How To Cook A Wolf - Dude Grade: A-
2208 Queen Anne Avenue North
Seattle, WA 98109-2312
Phone: (206) 838-8090
Visiting the in-laws out in Seattle and the one thing my father-in-law always wants to do is eat non-Chinese food since he eats it all the time. He was requesting some Italian food, which made me a little concerned since there's just so much crappy Italian restos out there. Hitting up my usual channels (tastingmenu.com, chow, yelp) and I zero in on this place and what a great decision. Highly highly recommended.
Our Menu
Octopus **
Avocado Puree, Pickled Radish, Cucumber
Incredibly delicious dish and great way to start the meal. This totally had the momofuku feel going on with bright flavors (pickled radish), great textures (creamy avocado, crunchy cucumbers), and the perfectly tender octopus.
Melon Salad **
Hot Coppa, Watercress, Walnut
Another perfect combo - the cantaloupe and watermelon were so ripe, delicious, and floral which was perfectly offset by the porky spicy salami, bitter watercress, and crunchy walnuts. Forget the classic melon and prosciutto combo, this is definitely the way to go from now on.
Heirloom Tomato **
Pine Nut, Soft Boiled Egg, Pecorino-Romano
I'm definitely a slut for anything with egg on it and this made so much sense. Great combo as usual and the salty pecorino just made everything pop so much more. The only thing holding the dish back from being a WTF dish for me was the heirlooms while super delicious, I wish it had a lil more tomato pop - needed a lil more ripening.
Chicken Liver Mousse **
Gooseberry, Crostini
Chicken liver mousse is so damn delicious and this was just perfect. Earthy, rich and awesome with the tart/sweet gooseberry.
Lobster Mushroom ***
Bacon, Green Bean, Fried Duck Egg
Another dish to fulfill my egg and bacon needs. Combo was awesome and the surprise was the perfectly cooked and uber flavorful green beans.
Potato Gnocchi **
Chanterelle, Corn, Parmigiano-Reggiano
We were disgustingly full at this point, so most dishes wouldn't have been that tasty but this some how ended up being pretty great. Gnocchi was so light, airy, and delicious - not that heavy doughy crap which most people serve. A great combo of flavors and uber delicious.
Squid Ink Spaghetti
Clams, Chiles, Basil
The only pass of the night for me. Not bad by any means, but this should be an easy home run. The pasta was cooked nicely, but it was too dry. Needed more clam juice/pasta water to give it that silkiness that it deserves. Clams were very sweet and tasty though.
Rating SystemOctopus **
Avocado Puree, Pickled Radish, Cucumber
Incredibly delicious dish and great way to start the meal. This totally had the momofuku feel going on with bright flavors (pickled radish), great textures (creamy avocado, crunchy cucumbers), and the perfectly tender octopus.
Melon Salad **
Hot Coppa, Watercress, Walnut
Another perfect combo - the cantaloupe and watermelon were so ripe, delicious, and floral which was perfectly offset by the porky spicy salami, bitter watercress, and crunchy walnuts. Forget the classic melon and prosciutto combo, this is definitely the way to go from now on.
Heirloom Tomato **
Pine Nut, Soft Boiled Egg, Pecorino-Romano
I'm definitely a slut for anything with egg on it and this made so much sense. Great combo as usual and the salty pecorino just made everything pop so much more. The only thing holding the dish back from being a WTF dish for me was the heirlooms while super delicious, I wish it had a lil more tomato pop - needed a lil more ripening.
Chicken Liver Mousse **
Gooseberry, Crostini
Chicken liver mousse is so damn delicious and this was just perfect. Earthy, rich and awesome with the tart/sweet gooseberry.
Lobster Mushroom ***
Bacon, Green Bean, Fried Duck Egg
Another dish to fulfill my egg and bacon needs. Combo was awesome and the surprise was the perfectly cooked and uber flavorful green beans.
Potato Gnocchi **
Chanterelle, Corn, Parmigiano-Reggiano
We were disgustingly full at this point, so most dishes wouldn't have been that tasty but this some how ended up being pretty great. Gnocchi was so light, airy, and delicious - not that heavy doughy crap which most people serve. A great combo of flavors and uber delicious.
Squid Ink Spaghetti
Clams, Chiles, Basil
The only pass of the night for me. Not bad by any means, but this should be an easy home run. The pasta was cooked nicely, but it was too dry. Needed more clam juice/pasta water to give it that silkiness that it deserves. Clams were very sweet and tasty though.
--- What the F - in a bad way | (no stars - poor to average) | * Good | ** Great | *** What the F – in a good way
Overall Restaurant Experience - Food (A-) – Food was so damn delicious with incredibly pretty plating - colors totally popped off the plate.
- Service (B-) – Server was very friendly, but the food took a little while to come out.
- Atmosphere (B+) – Relatively tiny place that seats maybe 50 or so. Hip place that's all brick wall or wood with a ceiling that's completely arched up. Place was packed with couples of all ages - young and old. Definitely dug the vibe here and pretty laid back atmosphere.
- Price (A) – $100 for all the above for 4 peeps. Plates are $8-15 which is 1000% worth it.
This place is so damn good that I wish we had an italian joint like this in NY. Definitely a momofuku vibe with the food, so maybe the Chang-er will want to do some Italian riff eventually. The father-in-law said he wants to go back the next time we're out there and I'll have to agree with him.
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