SINCE its close on Monday, I've been dying to check out the new Wild, formerly known as Slice (the perfect food) on Hudson Street. As you might know, Wild/Slice is just around the corner from my current FOH post and is where I usually end up for lunch breaks (or sometimes, post-shift). Today was my first opportunity to sample the debut menu at Wild and see what the change was all about.
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| Excuse me, there's a plant in my creamer |
Late last night, I picked up a Wild menu on my way home from work and by this afternoon I'd made up my mind as to what I was going to order. First off, I must say that I am thrilled to see that Wild is now offering sparkling wine (and local to boot!)--alas, it's only sold by the bottle. However, my server did say that they should be offering it by the glass come spring. (Wait a minute--isn't it spring now?) I decided on a personal-sized (slices are no longer available) pear gorgonzola pizza ($14) with medjool dates and fresh rosemary.
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A portion of Wild's pear gorgonzola pizza with its
gluten-free, vegan crust
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When the pizza arrived at my table, I was rather surprised by its rather wonky-looking shape. I get that I'm supposed to get a sense of its handcraftedness, but what I also got was a sense of its Pangaea-like shape. At first bite: the bland, cracker-crunchy crust was a bit off-putting, but towards the middle was more palatable, where it seemed moistened a bit by its toppings. But all remonstrances aside, the toppings truly were the star of the dish.
Post-pizza, I was still hungry. I decided to order the butternut squash ($12) with whipped goat cheese and roasted pistachios.
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| I didn't know butternut squash was still in season |
The good news: Wild doesn't use plastic plates like Slice did. The bad news: my plate was chipped. I'll stop complaining for now Upon closer examination of my salad, I was rather perplexed as to why the "whipped goat cheese" was pressed onto the plate with the tines of a fork. (Why whip it?) Next, I was not at all expecting the shock my mouth received when I felt how cold the squash was. I get it--it's a salad, not a side. But I think Wild may have their walk-in a bit too cold.
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| Still hungry |
For my final course, I decided upon the flourless (dark) chocolate cake ($8) with berry compote. "Good choice" says my server. When my dish arrived, I felt a milder form of shock compared to the one I'd felt upon receiving my pizza. Now, I understand that not all eating establishments care much (or at all) about the presentation of their dishes. But it seems that with this dish in particular, someone was really trying to make a hip, edgy-looking dessert. It instead looked--to me--like a pre-schooler's art project (with a flourless chocolate cake placed on top).
I was then instructed by my pleasant server to "take a piece of the chocolate cake and scoop up the rest of this (server points) with your spoon." The rest of what? It'd be nice to know what the taupe-colored cream-paste, which was smeared all over my plate was. (And a fork, along with my spoon, would have been helpful.) At the end of it all, I could have eaten all three courses... over again! I was still hungry! Even though I'd wanted to make it to Wild for their opening on Wednesday night, I figured a few days would give them time to iron out some opening kinks.
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| Wild's receipts still read Slice |
It seems they need a little more time. I recommend bread service.
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