The Wolf has a not-so-secret weapon.
Owners Whitney McAllister and Wolfgang Schaefer had been through a drawn-out restaurant project back in 2018, with Uncle Wolfie’s Breakfast Tavern, and decided to face it all again with an even higher profile restaurant Downtown. Why? They’d signed on executive chef Kristen Schwab, who’s not a household name but might soon become one. “Honestly, if we couldn’t land her,” Schaefer says of Schwab, former chef de cuisine at DanDan, “I’m not sure we would have been willing to put ourselves through that endless torture of the last couple of years.”
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The Wolf, which occupies the ground floor of the Kinn Guesthouse hotel, is unequivocally captivating. Visually, the space feels like a more sophisticated Uncle Wolfie’s – similar but different. “The design was really important,” says McAllister. “We wanted to make it feel like we were connected to the space, like it was part of us, so we went back to some of the travels we’ve taken together” – trips to Paris and the West Coast. It has the curved lines of art deco, and a mix of details (terracotta tile, casual caned-back chairs, a jade and peach color scheme) that soothes. The 11-stool bar’s saloon-like seating is suggestive of Uncle Wolfie’s, which had the same designer, Three Sixty. Like the cup of chamomile tea that my dining partner ordered one cold night, this place wraps you up in a warm hug.
The couple also designed around the food, which is influenced by Schwab’s upbringing – her family dinners and Asian ancestry – and her interest in global flavors. But she’s not alone. Val Bartram, a longtime friend and The Wolf’s chef de cuisine, is the yin to Schwab’s yang. They’re doing the food they really want to do – cozy, slightly elevated and personally meaningful.
At lunch, the selections are limited to snacks, salads and sandwiches. Dinner includes all that, plus a few large plates. You’ll find chicken wings, chips and dip, and a burger and fries, and like the rest of the menu, nothing is pedestrian. The meaty, sizable wings ($16 for around six) are bathed in creamy “butter chicken sauce,” the menu calls it. The flavor is more intricate and layered than any butter chickens I’ve eaten – it tastes like deep attention and love. I order them alongside the corn fritters ($14) with chile pepper jam. While I expect battered, deep-fried corn cakes, I get thick pan-fried cakes with juicy kernels of sweet corn. Rather than dipping the cakes in tomato jam, I use them to sop up the butter chicken sauce from the wings – the curry is just that good. The cabbage cups ($12) – three small circle-shaped cabbage leaves topped with a mix of cauliflower, mint, basil, lime, nuoc cham (a fish-based dipping sauce) and toasted rice powder – are like a meatless version of the Laotian larb salad. They’re crunchy, fresh and light, with so much bright flavor.
Inspired by an Indonesian peanut salad, the gado gado cobb ($19) got almost everything right – crisp Lone Duck Farms greens and veg (corn, cucumber, radish), puffy rice cracker, thick, savory peanut dressing. But the soft-boiled egg was just a shade undercooked. Overall, though, it’s a delicious gado gado and great for sharing. The chili crisp fish sandwich ($20) is not – because you won’t want to share it! The filet of salt-and-pepper-breaded sole sings tangy and pungent notes and is topped with quite a marriage of ingredients: chili crisp, American cheese, fresh dill and preserved mustard greens tartar sauce. There’s a lot going on here but none of it overwhelms. This sandwich, inspired by Schwab’s favorite fish dish at Sze Chuan Chinese restaurant, is likely to become a signature here. And the nest of crispy french fries is thoroughly addictive as well. Still on my “to come” list is Irma’s chicken sandwich ($18), an intriguing and labor-intensive handheld that Schaefer calls a “giant lemongrass chicken nugget.”
The large plates – I’ve eaten three of the four offered – also play a role in lifting this succinct menu from mundaneness. The first large plate I tried was good but ended up being my least favorite. The flank steak – cooked medium-rare and served in bias-cut slices – was tender and it had a good charred crust, but the plate’s strengths were its sides. The cabbage sautéed in sambal brown butter (sambal is Indonesian chile paste) and silky sweet corn purée led the flavor charge. The two other plates I ordered are just more outstanding. The duck fried farro ($30) gives me a new appreciation for this chewy grain, not to mention duck confit. The other dish, called garlic Indo-mie ($26), is an egg noodle stir-fry seasoned with sambal sweet soy, mushroom butter and two kinds of shallots (fried and pickled), tossed with firm, earthy wild mushrooms. The farro, also topped with a runny fried egg, reminds me of an especially decadent fried rice, while the noodles seem a simple enough creation – but those noodles. They have a springy, perfectly cooked chew. I see what Schwab is doing – a version of instant stir-fry noodles for foodies – and I applaud her for it.
The Wolf’s almost two-year development must have felt like an eternity, yet Schwab and Bertram used the time well. “Wolf and Whitney gave me free rein to do what inspired me,” says Schwab, adding that she wrote “25 different versions” of the menu. But it was when Bertram signed on that it all came together, she says. You could call this the mature Uncle Wolfie’s, but that wouldn’t give The Wolf enough credit for being wholly, distinctly itself.
The Wolf on Broadway
600 N. BROADWAY | 414-935-2076
Hours: Dinner Mon, Thurs, Fri 3 p.m.-close. Sat 5-10 p.m. Sun 5-9 p.m. Brunch Sat-Sun 9 a.m.-2 p.m. Lunch hours to come.
Prices: Snacks $12-$18; salads and handhelds $16-$20, dinner plates $26-$32
Service: Very friendly, still learning the ropes
Reservations: Accepted but walk-ins are welcome, too
