Laser Wolf’s Andrew Henshaw Can’t Wait to Interact with Guests Again

By Noëmie Carrant February 9, 2021

Laser Wolf Philadelphia

4.8 · Israeli · $$

Kensington

To-Go Takes is Resy’s regular feature wherein we quiz the folks behind some of our favorite restaurants about all things related to takeout.

In this edition, we speak to Andrew Henshaw, the executive chef at Laser Wolf, Fishtown’s Israeli grill currently open for outdoor dining, pickup, and delivery. Below, he shares some of his favorite takeout tips, tricks, cocktails, and regular stops.

Restaurant: Laser Wolf
Name + Title: Andrew Henshaw, Executive Chef

Resy: Laser Wolf opened in early February of 2020, mere weeks before the pandemic forced restaurants to shut down. What’s your favorite dish from your takeout menu?

Henshaw: I really love our short ribs for two. It’s an Iraqi-inspired barbecue dish. We were developing it and it was just about to hit the menu pre-pandemic — we were only open for five weeks. We cure them with traditional barbecue spices and braise them with passionfruit and amba. Amba is an Iraqi pickled mango sauce; it’s very cool, a little sweet, a little sour, a little bit funky. It travels really well. We take the short ribs off the bone and we grill it to order, so it gets nice and charred on the grill. As far as takeout goes, if I was ordering from us, that’s what I’d get. We serve it over rice pilaf — which we change every week —it helps to insulate it so it stays nice and warm.

The restaurant’s right in Fishtown. What are some of your favorite takeout places and what are you ordering from them?

— Cheu Fishtown: They’re right around the corner from Laser Wolf. On the days I’m off, Sunday and Monday, I do takeout one night, then I cook. I always order the miso ramen. It’s super delicious, especially now with the cooler weather. It’s everything I want.
— Blue Corn: That’s near my house. It’s a Mexican restaurant. I love their al pastor burrito.
— Tomo Sushi and Ramen: My wife is pregnant right now and they have really great vegan and vegetarian sushi rolls, so she loves those. I get the spicy salmon.

What do you find yourself craving now that temperatures have dropped?

Normally, I’d just love to go sit at a bar. Like Wm. Mulherin’s Son in Laser Wolf’s neighborhood [Fishtown]. I love their dining room, it’s super cozy, and they have great cocktails. But right now, the miso ramen from Cheu, or I’ll pick up pho from Pho 75. That’s really nice and warming. We also find ourselves craving barbecue, either Fette Sau or Mike’s BBQ, and that definitely travels well.

The Iraqi-inspired short ribs for two at Laser Wolf. — Henshaw’s favorite dish on the menu: the Iraqi-inspired short ribs for two. Photo by Olivia Caceres, courtesy of Laser Wolf

Any chef tips or tricks on the best way to reheat your takeout?

Just try to avoid using the microwave! I don’t want to sound pretentious or anything, but if you have pasta or soup or anything that can go into a pan, do it. I use the s— out of my toaster oven. It’s just as quick and it tastes just as good. Microwaves are never consistent, especially with chicken. I don’t know if it’s something in my brain or my microwave, but it always tastes gnarly!

What’s your favorite place for cocktails to go in the area?

Right around the corner from Laser Wolf is this place called R&D Cocktail Bar. Their menu is side-by-side classic cocktails and their rendition of it, a non-traditional look at a traditional cocktail. They’ve been doing an awesome takeout program and for the holidays, they do special tastings as you would with a food menu. For Thanksgiving, I picked up one of those. It was like four or five different cocktails that were meant to be served over ice or shaken. You had your choice of two to three options for first course, second course, etc., dessert.

What single restaurant dish would you walk miles for?

Probably pizza at Pizzeria Beddia. I love the Angry, it’s arrabiata, and it’s always on the menu.

What will be your first meal back once restaurants truly reopen?

Hearthside in New Jersey. That was our first takeout experience. It will probably be one of the first places we go to once restaurants reopen, too. Most of the food is cooked over a wood-fired grill or in a wood-fired oven, it reminds me of our food over here at Laser Wolf. I know the chef and owner, he’s a good friend of mine. It’s always really nice to go there — it’s super hospitable, the food is great, and it’s BYOB.

What do you miss the most about restaurants?

The people. As a guest, sitting down at a bar, not knowing anyone, getting acquainted with someone, and becoming friends with them. As a chef — or anyone in the industry — just being able to talk to the guests, open up to them. Now, you have a mask on, they do too, it’s a weird dance and it would just be so nice to get to know them, without feeling like you’re crossing some boundary. I barely talk to any of the guests now. Normally, I would go through the dining room, drop dishes off. But we can’t do that.

Laser Wolf is open Tuesday through Saturday for dinner for outdoor dining, pickup, and delivery.