She Wolf
This restaurant visit occurred in February 2021.
She Wolf has been getting rave reviews since its doors opened in 2018, often touted as nationally-relevant Italian in the heart of Detroit’s Cass Corridor area. This vegan, admittedly, was somewhat leery of this claim. Why?
Well, the name for one. This not so veiled reference to the Roman myth of exiled twins Romulus and Remus (quick backstory: legend has it these two were miraculously kept alive by a female wolf who suckled them until their rescue and later return to build the city of Rome) doesn’t particularly speak to this vegan. Perhaps it’s the whole humans nursing on animals thing.
The next challenge is that the menu, save a few vegan sides, is clearly designed for omnivore pallets. The seasonally fluctuating menu was featuring dishes such as ricotta-filled shells, rigatoni carbonara, as well as various meat and fish mains.
Nevertheless, we read that She Wolf mills their own flour (for both breads and pastas) in-house and that was intriguing enough to plan a visit. So with open minds and empty bellies, we trekked to Detroit’s upscale, Roma-inspired restaurant to indulge in what we hoped would be the finest vegan Italian food around.
Once a coveted reservation, we scheduled with ease for a Thursday date night. (A rare upside of Covid, we presume.) As a la cart diners, we enjoyed the warmth and simplicity of their outside tent (a not so rare downside of Covid and restaurant capacity restrictions). The inside dining room remains reserved for chef’s tasting menu diners.
At our server’s recommendation, we started with Farinata, a chickpea pancake, which proved to be both thick and hearty. The accoutrement changes with the seasons at She Wolf and our mid-winter appetizer was adorned with hazelnut romesco and mounds of microgreens. Their often written about Blue Steel Focaccia (sans gorgonzola butter) is always vegan and quite lovely. You can taste the love and the house-filled flour in every bite of this crispy-on-the-outside soft-on-the-side oven baked wonder. Although this dip lover would have loved an herbed vegan butter option. Alas, I settled for a bit of olive oil.
In an uncharacteristic move, I refrained from ordering the caponata (a Sicilian specialty featuring eggplant, pine nuts, and capers in a tomato sauce). This was often my go-to when in Italy, in part because of my poor mastery of the Italian language and in part because its simplicity and flavor profile is near impossible to beat. Cheers to branching out, even if only managed when speaking your native tongue!
For the main, we enjoyed the house-famous rigatoni. While normally served carbonara-style, the veganized version was paired with rich savory mushrooms and greens in a light tomato pesto sauce. While savory and satisfying, I am not sure one would mistake this Detroit culinary experience for Roma. Perhaps it’s the simple harmony of authentic Italian cuisine we were missing. Or perhaps it was the tent in which we were eating.
Although I would gladly accompany friends back to She Wolf, this vegan would much rather splurge elsewhere for date night.
