Philly Part 4: Laser Wolf

This is the continuing photo-essay of my trip to Philly to attend Lillie's graduation from medical school. The night before the event, the girls had chosen to have a family dinner at Laser Wolf, an Israeli restaurant that is much ballyhooed and supposed to be one of the best restaurants in the country. I was really looking forward to it ever since Lillie texted me a menu while I was on my layover in Phoenix. It is a classic Israeli skewer house in which you order your item off the grill and all the side dishes, salatim and pita, come with it.

We caught the train downtown and 15 minutes later after a three-minute walk, we were at the fun space that houses Laser Wolf on the outskirts of Fishtown. The name of the restaurant was lost on the kids, but certainly those of us of a certain age recognize it as a play on the name of the butcher in Fiddler on the Roof. It was already fairly busy when we arrived at 5:15 and would only get busier as we sat there.

The Girls Had Lemon Popsicle Drinks;
Too Sweet for Me

After getting our drinks, we put in an order for three different meats and roasted cauliflower, the idea being to share them all around the table. First out was a tray of salatim, nine salad-like side dishes surrounding a bowl of hummus. At the same time, one of the runners brought a tray of fresh and hot pita with another bowl of hummus.

All three of the girls loved the hummus, claiming it was the best they had ever had. For myself, I prefer more texture in my hummus; this was silky smooth and I know why people love it. I also wanted more lemon juice in it. But that's neither here nor there: the hummus was excellent and the pita were above reproach.

The salatim pleased me less well. Pieces of a sugar snap condiment were inedible in it because the prep cook did not remove the strings and tough ends from the peas. Many were lacking in flavor and that kept them from being outstanding. Not mincing words, I'm going to call their harissa boring. On the plus side, the mixed pickles were great and the baba ganoush (claimed Lillie, "I don't like eggplant") was hands down the best item on the table, exceptional in execution and flavor.

The Salatim and Hummus

First Rate Pita

As a table, we were taking it easy on wolfing down the condiments before the meat arrived at the table, but that was hard given that our main courses were nearly an hour arriving. I could not tell what the issue was, but it was not limited to our table: there was some stall in the kitchen, be it a problem with the POS, a staffing issue, an equipment malfunction, or whatever. The delay was certainly abnormal and I noticed our server, who was great, brought orders of French fries to all her tables, a gesture that we appreciated. And no worries about whatever problem there was in the kitchen. I know firsthand that there are always problems in a busy restaurant.

Very Good French Fries

But now on to the "meat" of our dinner, if you will. At long last, our grill items came out and I have to say that they were extremely disappointing in flavor, in execution, in portion size, and in pricing.

Lamb & Beef Koobideh, Bulgarian Beef Kebab, BBQ Shortrib Shishlik

Awesome Looking Shawarma-Spiced Cauliflower

The two ground meat kabobs were pretty well overcooked and lacking flavor. I used to eat at a lot of kabob houses near Dulles Airport in DC and their kabobs were packed with flavor. I couldn't actually tell that the koobideh contained lamb. The short ribs were great, but we got a 4-ounce portion for $45 that was barely big enough to share. I really expected the cauliflower to taste as good as it looked, but it was undercooked a bit, a little more al dente than it should have been.

I've got to say that I like the concept, but for the Brooklyn-level prices, I expected the execution to be spot on. I did not expect strings in the sugar snaps, nearly flavorless and overcooked kabobs, or even undercooked cauliflower. I'm not even counting the delay in getting our food in the assessment; problems happen to every restaurant and it was probably only a one-time issue.

Despite the issues with our dinner, we had a good time catching up. After dinner, we trained back to Center City and after dropping everyone off at their respective resting places, I headed back to my hotel, dog-tired and looking for some sleep which would not come. But that is a story for my next post.