Wylie Dufresne is Giving WD-50 a Food Lift

Wylie Dufresne is one of the city's great chefs.  His restaurant WD-50 on the Lower East Side is an atelier for his truly unique, gifted set of culinary ideals.

An article published in The Times yesterday reveals that, "Starting on May 10, every item on the restaurant’s current menu will, as if subjected to a chemistry experiment, evaporate."

There will be an a la carte option available only at the bar.  In the dining room, there will be the option of two tasting menus.  For $75, you can work your way through what Wylie is calling the "From the Vault" menu, which offers past dishes made famous in the nine years WD-50 has operated.  The other choice will be the $155, 12-course menu, featuring entirely new dishes.

"Mr. Dufresne is an intrinsically American pioneer, so it makes sense that, in the language of the menu, many of the new creations sound like stolid heartland fare (crab cakes, brisket, root-beer ribs, fried green tomatoes, Key lime pie, even what you might describe as an elevated twist on a TV dinner). On the plate, though, they psychedelically thwart what your eyes, teeth and taste buds expect."

“I want people to think,” he said. “And it has to be delicious, too. Let’s not forget that.”

Wylie Dufresne's whimsical, experimental approach to life is further explored in this article explaining the bathroom situation at WD-50.