LAKE STAR

Tasty East-West cuisine
dazzles diners at Wolfdale’s
WRITTEN BY SANDRA MACIAS
PHOTOS BY CHRIS STOWELL

When Wolfdale’s Cuisine Unique in Tahoe City opened in 1978, it was ahead of the curve. In steak and- potato country, it dared to offer East-West cuisine. This fusion made sense to Owner/Chef Douglas Dale, who received his culinary training in Japan under a Japanese chef. But his customers weren’t sure of this new concept.

“I got back from Japan and thought I was Japanese,” says Dale, who definitely isn’t. His roots are Italian.

It was a tough first year. But as Dale got to know his clientele, observing what they liked, a transformation began.

“California’s attitude to food and Tahoe people liberated me,” he says. “Suddenly I realized I wasn’t Japanese.”

FRESH FARE

That’s not to say that Dale jettisoned the core of his East-meets-West cooking, one that includes a commitment to fresh products and uncomplicated cooking techniques. His kitchen mantra, “fresh food, simply prepared,” and his claim to “cuisine unique” has remained solid since Day 1.

Relying on daily supplies of fresh food is easy now. Tahoe City’s farmers’ market is practically in Wolfdale’s backyard. Local farmers, such as Dan McClure of Nevada’s Own in Wellington, Nev., delivers fresh mushrooms, chard, and sorrel to Wolfdale’s door. Fresh fish arrives daily by express delivery. Contrast that to the ’70s, when Dale paid dearly for shipped fresh fish and struggled to find such ingredients as shiitake mushrooms, wasabi, and cilantro, ingredients considered exotic at the time.

WELCOMING AMBIENCE

Though Wolfdale’s is located on car-choked North Lake Boulevard, you are in another world when you step inside. The ambience is unhurried and calm, the welcoming reception not unlike stepping into someone’s home, which is what it once was.

Wolfdale’s building, the oldest in Tahoe City, was a logger’s home on the South Shore. Built in 1889, it was floated to the North Shore in 1901 where it was home to constables and other Tahoe residents. Distinguished guest Charlie Chaplin stayed there while filming The Gold Rush.

Its residents wouldn’t recognize it today. At the back of the house, a split-level deck, open for summer dining, offers views of the lake.  Picture windows in the dining room frame Lake Tahoe as well. Bamboo colors of honey and amber add warmth to the ambience while a changing gallery of photographs and artwork adds interest. The unfussy setting complements Wolfdale’s sublime food.

SURF AND TURF

Seafood dominates the menu but not to the exclusion of natural meats, such as Meyer beef and Berkshire pork, hamburgers (made from filet mignon, ground in-house), and vegetarian dishes. The menu changes frequently, depending on what is available and fresh. So what you find on one visit may not be prepared the same way—or even be on the menu—the next time you go. But a sea bass entrée I had in early spring gives you an idea of the kind of food to expect.

Picture fish seared to moist perfection, topped with pineapple salsa (diced precisely, even the cilantro), accompanied by crunchy, purple Thai rice and crisp Japanese cucumber salad.  The balance of flavors and textures triumphs; every bite is a pleasure. A signature appetizer, in-house smoked trout served with sweet, garlic-laced aioli, carried the same theme of interesting textures and tastes.

CREATIVE FLAIR

With a collection of Japanese-inspired dinnerware in 24 different shapes, presentation is as creative as the food. Take one “small-plate” item, Hawaiian poke cones. Four savory cones, filled with poke and wasabi cream, arrive at the table, their tip bottoms playfully planted in a ceramic bowl filled with black and white sesame seeds.

No problem finding the perfect wine to go with the wonderful food. Wolfdale’s wine guy, Jim Budny (JB to regulars) keeps the extensive wine list up to date with popular wines and new labels. A man of many talents, Budny also is a photographer. Many of his works hang on Wolfdale’s walls.

After more than three decades, numerous awards, critical acclaim, and loyal fans from near and far, what is Wolfdale’s secret to success?

“Passion,” says Dale, a handsome, lean, 57 year old with stylishly short, gray hair.

He admits that owning a restaurant is for the young.

“But I love what I do, and my wife loves it too [Kathleen Dale is the hostess],” he says.  “I’m not done yet. So people should come and see us.”

Sandra Macias is a Reno-based food writer.  A food-editor emeritus from the Reno Gazette-Journal and freelancer, she has written about food for the past 20 years.  She loves to cook, grow heirloom tomatoes and designer vegetables in her summer garden, and eat creative, fresh meals—like the one she enjoyed at Wolfdale’s.