Laser Wolf

Laser Wolf runs the Israeli grill format at full volume, and the mezze spread that opens the meal does the heavy lifting. A dozen small vegetable dishes arrive in metal cups before anything hits the fire — stewed beets against sweet pears, pickled celery root, a bright gigante bean piyaz — and that spread alone justifies the trip. Then the chicken shows up sizzling, the babaganoush is smoky and loose in the right way, and the pita is hot and buttery enough to make people go quiet.

The open-air room in Fishtown gives the whole thing a looseness that suits the food. This isn't fine dining pretending to be casual; it's a grill restaurant that happens to compose a plate with real confidence. The team built its reputation on Middle Eastern cooking elsewhere in the city first, and that experience shows in how the mezze course is paced against the meat that follows.

Philadelphia Magazine has kept it on its list, and the industry has noticed too — a James Beard semifinalist nod, twice over, and a Michelin selection. None of that is why the meal works. It works because the food is this good, course after course, without a weak link in the spread.