BIRTHDAY BASH!

In honor of Meena's move to the other side of the twenties, we thought we'd give her a 26th to remember and try a restaurant we'd always wanted to check out - the LES foodie jewel, wd-50.

Wylie Dufresne runs the show at this one and it was nice to see he's not the rock star he could be. He was in the trenches with the rest of them in what looked to be one of the most impressive kitchens in NY.

After doing it, we realized the tasting menu is without a doubt the way to go there. He really puts his best foot forward with that lineup. But with the $115/per price tag he throws on it, it's rough for a couple working in the magazine business. So we ordered off the menu ... but were in no way disappointed by what we selected.

Meena had:
- smoked eel, blood orange zest, black radish, chicken skin (starter)
- scallops, zucchini, hazelnut-olive, smoked grape broth

Alec had:
- hangar tartare, pickled Asian pear, amaro, bearnaise ice cream (starter)
- duck breast, smoked hen o’ the woods, snow peas, rhubarb

And for a very lovely dessert, we had:
- fried butterscotch pudding, mango, taro, smoked macadamia

I mean, that dessert was insanity. I'm not sure why we even ordered it, but I'm glad we did. It was fantastic.

I left feeling quite well. We had a wonderful bottle of syrah that was rich and smooth. I had an amazing starter (Meena's was OK). My duck was fantastic and Meena had some wonderful scallops. The atmosphere was great, the service was top notch ... it was a great place for a birthday.

I think if we ever go back, we'll save up and get the tasting menu. It's insane ... but probably worth every penny.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY MEENA!