Philly Restaurant Among America's Best New Spots: GQ

PHILADELPHIA — One of Philadelphia's most critically acclaimed restaurant groups has another reason to brag.

CookNSolo Restaurants, helmed by Steve Cook and Michael Solomonov, recently opened a new Israeli eatery in Philadelphia recently.

Called Laser Wolf, the new spot is an Israeli mixed grill restaurant, tapping into Solomonov's expertise in Israeli cooking.

And GQ Magazine just named it one of America's best new restaurants in 2020.

According to GQ, writer Brett Martin visited 23 cities and 93 restaurants to make his selections.

Here's what Martin has to say about Laser Wolf:

Riding the skewer craze in a different direction is the raucously fun Laser Wolf, in Philadelphia. Fashioning itself an “Israeli grill,” Laser Wolf is the latest restaurant from Michael Solomonov, who has come to dominate his city's dining scene in the dozen years since opening Zahav. Solomonov's hummus, which launched a thousand indeterminately “Mediterranean” restaurants, is here, smooth as ever but nearly lost amid the array of dips, pickles, and other salatim that arrive automatically when you order. All that remains is to pick proteins or vegetables to go on the grill: pleasantly spongy Romanian beef kebab; trim, triangular lamb chops; ruby-bellied strips of tuna. There does not appear to be a wrong choice. This isn't the “sharing” of anxiously dividing up appetizers. It's arms crisscrossing the table as everyone reaches for food, forks stabbing bits from friends' plates, a ballet of dishes being passed back and forth as conversation flows. It is what I picture when I dream of returning to restaurants.

The CookNSolo team is no stranger to such attention: they've won two James Beard Foundation Awards.

On his own, Solomonov has won two additional Beard Awards for his work as chef of Zahav, including Best Chef 2017. Zahav itself has won the James Beards Outstanding Restaurant Award.

You can see all the Best New Restaurants In America, 2020 from GQ here.