Out of the Wilderness

Crow’s enticing sides—think truffled sweet corn and chanterelles, caramelized pears, braised leeks, broccoli rabe—sometimes steal the show from the meat. (On our trips there was no expressly vegetarian entrée option on the menu—Crow might consider combining any of these vegetables with a grit cake, cheese croquette or polenta cake to appease the herbivores.) Wildwood’s sweet-potato fries topped with garlic, Parmesan and truffle oil are very likely the best in town, virtually evaporating upon impact in a fried, candied puff.

The one disappointment in our meals was the garlic-basil shrimp scampi over bucatini. The sauce of roasted tomatoes did not coat the noodles with enough flavor to enliven the heavy pasta, resulting in a taste that was about as hollow as the noodles. That said, we saw a table with toddlers in high chairs happily slurping from the deep egg-shaped bowls, a testament to Wachtel and Crow’s ambition to create a casual, kid-friendly place. The menu even offers this unusual invitation: “We love and welcome children. Ridiculous requests are possible. Don’t be afraid to ask! Please let your server know if certain foods shouldn’t touch each other.”

It’s one thing to print homey, casual things on the menu, and another thing to generate a genuinely easygoing vibe. With a quiet undertone of blues playing in the background one evening, a server dropped a tray with a resounding clang. When he joked across the room, “There’s nothing to see here!” the dining room responded with a friendly communal laugh seldom heard in restaurants. The tiny, good-natured episode bodes well for Wildwood’s efforts to create a laid-back neighborhood atmosphere.

Part of that relaxed ambience comes, no doubt, from the restaurant design. A low wall between the kitchen and booths makes everything visible and, to an extent, audible. But a word of warning to the kitchen team: we can hear you back there. When someone orders a flank steak cooked well-done—even if it goes against every culinary principle that you hold dear—just bite your tongue and singe that meat till it looks like the bottom of a loafer. Seriously, don’t bitch about it. We can hear you.

On the other hand, if we could say something that could be overheard on the other side of the wall, it would be this: please get some more desserts—and hurry. Rather than risk losing control of a busy start-up kitchen, Crow has honed the dessert menu to a few very simple offerings that are not made in-house, as well as a maple crème brûlée that is. On one visit, the crème brûlée had failed to set and was a runny soup. But oh, what a runny soup. If it’s any indication of what Crow can do with sugar, cream and eggs, we can hardly wait until he fleshes out the dessert menu.

And we’ll look forward to hearing about Wachtel’s plans for Hendersonville, where he expects to launch another Wildwood within a year. He also has a more casual concept in the offing, possibly in Midtown. If all goes well, he just might have another chain on his hands.

Wildwood Oak-Fired Kitchen serves dinner seven days a week and has plans to offer brunch on Sunday.