Top: Feta linguine. Bottom: Chef Andrés’
raspberries, not to be confused with the
grapes he used to create Deconstructed Glass
of White Wine, which he concocted for the
legendary wine critic Robert Parker.
plastic, or a centrifuge to create a sphere
out of juice.
The chemistry behind Cheetos might
wind up next to your foie gras in the shape
of dehydrated peas. A technology used for
commercially packaging food—sous vide,
or cooking in that vacuum-sealed bag—
could be used to prepare your duck breast.
The science behind liquid nitrogen might
chill your ice cream very, very quickly.
These chefs are also willing to take
food apart. One of Andrés’ signature
dishes is Deconstructed Glass of White
Wine, grape juice touched with gelatin
and spread along a plate, topped with
morsels of flavors you might taste if you
were drinking it in a glass, like apple,
mint and grapefruit. Andrés created
the dish for wine critic Robert Parker,
inspired by the language Parker uses to
describe white wine.
And at wd~ 50, each element of the
pickled beef tongue dish, served with
tomato molasses and fried mayonnaise
(yes, fried: in cubes) arrives separated on
a single, gleaming white plate. But when
you put a mouthful together on your fork,
it tastes like a terrific hamburger.
Wd~ 50 is “a research-driven restaurant,”
Dufresne says. “Cooking is a science—
biology and physics, but mostly chemistry. We’re trying to understand the idea
behind the chemistry of cooking.”
