Long on my list of restaurants to visit has been WD~50. A recent tax return made the meal possible, so the GF and I made an impromptu visit one dreary Wednesday evening. The experience was overall very nice, however there were some hiccups along the way. I think 4 stars is a fair rating.
The first thing I will mention is that the website describes the restaurant as having "two walk-in tables in the bar area". Be aware that this is misleading on two counts:
1) The "tables" are in fact a single small bar counter running parallel to the large bay windows capable of sitting up to 2 people on each side. The restaurant-side of the counter is equipped with two rather wobbly bar stools, and the window-side of the counter's seat appears to be a two person bench. I say "appears to be" because the bench is in fact a radiator with a cushion on top. The hostess was very kind about asking if it was too hot, but I found it a bit off-putting to expect guests to sit on top of a radiator.
2) The counter isn't exactly in what I would consider to be the "bar area". It's not even so much that it is not in the bar area, but more that it IS in the "door/host stand/coat check area". One side of the counter faces the windows, one side faces the door, one side faces the host stand/coat check, and the final side is open to the restaurant, where guests waiting for their tables stand or walk past. I just felt it was a bit out in the open. Next time if I were to do a walk-in I would prefer sitting at the bar itself.
The servers were all warm, but not overly informal, as well as being very professional and knowledgeable - I thought the service was great overall.
The GF and I excitedly ordered the tasting menu, with the wine pairing for me. She mentioned her unfortunate shellfish allergy to the servers, and they were happy to accommodate. Here's my rundown of the courses. Keep in mind I am doing much of this from memory, so there are quite a few things I am fuzzy on in retrospect:
Hamachi Sashimi - my least favorite thing the whole night. The fish was nice, but the rest of the dish was bland, except for a few nicely pungent capers. There was a warm foamy white sauce that was a bit of a turnoff with the cold fish, and there was a dollop of brown sauce that appeared like it would be flavorful but was also bland. I was a bit disappointed because the menu said I would be getting Razor Clams, which I would have very much preferred. Strangely, they described this course as an "amuse bouche", though it counted as one of the actual menu courses (which should not have made it an amuse bouche). Also strange was that they gave the GF a different dish, though there was no shellfish in the one I received.
Everything Bagel, Smoked Salmon Threads, Crispy Cream Cheese - another disappointing course, which I very much wanted to like due to its creativity. The frozen "bagel" mousse was very bland, as was the cream cheese. The salmon threads were tasty, but for me they had the uncomfortable texture of what I imagine chewing insulation might be like. Contrarily, the GF loved this course and noted all the flavors that I felt I was missing.
Foie Gras, Passionfruit, Chinese Celery - things started getting much better here. The foie gras was as good as any I've had, and the passionfruit center was tangy and very complimentary to the liver. I will say I found the passionfruit to overwhelm a bit though - I think maybe half the amount would have been perfect. The celery came in (I believe) two forms - a fine julienne on top of the foie gras and a crunchy dehydrated crumble on the plate (the first of many crunch crumbles, all having a pleasingly similar texture to the black crunchies in ice cream cake).
Poached Egg & The Shell, Caesar Dressing, Pumpernickel, Lily Bulb - a great blend of flavor and creativity. The egg was perfectly runny, and mixed greatly with the tangy Caesar dressing. The crunchy pumpernickel stripes were salty and delicious, and the edible shell was a fun if relatively flavorless component. For me the star of the dish was the sweet but sour lily bulb, almost like a caramelized shallot.
King Oyster "Udon", Sweetbreads, Banana-Molasses, Pickled Ginger - one of my favorite courses. Crispy, creamy sweetbreads, chewy mushroom "noodles", and the great little studs of ginger. I missed the banana-molasses a bit, but a winner none the less.
Scallops, Bone Marrow, Parsnip, Black Sesame - another favorite, though the grated frozen bone marrow was missing in flavor a bit. The sweet scallops were amazing along with the rich parsnip mousse and caramelized parsnips, and the crunchy black sesame nuggets added great texture.
Beef & Bearnaise - my absolute favorite (and apparently our server's too). A killer beef consumme, hot, rich, and just a tiny bit iron-y. Floating in it were three creamy balls of solid Bearnaise sauce topped with a julienne of crunchy snow peas. Worth coming back just for this exquisite masterpiece.
Squab Breast, Cheese Pumpkin, Corn Bread, Pickled Cranberries - this dish was pretty good, but not the best, especially when compared to the three homeruns that preceded it. The squab was nice, if a bit unmemorable. The cheese pumpkin was basically a pumpkin and cheese puree, which was very tasty but again not that memorable. The corn bread was very nice, with the pickled cranberries actually being folded inside the bread.
Buttermilk Ice Cream, Kumquat, Orange Blossom, Cumin - not the most memorable dish, but again it was still pretty tasty. I remember the ice cream and kumquat being really great, but not much else about the dish. I thought it was a bit of a miss to give us three desserts in a row that essentially consisted of 'canelle of ice cream, mousse-y thing, and unusual additional element'. I thought given the creativity and level of quality of the restaurant, an original cheese course should have substituted this dessert.
Grapefruit Curd, Campari, Hibiscus, Sorrel - this was a nice and refreshing course. Everything was very tasty together, with the herbaceous sorrel adding a pleasant touch.
Soft Chocolate, Beets, Long Pepper, Ricotta Ice Cream - here was the star of the desserts. The soft chocolate mousse was amazing - you did not get immediate flavor from the pepper and beets, but they did sneak up on you in a very fun and delicious way.
Cocoa Packets, Rice Krispy Treats - sheer fun. The packets were made of a leathery, unmelting chocolate that was somehow still tender and easy to chew. Inside hid a rich cocoa powder. Next to the packet sat a bon-bon sized ball of crushed rice krispy's, surrounding a cold ice cream. Delicious!
Overall I found the consistency of the dishes a bit lacking, with some standing out greatly and others falling a bit flat in comparison. Some of them were heavenly in flavor, others were downright bland. Some were inspiringly imaginative, others were rather straightforward. In the end I did enjoy the meal very much, and would love to come back using my previous experience to make some specific choices. More than anything, WD-50 is a restaurant worth a trip.
