wolfies

Over the last five to ten years the look of South Boston, or Southie, has changed immensely.  Out with the old and blue collar and in with the young and vibrant.  Nowhere is this more apparent than in many of the new open-window and ever-bustling bars dotting Southie’s main streets. 

            Most of these bars seem to have fallen from the same cookie cutter: large open space, small dining rooms, and a big bar crowd.  The food is good but clearly not the focus.  The most popular spots are generally the newest, like Stats Bar and Grille on Dorchester Street.  If you’re looking for the busiest bar in South Boston on any given night, it doesn’t take much research.  Simply drive down East Broadway and you’ll find double-parked cars out front of the Boston Beer Garden or the Playwright (same owners, only a block apart), patrons hanging out of Stats, or the usual shenanigans outside of Shenanigans once you get on West Broadway.  Not much separates these bars in terms of what they have to offer: quick service, good food, and lots of room to drink. 

            Hindered with only a cordials and liqueurs permit and about half the square footage of other new spots in the area, Wolfie’s Kitchen and Bar, located on L Street, needed to find a creative way to compete.  And that it did.  With a focus on dining, Wolfie’s aims to be the place you go for dinner before stumbling down Broadway.  And as long as you can remember last night the next morning, hopefully you’ll come away with something to write home about too.

            From traditional comfort food like burgers and macaroni and cheese to Blue Point oysters, Yellowtail tuna steak, and a half rack of sweet and spicy guava-glazed baby back ribs, Woflie’s has something for everyone from your picky “make sure there’s no green stuff on it” little brother to your self-proclaimed food connoisseur aunt.  Wolfie’s blends the casualness of your average bar and grill with an upscale dining ambiance.  Gone are red cups and paper napkins as the tables are set with placemats, roll-ups, and glass goblets that your server fills at the table once you have been seated.  Their newest server, Bridget McDonagh, explained that they use numbers for each seat at the table to provide clarity when your food arrives.  No scruffy food runner comes to the table with a blank stare saying, “Cheeseburger medium rare?  Steak tips?”  Using the number system allows the runner to bring the food right to you, no questions asked—a practice almost unheard of in casual dining.

            Service and appearance alone don’t get you on the bus, however, as quality and price generally outweigh those first two aspects.  I say the quality is definitely there after visiting once for lunch and most recently for brunch, but if that isn’t convincing enough then this might help: Manager/bartender Colleen Kennedy informed me that their head chef is straight from award-winning Abe & Louie’s.  There must be a catch, right?  No way Abe & Louie’s quality comes without Abe & Louie’s prices, right?  Wrong.  The half rack of ribs I mentioned earlier goes for $12, and I wasn’t even able to finish it.  For brunch we ordered five dishes, two Bloody Marys, and two non-alcoholic beverages totaling only $60. 

            The best part about Wolfie’s is that it has something for everyone.  We were the only family eating at the time, but there were several young couples, two mothers and their infants, an elderly woman by herself reading, and three older gentlemen walked in for lunch as we were leaving.  You won’t find that diversity at any of the other previously mentioned hot spots.  Families and friends alike can come in for a good inexpensive meal without the fear of a too-tipsy “young professional” spilling his Pumpkin Ale, or worse, all over your feet.  Only a few months old, Wolfie’s has found the perfect recipe to compete with the bigger and louder nearby hangouts.  Just make sure you look up directions before you go because the new landmarks of a Southie hot spot, double-parked cars and drunk twenty-somethings, won’t be outside waiting.