I had the opportunity to dine at Laser Wolf in Philadelphia. Before I go into that, it’s hot in Philadelphia and I needed some kind of escape. The San Francisco Bay Area has many delicious restaurants and getting in isn’t as difficult as it is in other cities.
Laser Wolf’s reservation system starts at the beginning of the month and gets filled up quickly. I was glad to find some space on their calendar! Well, it was also one of the last seatings…around 9:15PM.
The restaurant atmosphere is very industrial and is located in the Northern Liberties area of Philadelphia. I noticed a few other industrial buildings in the area. I had big expectations in a restaurant that served Israeli food since I was in Haifa and Tel Aviv a year ago.
After stepping in, the staff greeted me, were very friendly, and quickly knew of my reservation. Once seated, the server went over the menu and how people normally order…somewhat family style. Family style because no matter what, you get their Salatim which is pita, hummus, and a plater of:
Kale Babagannush
Turkish Tomatoes
Cucumbers w/Harissa
Celery + Pineapple w/Schug
Musrooms w/Chard & Sour CHerry
Caggage w/Pickled Raisins & Amba
Picked Green Beans w/Eggplant
Persian Bean Salad
Zucchini w/Corn
Ajvar
I needed to spend more time with the menu. So we went with drinks first. For their signature cocktails, I had to get something with:
Salty Lion
Gin, Arak, Grapefruit, Mint, Salt
I can only describe this drink as what you would imagine a salty lion would taste like.
Ok, the food. Food, we ordered the Iraqi BBQ Short Ribs, Whole Branzino w/Tomatoes & Ginger, and Beets with Dukkah.
I think I was full after eating a lot of pita and hummus so the meal was delicious. The short ribs were extremely tender, the branzino was grilled perfectly, and the beets…you can’t really go wrong with beets. So I got another drink:
Highly Suspicious
Mezcal, Tequila, Yellow Chartreuse, Barberry, Lime
This drink…didn’t wow me as much as the Salty Lion but it hit the spot after devouring the meal.
Overall, I highly recommend Laser Wolf. If you’re going to Philadelphia…and knew a few weeks before going, make a reservation.
Would I eat there again? Absolutely. Oh, I forgot the interesting part…the staff…they are very knowledgable about the food however, their uniforms were Hawaiian shirts so I kept thinking I was at Trader Joes.
