What are these operators bringing to their new bar in downtown Tacoma?
Downtown Tacoma along Pacific Avenue is home to divergent restaurants appealing to a broad community of diners.
Pacific Grill and El Gaucho, with sophisticated menus and elegant rooms, bookend one side.
The other end holds breweries Pacific Brewing and Odd Otter, the Tex-Mex bar Matador, the boozy tropical retreat Tacoma Cabana and the trifecta for the burger-and-wings crowd: The Office, The Forum and Meconi’s.
The neighborhood’s newest bar and restaurant, Wooden City, looks to add to that trifecta with its tavern burger, a fried chicken sandwich and wings.
But the American wagyu steak and house-made tagliatelle pasta with lamb bolognese seem pretty highfalutin for a burger and wing joint.
The chef? He formerly worked at The French Laundry. Yes, that French Laundry. The one with three of those Michelin star thingees, not that Tacoma cares a bit about those. Michelin restaurant reviewers don’t come to Tacoma, and let’s hope they never do so we don’t have to start paying $38 for a burger and have to learn to pronounce sommelier.
Regarding his food, chef and co-owner Jon Green says, “I take what I’ve learned working in these high-end restaurants, these super-fancy, refined institution restaurants like Gramercy (Tavern) and French Laundry and apply it towards food that I want to actually eat.
“I grew up in the Midwest, a super-humble working class neighborhood, and I grew up eating sandwiches and burgers and fries and a nice piece of steak on a special occasion. These are the things I want to serve now that I have my own restaurant.”
Green, who most recently worked in Seattle, and Seattle restaurant industry veteran Abe Fox, are behind the project taking over the former Wilder Local Fare + Libations space at 714 Pacific Ave. It’s their first time as owners. Both have moved to Tacoma.
The duo plan invitation-only and soft-opening events through the weekend with a goal of opening with regular hours by next week.
Despite his cooking pedigree, Green prefers to talk about his culinary origins in Ohio, where he grew up, and specifically his obsession with drive-in cheeseburgers.
“I loved this little burger shack in my hometown called Swensons with seven locations in Northeast Ohio,” said Green. “You drive your car out, and the guys run up to your car and take the order. You order a burger and it comes out as a double cheeseburger. It’s gooey, comforting and satisfies that craving for a good burger. There’s always been something about that that I’ve loved.”
He built his Wooden City tavern burger with double-stacked patties from Oregon’s Country Natural Beef that are intentionally thin because he’s aiming for roadside-burger style. Those patties are layered with American cheese. He could have gone with a trendier cheese, but American cheese was a given, he said, to evoke a sense of nostalgia about that childhood taste. Grilled onions, pickles and two kinds of burger sauces finish the burger ($14).
The sandwich menu also features a porchetta sandwich, roasted pork with a garlic aioli, salsa verde, arugula and roasted red peppers ($12). A fried chicken sandwich is built with a citrus slaw and habanero mustard ($13).
The small plates menu lists oysters on the half shell (locally sourced), heirloom tomatoes paired with burrata ($12), two salads ($9 to $11), smoked salmon toast with beet relish, dill and pickled onion ($11), blistered Hungarian wax peppers with sweet sausage, chive oil and ciabatta ($10) and barbecue chicken wings ($12).
The entree list is short with house-made tagliatelle pasta with a lamb bolognese ($18), seared halibut with summer beans, grilled leeks and herb broth ($24) a roasted half chicken ($21) and a American wagyu tri-tip steak with chimichurri and peanut potatoes ($29).
The wood-fired oven that’s a remnant of Wilder Local Fare + Libations and Cafe Vincero will be put to use with a pizza menu that includes a bacon pesto pizza with white sauce, gorgonzola, red onion and aged balsamic ($16), a fennel sausage pie with mushroom, peppers and basil ($17) and a classic mozzarella ($12).
Business partner Fox is a longtime industry veteran, most recently at the Shelter restaurants and bars. Fox’s bar program includes four specialty cocktails with an emphasis on the classics — negronis, old fashioneds and martinis — with seasonality showing up in house-made syrups and shrubs.
“I lean toward simple drinks that have no more than five to six ingredients,” Fox said. “To me classics are classics for a reason.”
Fox described a completely made-over dining room, which was gutted but still carries the same footprint. They removed the elaborate tile work that climbed the wall from the bases of the stationary tables. Those fixed tables have been replaced with a long banquette spanning the dining room with tables for small or large parties. A half wall separates the bar area, with more tables and bar seating at the long bar festooned with dark blue subway tile
The space seats 49 inside with a sidewalk patio for a dozen more diners. An area in the back of the restaurant later will become a chef’s table with an up-close view of the kitchen and more kitchen seating.
The restaurant plans to open at 4 p.m. Mondays-Saturdays with service until midnight on weeknights and 2 a.m. on weekends. Kids will be welcome until 8 p.m.
Wooden City
Where: 714 Pacific Ave., Tacoma
Info: 253-503-0762 or woodencitytacoma.com
This story was originally published July 27, 2018 at 10:00 AM.