My friend Amy, who lives in Philadelphia, has been telling me for years that as a fellow foodie I need to come visit her and partake in the city’s many amazing restaurants. In late February, I finally took that trip, and it lived up to my expectations and beyond. Here is a recap of my wonderful meal at Michael Solomonov’s restaurant, Laser Wolf.
I arrived on a Thursday evening, and after unpacking my bag and changing my clothes, we headed out to the first of many gourmet outings that would transpire over the next 48 hours. Amy had tried to get us a table at Solomonov’s flagship restaurant Zahav. Even though she was ready at her computer the exact second that reservations opened up, she wasn’t successful. As she puts it, “I swear bots hover over Zahav’s website.” Reservations are released “8 weeks to-the-day, at 11 am ET, in advance of the reservation date and opening one day at a time in a rolling fashion.”
Anyways, no matter—Laser Wolf was fantastic! The friendly service, the attention to detail, the exquisite food…everything. When the staff found out it was our first time there, they were quick to explain the unique way the menu and ordering work. Each customer picks one selection from “The Grill” section. There are meat choices like Chicken Shishlik and Koobideh, fish, and vegetables like Eggplant, each priced differently.
Appetizers and dessert are included with the meal. With the appetizers, you don’t do any choosing: it’s an assortment called “Salatim.” It’s a beautiful, large variety of dips and salads; served in small containers with homemade pita bread, these rotate but always include signature homemade hummus which is creamy and delightful. My favorites that night were Kale Babaganoush (so unique and wonderful), Braised Fennel with Orange, and Mushrooms with Swiss Chard & Sour Cherry (who would think to put all of those together? Unusual and brilliant). My friend and I both loved the Gigante Beans with Castelvetrano Olives. Oh, I almost forgot about the Smoked Beets, which had a wonderful depth of flavor. And the best part? As we ate these delectable snacks, our server came over and said, “Just let me know which ones are your favorites and we will bring you more of those.” Uh, YES PLEASE.
On to the entrees: my friend chose the Chicken Shishlik and gave me a bite—it was tender and well-seasoned, would definitely order again. With all the marvelous-sounding grilled options, I was indecisive. When I asked the server for advice, she recommended the Whole Dorade from the fish section. The idea of “whole fish” didn’t sound appealing, but she explained it was served as butterflied filets and that it was excellent. To say I am glad I went with her suggestion is an understatement: I was in food heaven. This amazing dish featured butterflied Dorade filets atop a base of black grape tzatziki. The sauce that covered the fish included grape molasses and “schug” which is a “Serrano chile salsa verde.” The layers of flavors, the textures, in a word: Wow.
Amy and I each chose a drink from the “Zero-Proof” menu: mine was Laser Lemonade with lemon, cardamom, orange blossom and Butterfly Pea flower. The verdict? Refreshing and delicious—not to mention beautiful. Amy was equally satisfied with her Passion Fruit Cooler. Laser Wolf offers a nice selection of wine (includes sparkling & white, rose & orange, and red, with vintages from France, Italy, Lebanon, Israel, and more) plus beer (mostly local) and Arak. The latter is a distilled spirit made from grapes and anise seed.
There is a small a la carte section on the menu, where you can pick things to add to your dinner. The menu always includes French Fries with Tehina Ketchup and usually includes a version of Tuna Tartare. Amy ordered the French Fries, and they were crisp and tasty.
For dessert we had a choice of Brown Sugar Soft Serve and Lime Coconut Sorbet (the menu rotates and always has one soft serve and one sorbet). Amy asked me, what do you think, one of each? I replied, “Of course!” We shared these sweet treats with smiles on our faces.
When we received the bill, I was surprised at how reasonable the total was—especially considering we even had some leftovers. Laser Wolf will definitely be a stop when I return to Philly one day.
