Good Wolfe Kitchen & Bar

*Restaurant is closed*

I'm sure you've heard about Fresh Local Wild - a popular food truck usually located on the corner of Burrard and Pender in Downtown Vancouver.  If not, Google it and you'll find that Guy Fieri has graced them with his presence.  With that kind of notoriety, it comes as no surprise that Chef Josh Wolfe opened up a B&M location in Yaletown.  Replacing the mediocre BBQues, Good Wolfe Kitchen & Bar offers up reasonably-priced fare amongst pricier establishments.

Viv, myself, Elaine and Costanza decided to hit up the place to see for ourselves. We started with the Squid with lemon, pepper, chili, ginger, green onion and fresh piquant.  Light and crispy, the batter encased tender pieces of squid which still exhibited a bite.  There was no absence of seasoning with a slight spice and plenty of acidity from the lemon.  Next, we tried the Steelhead Pastrami accented with house maple mustard, chervil and caraway seeds. Whatever it lacked in quantity, the overall execution made up for it in spades.  Think lox except made with trout and a richer flavour.  In this case, there was just enough salt which was nicely contrasted by the mustard.  The texture was buttery soft without being mushy.

Continuing on, we had the Artichoke Dip consisting of marinated chokes, kale crisps, chevril and Philly bechamel. Underneath the obstruction, aka kale crisps, was a creamy concoction that was somewhat gamy.  We figured they used goat cheese in the dip.  It was seasoned just enough while the aforementioned kale crisps were good, but there was just too much of it (making it hard to get to the dip.  We didn't like the bread as it was far too dry and hard.  Lastly, we shared the Terrine and Steak Tartare which was a significant portion with a generous cut of terrine along with tartare and speck. We found the terrine to be mild and firm in texture with bits of foie.  As for the tartare, it was mostly tender with some chew.  The bits of onion provided both crunch and zing.  We found the flavours to be balanced until the end where it finished with some spice.

Onto the mains, I decided to go for the mainstay being the Fish & Chips. The fish was light and moist with a thin, crispy batter.  The modest side of fries were somewhat crisp and plenty salty.  I would've liked to see them more crunchy considering the dark hue. The accompanying tartar sauce was smooth with the crunch of pickles which added the necessary acidity.  Costanza went for the 1lb Mussels Pasta consisting of fresh pasta, garlic, basil and white wine cream.  The best part of this dish was the mussels as they were plump, buttery and all open.  Despite the nicely al dente pasta, it wasn't blessed with a lot of flavour since the sauce was far too thin.  It was mostly bland except for some mild hits of garlic.

Viv opted for the Braised Beef Cheek which was expertly prepared.  It rested on country-style risotto with natural jus.  The ample portion of beef cheek was gelatinous and fork tender.  There was a naturalness to the flavour, but we would've preferred a touch of salt anyways.  We found the risotto to be creamy, yet a touch overdone.  The natural jus was exactly as advertised as we could really taste the meatiness with a touch of red wine.  The best dish of all was the Coq au Vin with bacon, spatzle, little veggies and Gewürztraminer.  The Cornish game hen was beautifully executed where the meat was really moist while the skin was nicely rendered and crispy. The sauce was creamy and only lightly kissed by the Gewürztraminer.  The side of spatzle was dense and buttery while really crispy on the outside.

For dessert, we had the Lemon Cake with rosemary sugar, lavender and whipped cream. If we ignored the actual cake itself, the dessert was fresh, tart and aromatic.  The lavender and zest were both impactful components.  However, the cake was taken straight from the fridge where it did not have time to warm up.  Hence, it was too dense.  We gave it some time and at the end, it wasn't bad.  Lastly, we tried the "Apple Crisp" which was elevated by the use of fried bread pudding accompanied by bits of apple and small dollops of ice cream.  This was freakin' fantastic as the bread cubes were crunchy and moist.  Add in the tartness and crunch of the apples and the sweetness of the ice cream, this dessert had it all.  Overall, we enjoyed our meal at Good Wolfe, especially considering the reasonable pricing.  Definitely a place that is worth checking out.

The Good:
- Well-priced
- Decent portions
- Above-average food

The Bad:
- Flavours are a bit mild, more seasoning wouldn't hurt