Edi and The Wolf: For Vegetarians and Carnivores Alike

Edi and The Wolf has been around for a few years now. My friends used to go all of the time but I never made my way to this Avenue C gem until just the other night. No one ever says, "Hmm, Austrian food sounds really good for dinner tonight!"

My friend Kat, who is a vegetarian had her birthday last week and I missed her birthday dinner so this was a make up bday dinner celebration. I wanted to go somewhere on the in the East Village or LES and the only requirement was it had to have a lot of vegetarian options. I eat everything but when I go out with friends that have dietary restrictions, I hate going places were they can literally have 1 or 2 things. I looked over their menu and thought it would be a great spot for us to go. Especially since my friends that used to go all of the time are vegetarian/gluten free/super namaste nonsense.

I got there promptly like I always annoyingly do. Kat was about 20 minutes behind me. I started chatting up the bartender about really nothing in particular. She was from Poland and has been living in Manhattan Beach. Which is the furtherest point on Coney Island. I was like, "Why the fuck do you live out there?" She simply replied, "I like living by the beach." We talked about Hurricane Sandy and our current weather and how much damage she has experienced living out there. She is over it and is moving to Colorado. My thought was well at least she can get good weed now! HA!

Kat arrived and the restaurant was filling up so we decided to take over a corner area of the bar space. All of their white wines were Austrian. Which since it is the Winter of Reisling for me, this was great! Kat wasn't a super fan of any of their whites so she got their version of a Moscow Mule. We glanced over the menu and made our selections.

Romaine Wedge: Pickled Fennel, Olive Crumble, Charred Cucumber Dressing

Lentil Stew: Tomato, Creme Fraiche, Chili Oil

Flatbread: Fresno Chili, Radish, Butternut Squash

Spatzle: Roasted Corn, Poached Egg, Zucchini

The Wedge was fantastic! The Charred Cucumber dressing was inventive and delicious. The fresh bite to the fennel brought all of the flavors together. Paired with the stew, which was probably my least favorite thing but it still was flavorful and the warmth of it felt good in my tummy. The flatbread was great and perfect for sharing. It was creamy, slightly spicy and not heavy like some flatbreads can be. But the real winner here was the Spatzle. Fucking next level. It was creamy, warm, fresh with little crispy onions on top. Delicious is an understatement. Rich goodness.

I have found my new spot to take any vegetarian friend! Service was good. It didn't need to be great. The food though was definitely better than expected.

Overall:

Atmosphere: Downtown Hip

Good For: Dates, Catching up with friends or Causal business meetings

Food: Better than you would expect!

Noise: 6/10