[ QUOTE ]
WD-50 in New York.
Wylie Dufresne's restaurant.
[/ QUOTE ]
I recently went to Tailor with my girlfriend. The chef is Sam Mason, former pastry chef at wd~50. Here's my review:
---
This is one of the best atmospheres in which I've ever eaten. The design theme is that of an old tailor's shop, with a little leather cutout in the middle of the table and lots of charcoals and browns, but there's still a strong modern feel. The servers wear gray flannel looking things and brown striped shirts. The design works really well; it's comfortable and stylish. The dining room is reasonably quiet, which I like because I want to feel relaxed, but there's enough music (I remember hearing Talib Kweli, Beatles, and Cranberries) and activity to keep it from feeling dead.
The service is outstanding. Our waitress was very knowledgeable and helpful with recommendations, they tried to find out the name of a song I liked, they folded our napkins for us while we were away from the table, they were quick to refill water and replace silver without just hovering around. The bill came with a clothespin on it which you could use to clip your card in, which was a cute touch. Very professional without being stuffy. Food presentation is also excellent.
Tailor is a small plates place. The menu has one side labeled "salty" and one labeled "sweet," each with about six dishes, and you can order any combination you want. Girlfriend and I planned to share six plates total, four salty and two sweet, and they decided the order in which we'd receive pairs of plates for three courses. Tailor also has about twelve specialty cocktails and some house-made liquor infusions.
Prices are around $15 per plate and $15 per cocktail. They offer a seven-course tasting menu for $85 or $120 with wine pairings.
Now, the meal itself:
<u>Bread</u>
Walnut raisin: Good, standard.
Green olive: Buttery olives and the right texture made this one stand out.
<u>Complimentary amuse-bouche</u>
Fig with bay leaf and pine nut foam: Like eating air if air were bursting with flavor. Very nice sweet fig with a little nuttiness from the foam.
<u>First course</u>
Foie gras terrine, cocoa dust, peanut soil, pear paper: Tastes a lot like a Reese's peanut butter cup with the nice texture of foie gras. Interesting, impressively original, and good, but not earth-shattering. You mostly taste the chocolate and peanut butter, so I felt like the foie gras wasn't as noticeable as I wanted.
Duck tartare, marjoram pesto, cashew, chocolate tuile: Where else am I gonna get duck tartare? Gamey and tasty, but again, not brilliant. Marjoram pesto very good and created interesting flavors. Crumbly texture. I keep thinking about it a few days later though, so maybe it's secretly hypnotic.
<u>Second course</u>
Passionfruit-poached arctic char, mushrooms, spaetzle, coconut shavings: Astonishing. Girlfriend thinks this may be the best thing she's ever eaten. Fish cooked perfectly, sauce wonderful, tiny mushrooms add just a little something extra that really works, coconut adds a little crunch.
Pork belly, butterscotch miso sauce, green apple sticks: Ungodly great. Pork was the perfect texture and saltiness, and the butterscotch adds the right amount of sweetness to it. I had to force myself to slow down and really make sure I was tasting the food rather than just shoveling it in. Girlfriend said it was vaguely reminiscent of bacon and maple syrup, which excited our waitress. It reminded me of sugar-cured bacon if bacon weren't as crunchy but was on another plane of tastiness. And bacon is my favorite food, so it's hard for me to see how it could be improved upon, but man.
<u>Third course</u>
Black olive cake, blueberry reduction, yogurt sorbet and foam: Tasty, especially the blueberries. The yogurt sorbet was a great texture but not very flavorful. The blueberries were amazing. Cake was good with a nice texture and balanced flavor. It didn't taste much like olives to me, but maybe it's not supposed to be strong.
Roasted banana, mustard ice cream, brown butter rum, crispy thin lengthwise slice of banana: Mustard ice cream?! Love it--the mustard was fairly subtle with just enough bite. I'm not usually a huge banana fan but this was probably my third favorite dish. The banana and mustard was an unusual and delicious combination. Girlfriend points out that bananas are "earthy" even though no one ever says that, which may be why they work well with mustard. And again we have something to add crunchiness.
<u>Complimentary dessert</u>
Red bell pepper petits four: A little sugar coated gelatinous cube. "Zantar is a gelatinous cube that eats warriors in a village." --Noah Vanderhoff,
Wayne's World Much softer texture than a gumdrop. Tasty and interesting. I think this is a common ending to a meal at wd~50 as well.
<u>Drinks with meal</u>
Chanterais (walnut cognac, dandelion Cointreau, lemon juice): I like cognac, and I loved this. The walnut was subtle but noticeable if you're looking for it. It has some bite to it with the lemon; Girlfriend thought it was too much. Knowing cognac reasonably well probably made me appreciate this a little more.
The Waylon (100 proof bourbon, smoked cola syrup): Liked it even though I don't usually like bourbon. The smoked syrup really took the edge off the alcohol without being overwhelming.
Blood and sand (scotch, sweet vermouth, bitter orange sorbet, redbach beer): Girlfriend's favorite. I don't remember this one terribly well but it was good. Don't like "blood" as part of a food or drink name.
Agua verde (tequila, tomatillo, cilantro, habanero): Very spicy! I liked it a lot because I like hot stuff.
<u>Drinks at downstairs bar afterward</u>
Bazooka (vodka, bubble gum cordial, house sour): It's supposed to taste like Bazooka gum, and it really did! You have to taste this just for the novelty. Not a lot of sourness, but still would have liked less--I wanted for this to be pure sweetness.
Antoine's sazerac (cognac, peychaud bitters, absinthe): Very alcoholic, but still good. Tastes more like sour mix than I thought it would, and not bitter. Also, I thought absinthe was illegal so I assume this is some substitute, but that's fine.
<u>
Summary</u>
This was one of the few truly great dining experiences of my life. The meal was excellent, except for the second course, which was blisteringly, indescribably awesome. The service and the environment were absolutely top-notch. The company was great as well. [img]/images/graemlins/smile.gif[/img]
I highly recommend Tailor for delicious, innovative food as well as excellent service and atmosphere.