How to Cook a Wolf

With a catchy name like that, how can anyone resist! Though one can’t help but wonder if the food is any good or is it just the cool name behind all this hype! You have to admit that the name does carry a certain irresistibility factor, which might be one reason behind the unbelievable difficulty in scoring a table at this latest hot spot in town.

How to Cook a Wolf is the title of a book by M.F.K. Fisher; a famous 20th-century American food writer. I haven’t read the book to figure out if the owner of this restaurant Ethan Stowell (of Tavalota and Union) – obviously a fan – was just going for a catchy name or there really is some significance to it, but the name got us into the restaurant for sure!

Siv and I had to try three times before finally securing seats at the bar last Friday night. On the way back from work, we stopped by the place and put our names down in the list for seats at the bar which were going to be opening up in another 90 minutes or so. Then we went home and changed and relaxed a bit before driving back over there, by when we got the call saying that someone is paying their bills and our spot will be ready in 5-10 minutes. It is a great system that they take your cell phone number along with your name, so that you can hang out at a neighborhood bar or cafe, or even go home if you live close enough.

We had to wait a while before our seats opened up at the bar, since the three ladies who paid their bill decided to stay back in their seats and chat for another hour, when there were so many people waiting for the coveted seats! I think it speaks volumes about how much value they place on customer service that they didn’t kick these women out. The staff started giving them dirty looks after a while though, but these three were completely oblivious to everything around them. We were served wine and olives in the narrow alley between the kitchen and the front door which acts as the waiting area and we got to watch all the action in the open kitchen, so it wasn’t all that bad waiting. About 20 minutes into the waiting period, another couple left the bar and we got seated at the bar, again with a good view of the open kitchen.

The menu is very small, with a bunch of Italian influenced small plates and five different pastas. We started with a Beef Carpaccio with Reggiano, olive oil and salted capers ($13). This was a fantastic start to the evening,  The saltiness of the capers and the cheese was the perfect accompaniment to the tender and flavorful beef. The soft and hard textures of the beef and Reggiano nicely complemented each other. We couldn’t get enough of it.

Then came the best dish of the night. Whole Roasted Sardines with Lentils, shallots and aged sherry vinaigrette. ($14). I saw the tray full of fresh sardines seasoned with salt going into the oven when we were waiting for the table, and that was an irresistible sight. I grew up in a state where sardines were the most common fish available, so I am totally partial to it. Siv on the other hand is not a fan, but the look of these fresh sardines tempted him as well. We had to wait for a long time for this, but it was totally worth the wait! The fish was so fresh, and roasted crispy, we even ate the head. It was paired well with the lentils. I had never had fresh sardines here, so I even got the name of their seafood supplier, I might just have to order some wholesale, these were so good! We wanted to have another order so bad, but by then we had ordered two more dishes, so we resisted the urge.

While waiting for the roasted sardines, we ordered the Seared Sea Scallops with white bean and Porcini puree and arugula salad. ($14). Perfectly seared scallops with the slightly sweet bean puree tasted great, but you can get the same in any other good restaurant in Seattle. Next time we will try one of the more unfamiliar items from the menu.

To finish off the meal, we ordered the Fettuccine with bacon, onion and hen egg.  ($15). The subtle flavors of the pasta with an occasional bite of the chunky bacon pieces rounded up this wonderful dinner.

This is going into our favorite Seattle eateries list, we sure are going back here soon. The menu changes often, so hopefully there will be more stuff to choose from next time, and hopefully the sardines are a permanent fixture. The service was fantastic, though a little slow, but that is because the dishes took that much time to get ready and the place was completely packed.  As long as the alcohol was flowing and our olive bowl wasn’t empty, we were totally fine.

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Category: Italian, Queen Anne