Tacoma’s newest downtown eatery is generating buzz. Get the burger. And a cocktail

The burger was messy. Really messy.

Questions ensued.

Would the single napkin be enough to tackle that gooey, drippy burger at newly opened Wooden City? Would I be able to destroy this burger without destroying my blouse?

Three napkins later, I polished off that burger built with double stacked patties. Those patties released drips of fat down my arms, the table, the napkins and, I’m pretty sure, the floor.

On a first visit to Wooden City, do order the burger. For those who imbibe, a cocktail also is a good idea. And the oceanic wedge of seared halibut atop summer beans? Get it.

Wooden City is the first restaurant for longtime restaurant industry workers Abe Fox and Jon Green, who ditched Seattle for Tacoma to transition from workers to owners. Both have moved to Tacoma.

They opened Wooden City July 31 at 714 Pacific Ave. in the former home of Wilder Local Fare + Libations and Cafe Vincero before that.

It’s clearly collecting buzz with diners. The restaurant has been packed.

“The feedback from the public has been incredible,” said Fox. “We’ve seen customers come back multiple times, which is pretty incredible to get repeat customers this early.”

Added Green, “We’re just so happy and excited to be part of Tacoma and feeling so loved by the neighborhood. It’s just what we’ve dreamed of.”

The duo describe their menu loosely as re-imagined American pub food. If every regular bar in Tacoma served this kind of “pub” food, I’d spend more time in bars.

That messy burger is modeled after the drive-in burgers Green grew up with in Ohio, but there’s also house-made tagliatelle pasta with a stunning lamb bolognese. Do typical pubs in Tacoma make their own pasta? No.

Yet the menu lists a fried-chicken sandwich, chicken wings, pizza and other dishes one would expect on a pub menu, but those dishes come with chef touches courtesy of Green, who spent time cooking at California’s The French Laundry and New York’s Gramercy Tavern. Fox also comes from reputable Seattle restaurants. He most recently worked at Seattle’s Shelter Lounge restaurants.

Considering the background of the owners, the restaurant and bar is not at all overly ambitious or fussy.

“That’s what we’re comfortable with and that’s how we genuinely are with our concept. We don’t need to be complicated or over-thought,” explained Green.

It’s also well priced, with the bulk of dishes in the affordable $13 to $20 range.

Here’s a first-bite look. It’s this paper’s policy to avoid criticism of food and service in a restaurant’s first month.

Dining room: The tile work spanning table to ceiling is gone and so are the stationary tables and Tuscan-Northwest vibe from Cafe Vincero. The new interior skews comfortable and modern with wood, brick and metal surfaces.

Two-and-four seat tables stretch across a long, tufted banquette with schoolhouse-style metal chairs more comfortable than they look. Drop lighting adds warmth to the long, narrow space with a high ceiling. The bar area has a mix of counter and high-top seating with another high-top table for larger groups near the entrance.

Seating: 49 in the dining room with al fresco patio seating for a dozen more out front.

That name: Wooden City was a name Fox came across on a Tacoma history blog while researching Tacoma’s legacy as a timber town ruled by lumber barons.

“It spoke to everything I wanted in a name,” said Fox. “Before the brick-and-mortar went up, Tacoma was a wooden city … I wanted some connection to that.”

Kids: Allowed until 8 p.m.

Menu: Eight appetizers include oysters on the half shell ($3 to $33), 18-month San Daniele prosciutto with red pepper jam ($15), blistered Hungarian wax peppers with sweet sausage ($11), two salads ($9 to $12), chicken wings ($12).

The pizza menu makes good use of Cafe Vincero’s industrious wood-fueled pizza oven with three pies ($12 to $17). The food-on-a-bun menu includes the tavern burger ($14), fried-chicken sandwich ($13) and porchetta sandwich ($14). Four heartier entrees include lamb tagliatelle ($19), halibut ($25), Wagyu tri-tip steak ($27) and a roasted half chicken ($20). Desserts include a cheesecake made by Green’s mom ($8) and chilled peaches with granita ($8).

Happy hour: Discounted food and cocktails, 4-6 p.m., including $2 oysters, a $10 tavern burger, $7 mushroom skewers, $8 draft cocktails, $5 wine and more.

Beverages: Seven Washington craft beverages on tap ($6 to $8). Interesting list of five sour beers ($5 to $9) and six can choices ($4 to $7). Seven white wines and six reds by-the-glass-or-bottle ($7 to $12/$30 to $55) featuring Northwest, California, and European wineries. Seven specialty cocktails ($10), a draft classic cocktail ($9) and three more classic cocktails ($9 to $10).

Eat first: That deliciously messy burger came with double-stacked patties glazed with house barbecue sauce, gooey American cheese, house burger sauce, grilled red onions, dill pickle slices and frizzled iceberg, flanked by skins-on fries served in a genius metal cup that kept them blazing hot ($14).

Those same fries came with the crispy chicken sandwich built with a surprise of chicken thighs jacketed in a crunchy crust and swiped with an assertive mustard, snappy honey-citrus slaw and soft butter lettuce ($13). Salmon toast was a thoughtful creation. Green swaps out steelhead and salmon as a topper. The toast currently is being made with Norwegian steelhead cured in house, gravlax style, topping thick wedges of toast with beet relish, shaved radish, fresh dill and dotted with an egg-and-mustard emulsion that tasted like fancy deviled egg filling ($12).

That Wagyu tri-tip steak, cut into meaty medallions, carried a chewy tug of resistance that I’ve grown to love about tri-tip; with a grassy chimichurri and roasted fingerlings ($27).

The halibut, with a tangle of white and green beans, cubed potatoes and a lemony broth ($25) exits the menu soon for a new seasonal seafood. Get it before it leaves.

Bacon-pesto pizza arrived with blistered edges and a crust that moved from a crispy edge to pliable center, topped with a white sauce, mozzarella, bacon, red onions and companion drizzles of pesto and balsamic ($16). A rosemary-flecked house-made lamb sausage bolognese clung to eggy ribbons of tagliatelle — also made by Green — and topped with a cloud of Parmesan ($19).

Drink first: Pellet ice. Blocky ice cubes. Cocktails shaken until frothy.

Wooden City joins Tacoma Cabana, En Rama and newly opened Matriarch Lounge as another downtown bar serving excellent cocktails.

Lovers of sweet drinks must steer to the Victoria with Tito’s vodka, raspberry liqueur and rooibos tea shaken with egg white until frothy ($10). The tap old fashioned with Old Forester Bourbon, Rittenhouse Rye, demerara and Angostura and orange bitters tasted a seesaw of restrained sweetness and a slap-you-in-the-face booziness, served in a rocks glass with a blocky hunk of ice ($9). Happy Days, served in a tall Collins glass with pellet ice, is a cross between a paloma and a salty dog. It’s made with tequila, grapefruit juice and grapefruit soda, pink flake salt, lime and hibiscus agave ($10).

Coming next: They’re making plans for weekend brunch and lunch, too. Stay tuned.

Wooden City

Where: 714 Pacific Ave., Tacoma

Info: 253-503-0762 or woodencitytacoma.com

Hours: 4-11 p.m. Monday-Thursday, 4 p.m. to 1 a.m. Friday-Saturday. Closed Sundays until after Labor Day.

This story was originally published August 23, 2018 at 12:00 PM.