stood at the back of the dining room as we were leaving with a smile on his face, looking EXACTLY like he does on his appearances on Top Chef with his slightly crooked glasses and his distinctive long locks and sideburns.  He deserved a bit of a break from his mad scientist kitchen creations and watched the diners savoring their meals.  The whole evening was worth every penny and I will reflect fondly on this dinner as I spend the next month eating ramen noodles!