NYC's new comfort food

Cornbread Pudding | wd-50

By the time the dessert course arrives at Wylie Dufresne's wd-50, you'll have figured out that what you see on the menu is not what you should expect to arrive on the plate. In Dufresne's innovative world of culinary science, where ingredients turn up in new and wholly unexpected forms, predictions and protocol fly out the window. Pastry chef Alex Stupak's cornbread pudding is an inspired example of this kind of culinary madcap genius. Lemongrass crème anglaise and prune foam make an odd pair, but the cozy familiarity of bread pudding—and cornbread in general—will beckon your curiosity.

The lowdown: Given what bread pudding usually looks like, this dessert's likely to induce more than a few "wows." At first glance, it looks more like a pasta or dumpling than anything redolent of bread. That's because Stupak drapes the rich and spongy goodness under a crispy tuile made from freeze-dried sweet corn. Honey-soaked prunes and a scattering of corn kernels adorn the plate to complete this unlikely and spectacular equation.

wd-50
50 Clinton St. between Stanton and Rivington Sts.
212-477-2900