<< previous review   next review >>

reviews

“Wildwood”

Occasion:	Cuisine:	Area:	Cost:	Rating:
Night Out	Barbecue	Flatiron	Moderate	Good

;Bad to the Bone,” and “Wing Man.” The cocktails include some fine concoctions created by BR Guest mixologist Eben Klemm. I liked the Tequila Sunbolt, a spiced up version of a margarita, but the Mint Julep was too strong. It had me on the floor after three sips. That’s quite a powerful drink, though I guess that’s the point. But it was doing the trick for many revelers—lots of men and women relaxing post-work by popping golden fried jalapeno bottle caps ($5.25) dunked in cool ranch dressing.

With Wildwood, Hanson has effectively rid the place of its haunting by restaurants past. The design feels more urban and sharp than honky tonk. I’d say it’s sort of Blue Smoke crossed with Hill Country. While there’s lots of wood, it’s balanced out by slate, steel and wrought iron that give the place an industrial edge. In the kitchen, Hanson has installed Big Lou Elrose, a buddy of Robbie’s who also opened Hill Country who's smoking a menu of all-natural meats. By the time we’d polished off our cocktails, Joachim had arrived and we were seated at a beige leather booth, definitely the nicest table I’ve ever had in a barbecue restaurant. As we perused the menus, I asked Joachim what I now realize was a rather rhetorical question. “So do you like barbecue?” I said. He smiled, resting his menu on the wooden table. “Honey, I’m a man from the South. Where I come from they serve this intravenously in hospitals.” Enough said.

Joachim has a test for barbecue restaurants, he informed us, which we went about applying to Wildwood. It is the cornbread test. “I rate a place on cornbread,” he said. “As long as I don’t choke on it, it’s good.” While I can’t say that this would be my test, Wildwood passed his with flying colors. A cast-iron skillet filled out with fluffy yellow cornbread is delivered piping hot, with a very low choking probability. As for me, I’d say that while that cornbread was nice and moist, it was a tad bland, and could use some seasoning, perhaps a bit of a kick, or at least some salt.

But the Chicken Wings ($8.95 for a dozen), rubbed with Frank’s Red Hot, passed both our tests. They were lip-tinglingly spicy and quite meaty and wonderfully messy, just like good wings should be, though the celery sticks were rubbery and wilted. Not appealing. I have my own tests for good ‘ ... [more, click below]

Page 1  |  Page 2  |  Page 3  |  Page 4  

 Make a reservation

<< previous review   next review >>

Posted: May 9, 2008

Other restaurants in Flatiron :
+ Suenos   + Amuse-- Closed   + Dos Caminos   + Lucy-- Closed   + Gramercy Taver   + Veritas   + Fleur De Sel   + Bolo -- CLosed   + City Bakery   + Shake Shack   + Kalustyan's Cafe   + Devi   + BLT Fish   + Sugarcane   + BLT Prime   + Barca 18-- CLOSED   + Beppe   + Barbounia   + Boqueria   + Eleven Madison   + Lonesome Dove-- CLOSED   + Hill Country   + Olana   + Wildwood   + Primehouse   + Allegretti   + Bar Breton   + Aldea   + SD26 by Bao Ong   + ABC Kitchen   + Ciano   + The NoMad   

Share ! Post a comment