Victor / Victoria

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Nothing is what it appears to be

Not to be confused with the lubricant that carries a similar name, WD 50 is a non-descript restaurant in a non-descript neighborhood that pushes out cutting edge cuisine from the kitchen of the hugely talented but slightly off-beat Wylie Dufresne.

We were slightly surprised when we walked into the restaurant. With its reputation, we were expecting a more stolid formal atmosphere, yet we were greeted by a causal relaxed setting with tables set closer together like your typical neighborhood byob. Our worry over interpreting the “casual” dress code on its website proved to be futile. While wearing jeans or without a jacket may raise some eyebrows in some restaurants, one would feel right at home in this dining room. This casualness and the close table setup played a big part in our dining experience later on that night.

Armed with a twin pack of Benadryl, the Tourist Tree and I chose the 12 course tasting menu with wine parings. This would be the best way for us to experience the variety of offerings from this skillful kitchen with this unique opportunity, even if we had to forgo some of the equally fascinating items on the regular menu.

A box of flatbread arrived at the table as we were waiting for the first course. The flat bread was so wafer thin that it was almost see through. The sesame on the bread gave it a strong but very unique characteristic.

Cobia, Avocado, Black Bean, Grapefruit-Horseradish

Prosecco di Conegliano “Castello San Salvatore” Collalto NV. Veneto, Italy

Our culinary adventure started with several fresh pieces of cobia sprinkled with grapefruit horseradish dressing. Although mild tasting, this smooth meat hit right on target with a major punch of umami. It was accented by black beans which were slightly dried and firm in texture with a salty dirty taste. It reminded me of the Chinese salted black beans that are used in Asian cooking. The avocado paste smoothed out the edginess of the black beans and brought together all the flavors in the dish nicely.

 

The dry prosecco had a very light subtle feel. It was a very nice wine to start the evening and paired very well with the cobia without overwhelming its delicate flavor.

 

 

Everything Bagel, Smoked Salmon Threads, Crispy Cream Cheese

Prosecco di Conegliano “Castello San Salvatore” Collalto NV. Veneto, Italy

A non-traditional play on the traditional bagel and lox. There was no gluten in this bagel. It was made with ice cream with sesame and poppy seeds on top! The salmon was a dried mound of threads. It was very strange to have that in the mouth until the saliva rehydrated it to release a power punch of salmon flavor like the fish was swimming robustly upstream jumping in and out of the water. The cream cheese was the little piece of crispiness on the side. Each individual component had a unique taste that characterized the intended element of a bagel and lox. Eating them together did indeed give me the flavor if not the textural experience of eating the real thing.
 
 

Hamachi, Asparagus, Saffron, Smoked Macadamia Nuts
Prosecco di Conegliano “Castello San Salvatore” Collalto NV. Veneto, Italy

Despite Tourist Tree’s mild insistence on staying true to the tasting menu items, the kitchen played it safe by preparing her a dish from the regular menu that would agree with her allergies. This actually allowed us an opportunity to taste more dishes! The hamachi was everything it should be; fresh, tender, tasty, and moist. Everything in the dish was nicely balanced with the sourness from the meat and the sweetness of the asparagus.
 
The prosecco was also paired with the second courses with our glasses promptly refilled several times. It may seem odd to have this with the ice cream bagel but everything worked out quite well when you have an open mind.
 
 

Foie Gras, Passionfruit, Chinese Celery

Riesling Kabinett “Mussbach” Mûller-Catoir 2009. Pfalz, Germany

Just from the look, this is a simple foie gras touchon with some shredded celery stuck on top. You have been fooled.



 
 
 
   

We were instructed to cut the foie gras in half before digging into the dish. By doing so, we were surprised by the passion fruit that was well hidden in the middle. This passion fruit was fruity, sweet, citrussy, full of exotic flavors, and…not in a solid form. I do not know how many nights Chef Dufresne spent experimenting with this liquidly passion fruit concoction. Its consistency was perfect! It was not runny, sticky, nor solid. It did not drain out like a broken egg yoke when cut but remained consistent staying in the foie gras shell. The citrus had a hit-you- in-the-face punch but it was also just right as a counter-balance to the silky smooth textural and heavier taste of the foie gras.

 

 

The green granular particles on the bottom were celery salt. Not your typical kitchen celery salt made of salt and celery flavoring. This was dehydrated rendered celery with a few grains of salt thrown in. I rather enjoyed my virgin experience pairing the exotic flavor of the passion fruit to a foie gras dish. The pungent citrus flavor and the celery salt definitely brought this creation into a whole new universe. The ingenuity of this dish completely overwhelmed not just the Tourist Tree and I, but everybody else having the same plate around us.

 
The Mûller-Catoir Riesling was not a very sweet Riesling. However, this lack of sweetness was in good harmonization with the citrus and the acidity in the passion fruit.
 

Poached Egg and the Shell, Caesar Dressing, Pumpernickel, Lily Bulb

Chardonnay Lioco 2009. Sonoma, California

“Everything on the plate is eatable,” the server told us. We looked at each other, looked at the egg shell, looked at each other again. With a leap of faith, we smashed into the egg and let the yoke go wild. The egg with the Caesar dressing was odd but tasted quite good together (granted there is coddled egg yoke in the original Caesar dressing recipe). The shell has the texture of an actual egg shell. Like a real shell, it did not have much taste but it was made of lavender powder and edible clay. Very interesting!

We liked the Chardonnay. It was light and without the typical heavy oaky taste characteristic of California chardonnays.

King Oyster “Udon” Sweetbreads, Banana-Molasses, Pickled Ginger

Côtes de Provence Rosé “L’Alycastre” La Courtade 2010. Provence, France

I thought the udon was made with the king oyster; like using flour, egg, and some peculation of a king oyster. It indeed was made with king oyster, but with no usual ingredients found in the making of pasta. The “udon” was made with actual oyster cut/shaved into the shape of the noodle! Strangely, it also have the texture and taste of the udon, al dente. Mingling within the “noodles” were wonderfully prepared sweetbreads sweetened with banana molasses and banana crisps dusted with ginger powder. These two ingredients brought out a very nice flavor and textural enhancements to the dish. To top it off, the broth at the bottom had flavor so deep that it was umami in liquid form.  Everything in this dish; flavor, texture, etc. was awesome!  I only wish there had been more broth so I could do shots with it….

The rosé was fruity, funky, and light. It matched up so well with this dish both in taste and character. Definitely, nothing like your average Reunite.

Scallops, Bone Marrow, Parsnip, Black Sesame

Pinot Noir “Block 7” Old Parcel 2009. Oregon

The scallop was prepared wonderfully with a tamarind sauce as the accent. What appeared to be dusting of shaved parmesan on top were in fact shaved parsnips. These were just a few of the many layers of depth experienced with the flavors in this dish. The parsnips had a very slight sour note. I couldn’t tell if they were marinated or pickled but this touch of sourness counterbalanced the heaver sauce and the bone marrow nicely.

Unlike the more traditional Old World pinots, this Old Parcel “Block 7” from Oregon exhibited lots of lightness and was very easy to drink.

Beef and Béarnaise

Shiraz-Viognier Keith Tullock 2004. Hunter Valley, Australia

This is when Anthony Bourdain would say, “The chef is really fucking with my brain.” I was looking for the beef without knowing that the “beef” was actually the broth while the Béarnaise was the solid in the dish. This solid form of the sauce was made with sour bread crumbs and everything that normally goes into a Béarnaise. This dish was garnished with thinly cut green peapods that were actually…green peapods! So we have the protein and a sauce, the starch and the vegetable on a plate, in an abstract kind of way. Talk about being Victor / Victoria.

Shrimp Spaghetti, Tomato, Basil, Garlic

Shiraz-Viognier Keith Tullock 2004. Hunter Valley, Australia

To keep the Tourist Tree out of the ER, the chef sent this dish which according to our dining neighbor next to us was the most popular dish at the restaurant. There were no actual pieces of shrimp or spaghetti on the plate. This “spaghetti” was made out of shrimp. It was light and cooked perfectly just like any al dente pasta but without the worry of a gluten attack. The marinara sauce was more traditional with lots of tomato chunks fragranced with basil and garlic.

Squab Breast, Cheese Pumpkin, Corn Bread, Pickled Cranberries

Shiraz-Viognier Keith Tullock 2004. Hunter Valley, Australia

I have tried but couldn’t find a more suitable word to describe the texture of the squab breast other than “smooth”. Maybe tranquil or unruffled? But that would be more on the state of mind after tasting the meat than a textural description of such. The breast (middle piece in the picture) was prepared in such a way that it resembled a more gamey tasting version of a steak tartar in consistency and taste instead of a piece of perfectly medium-rare prepared meat.

Guarding the breast on both sides were a mini hockey puck size corn bread with the pickled baked cranberries inside and Chinese broccoli on the other end, with corn sauce as an accent on the plate.

Australia has been making phenomenal shiraz with its unique variety of the Rhone Valley grape. This wine was lighter in taste but it was well suited to the variety of dishes that had been paired for us.

Buttermilk Ice Cream, Kumquat, Orange Blossom, Cumin

A simple yet complicated dish. The buttermilk ice cream was accompanied by small candied kumquat pieces. The orange blossom had been turned into foam and served as the pillow for the ice cream cushioning the pool of vinegar toffee sauce sitting below.

Licorice Custard, Sake Sorbet, Bartlett Pear

(Dopy us forgot to take a picture of this)

Instead of the buttermilk ice cream, the kitchen brought out this Tourist Tree safe version of cold treat.  Tree does not like licorice but the custard was to her liking since it captured the essence of the licorice without overwhelming it with the flavor that she didn’t like. The sake sorbet was also nicely done with a very low-key sweetness personality on the sorbet side which allowed the essence of the sake to shine through.

Grapefruit Curd, Campari, Hibiscus, Sorrel

Late Harvest Riesling “White Bluffs” Claar Cellars 2008. Columbia Valley, Washington

This dish took us into eating garden plants, in alternative forms. We did not know what sorrel was and had to Wikipedia it later. It was the main flavor ingredient in the sorbet (green scoop in the picture). The hibiscus was magically made into the crunchy aggregate lumps (reddish-brown in the picture) while the grapefruit was transformed into the yellow curd. There were also a few pieces of the grapefruit left au natural after being treated with Campari. Each component was very distinct both in flavor, texture, and form.

We thought the late harvest Riesling would be sweet, but the lighter characteristic of this wine had just enough sweetness to complement the dessert without overpowering the delicate flavors of its garden fragrances.

Soft Chocolate, Beets, Long Pepper, Ricotta Ice Cream

Rosé Brut ‘Ventuno” Grimaldi 2008. Piedmont, Italy

This Picasso-gone-wild dessert had frozen beets, shortbread, meringue, ricotta ice cream, and chocolate. I couldn’t quite figure out if the long pepper was a distinct component on the plate or if it was combined with another ingredient. The plate looked busy and was confusing at first. As with the other dishes we had enjoyed, each element was distinctive in taste but with new discoveries when combined with another component. I limited my experiment with just two elements at a time and was rewarded with surprises and new sensation with every trial. Mixing everything together would just be like eating the melted soup at the bottom of an ice cream sundae bowl.

Soft Meringue, Passionfruit, Banana, Star Anise  

Rosé Brut ‘Ventuno” Grimaldi 2008. Piedmont, Italy

 

The Tourist Tree got her own version of a tamer and allergy-safe dessert. I love passion fruit, and I loved how this was done with the meringue. Soft, fruity, airy, light and satisfying yet not filling or overkill.  Unfortunately, after many dishes and wines, she had no recollection of this dish except it was very good.

Instead of a heavier dessert wine, we were served a dry rosé sparkling wine from the Piedmont region. Although full from all the dishes, we ended this meal with a refreshing feeling from the sparkling wine, which also happened to have done a very good job in balancing the strong flavors of the chocolate dish and accented nicely with the fruitiness of Tree’s meringue dessert.

Cocoa Packets. Rice Krispy Treats

The cocoa packets reminded me of those packets of mints sitting in a bowl by the door of those old fashion restaurants your grandparents love to go. In this considerably more modern restaurant, the packets were filled with cocoa powder and, of course, the soft pliable wrapper itself was edible. The Rice Krispy balls were delightful without the over-sweetened treatment usually found with this type of dessert, however they were pale in comparison after I had popped the cocoa packet in my mouth. A sense of euphoria overcame me when the wrapper melted away and then delivered me a nice cocoa shock. Any chocolate lover would have left this restaurant on a high!

Dining at WD-50 was really nothing as it appeared to be. We anticipated walking into an uppity formal restaurant. Instead, we were greeted by a casual relaxed atmosphere but with impeccable prompt and attentive service by knowledgeable and very informative staff. There were no linens on the table but silverware was reset promptly and properly after each course. Timing is critical in a multi-course long meal. From our table, we caught glimpses of the expediter standing at front of the semi-open kitchen watching the dining room like a hawk with the manager circulating the room continuously. They have a system worked out even better than some 5-Star restaurants.

Without needing any further elaboration, the food was phenomenal! The creativity and the execution were extraordinary. It was an exercise for all five senses plus the mind particularly when what you see, feel or taste may not necessary match.  Nothing was what it appeared to be.

We felt a bit uncomfortable when we first sat down. I, who like a lot of personal space felt too claustrophobic to enjoy a highly anticipated expensive dinner with the tables set so close. However, on this particular night, with the couple to our left celebrating his birthday; the man to our right who was in town for a conference; and the couple next to him who was from Los Angeles; we all became friends. With everybody doing the tasting, we spent our night ogling each other’s food and sharing our experiences. Our closely set four tables became one large communal table with each of us getting more than just his share of dinner but an experience of a shared meal with people of a similar interest, sense of adventure and appreciation of a cutting edge art form. Our meal would have been just as wonderful between us but it was spectacular with our new friends.

www.wd-50.com

Nice Pair

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Rick Nichols, our beloved hometown food columnist, called this the  “No. 1” fried chicken in Philly. 

When the plate landed on my table at Adsum Restaurant, I was staring at [what I thought was] a huge asymmetric pair of well endowed breasts sitting on a mount of collard greens, guarded by a piece of corn bread sitting in the corner.

The aroma was intoxicating. The first bite into the chicken was rewarded with an orgasmic reward of a super crunchy thick crust followed by the deliciousness of the white meat. For what I thought was another piece of breast was indeed a piece of tight meat. The extra thick super crunchy coating on the pieces had me mistaken them as the same variety. According to Mr. Nichols, the scientific–centric Chef Levin first cooked the chicken pieces sous vide; 16 hours for the breast, 24 for the thigh; before frying them with his special blend of coating for that extra crispiness. While this Lancaster County chicken was delicious and sweet, I did think that the breast meat could have a bit more moisture. The thigh on the other hand was just perfectly moist, tender, and addicting with each bite of the meat accompanied by the crackle of the crust.

The mound of collard greens hidden underneath the meat was excellent. It was not bitter but instead had a slight honey and spicy trace, with a nice textural integrity. The cornbread sitting on the side had nice touches of sweetness and corn essence. It was not greasy but very nicely crumbly. Like pulling a brick at the bottom of a pile, the bread fell into piles of crumbles when I tried to pull a small piece out. It tasted good but was a mess to eat. The hot sauce drizzled on the plate had clues of Sriracha, mustard and vinegar. It was a perfect condiment to the golden color crust, the deep green collard greens, and a perfect antidote to the sweetness of the cornbread. A simple addition of this extra flavor opened up the dish to a whole different dimension.

The chicken was definitely the star of the dish. However, the supporting cast of the collards, the bread, and the hot sauce also played a big role in making this a successful $18.00 production. While I would not dispute Mr. Nichols’ claim of this chicken’s superiority, I do have to admit there are others in this city also worthy of the same claim.

Side note: The Name ‘Unholy Water” on the drink menu caught my fascination. While this cocktail of blanco tequila, smoked blackberry balsamic syrup, fresh lemon, house made ginger beer, and mescal was delightful and refreshing; I’d stay with a beer for my next fried chicken meal.

www.adsumrestaurant.com

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Going Greek on Mardi Gras

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For many years, I stared at an abandoned store space when I walked out of my parking lot everyday. Then rumors emerged that a Greek restaurant was going in…I still stared at the empty space everyday. Many months later, construction permits appeared but nothing was happening. Many more months later, a plywood wall went up outside the space but nobody knew what was going on, not even my friends who own the bars on either side of the space. It was like watching a movie on pause but advancing it one frame at a time.

Then one day suddenly, it opened for business.

Looking for a place for dinner on Mardi Gras, we decided to celebrate the day our way, by doing Greek.

Opa is a beautiful restaurant dominated by its bar in the center of the dining room. One side of the exposed wall is accented with a full length metal and stained glass trellis of circles that extends up to the ceiling and transforms into a wood overhang overlooking the dining room.

Antho

Feeling like something different, we started with this $10 cocktail made with cucumber vodka, lemon, and dill. The Antho was refreshingly and sour with a good dose of dill flavor. It certainly stood out from the usual sweeter and fruiter cocktails favored by the popular demands.

Grilled Octopus

The octopus was absolutely tender (supposedly braised for 4 hours) with a nice hint of grill flavor. There were some crispiness on certain pieces but unfortunately it was overshadowed by a slight heavy hand of salting. The chickpea fondue was done without any dairy product. It resembled very much like a dryer but tasty version of chickpea and tomato stew. The sauce on the plate was supposed to be chili oil but somehow we couldn’t detect any spice from the oil. $12

Kokorestsi

Not sure if this was done in the traditional way of roasting over a pit. This $10 plate of lamb sweetbreads, liver, and heart arrived in the form of a nicely packed ball with pieces of intestine on top. The sweetbread was a bit elastic however the flavor was excellent. Being a muscle, the heart was very tender and could have passed for being a piece of veal. The intestines on top supposedly bind everything together; they were flavorful but chewy. Taken as a whole, this was a very interesting and flavorful dish with each component having its unique texture and flavor. There was a lot of grizzle in the sweetbread which the kitchen should have taken better care in the preparation.  I though the fries were an odd complement for the kokoretsi but their crispiness and seasoning did a good job in cutting the heaviness of the dish.

Toourlou

A savory dish of stewed zucchini, greens, gigante beans, okra with a poached egg on top.  This is a vegetarian’s delight at $11. The vegetables were delightfully prepared with the right crispiness and yet allowing its flavor to come thought. And…everything tastes so much better with a runny egg on top.

Rabbit

The meat was braised in wine, then shredded and mixed with the house-made pasta, olives, capers, carrot and topped with keafalotiri cheese shaving. This was a very satisfying comfort food dish with a well balance of flavors. The meat was absolutely tender. It tangoed so well with the delicately soft pasta and the sauce that it made me forget the pasta was more done than I prefer. When I placed the order, I was wondering how much meat I would get for this $16 dish. I found my answer as I kept digging into the dish and rewarded with fork full after fork full of meat. I definitely had gotten my USDA recommended dose of daily of protein.

Baklava

For $8.00, you do get a large piece of layered phyllo with chopped walnuts, honey and spices folded inside. It did not have that hit-you-in-the-face sweetness, the walnuts still had a nice snap to the bite and the filling was not gooey. There were some nice pieces of fig in the fig ice cream on the side. It was very nice on its own as well as quite delightful as a pairing with the baklava. Although neither the baklava nor the ice cream was over the top sweet, there was sufficient sugariness in the dish to stop me from finishing the dessert without going into a diabetic coma.

Greek coffee

That was one of the more interesting serving vessels we have seen for Greek coffee. Unfortunately, the coffee was not as interesting as the vessel it was served in. It lacked the intensity that we were expecting and it also wasn’t the most flavorful rendition, but the serving vessel was worth the price of the admission.

Opa is a beautifully built restaurant with intricate finishing touches. The service was attentive with our waitress kept checking up on us and our water glasses were never less than half-filled. It was also a very slow night. As any newly opened restaurants, the kitchen has its ups and downs. The food was well thought out with its execution almost there. There was grizzle in sweetbread and tiny bones in the rabbit meat that could be easily taken care of with a little more attention paid to the prep processes. We have subsequently returned to Opa and enjoyed a few cocktails at the bar while watching “beautiful”

Samson Street

and the cars going in and out of my garage across the street through the huge opened windows on a Spring night. An interesting conversation with the bartender over beer led to his creation of an interestingly made beer cocktail for us with Victory Prima, vodka, and a Greek liquor with a name that I couldn’t pronounce.

The Urban Dictionary defines “opa” as “A word that Greek people use for no apparent reason at all” but I find it plenty of reasons to visit this place.

Opa!

http://opaphiladelphia.com/

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