thePULSEWooden Bar: A Food and Bev Review
By The Midshifters (Elisabeth Morgan & Joie Gerhardt)
In a tucked-away corner off of Cambridge St. lives a new experimental restaurant project: Wooden Bar. As Worcester’s newest and hottest breakthrough writers, we can’t wait to tell you about it.
We were nearing the end of our day shift together, and Joie was on a hyper-focused cleaning bender while Elisabeth had one foot out the door. Sticking to our normal tradition, we decided to make the trip across town more difficult than it needed to be; with Joie manufacturing a new shirt out of a scarf once worn around her neck, and Elisabeth insisting that she knew the way to Wooden Bar without her GPS, but taking several wrong turns. Nevertheless, we arrived in one piece, anxious to indulge in Worcester’s newest brick and mortar.
The traditional Japanese ramen shop divider, or noren, hung from the entrance of Wooden Bar, guiding us in. Once inside, we were embraced by the warmth of this evolving space – and, literally, the bartender, Helen, our industry friend. She stepped away from her station at the bar and drew us into a hug; it felt like we were coming home. We knew we’d have our meal barside – her gravitational pull was too strong.
At first glance of the menu, Elisabeth was overjoyed by the amount of vegan choices, while Joie was overwhelmed by the options; reverting to decision-paralysis. A pour of the just-released house saison would help us think clearer, and we settled on three sharable add-ons to start: Cubed kimchi, braised lotus root, and crispy nori.
Breakdown of the start:
- Farmhouse Saison: Brewed in tiny fermentation tanks left behind by 3Cross Brewery, it was dry-hopped, refreshing, and beautifully balanced. This saison is their first beer release, and we’re aching for more.
- Cubed Kimchi: Breaking from tradition, Wooden Bar uses cubed daikon radish in their house kimchi, flexing their fermentation and flavor development skills. This bite-sized snack has a kick of spice, which was soothed by the sweetness of our beer.
- Braised Lotus Root: Balanced with sweetness, salt, and perfect texture. Voted, “Most likely for us to each need a big jar of at home.”
- Crispy Nori: All crunch, in the best way. Typically served with a house soy sauce or spicy mayo, ours was customized with an “exclusive” pistachio sauce that was both vegan friendly and mind-blowing. **Fair warning Wooden Bar: We will blackmail you into giving us this recipe.
After several photo ops, heckling from patrons, “Are you guys actually going to eat it?”, laughing with Helen, and sipping beer, our service industry anxiety reared its head, festering into a shared thought: “We’re taking too long to order our next drink and meal, it’s annoying, we’re better than this.” There was but one solution: Knock back our beers, ask Helen for the signature cocktails, (wine and cola for Elisabeth and the ruby milk punch for Joie), and order the red curry noodles, a dish we both surprisingly agreed upon quickly.
Details of the feast:
- Wine and Cola: A red wine blend topped off with cola and garnished with a lemon slice, this drink is delightfully sweet and reviving. If you’re on the fence about red wine, this might be for you. We found that the cola is the forward flavor in this drink with an aftertaste of the dry red blend.
- Ruby Milk Punch: Port wine, rum, and earl gray, strained with milk into a dreamy cocktail that paired so beautifully with the meal. Joie was misty-eyed.
- Red Curry Noodles: This dish is normally non vegan, but they boast an adaptable menu, so they hooked it up – Elisabeth’s side of tempeh was soft and buttery, a vegan substitute she didn’t know she could like so much. Joie’s side of chicken was home-brined to perfection; decadent with the saucy, spicy noods. This meal had it all – warm spices, coconut curry, oyster mushrooms for texture, and pickled okra for a thoughtful contrast.
Wooden Bar is sustainable in their local farm-centered menu, waste output and recycling, and even staffing, where staff empowerment and learning is a serious priority, and we dig that. We recognize that Wooden Bar is off the beaten path for those comfortable with their local spots. If you have any reservations, get out of your comfort zone. We loved our experience there, and we know you will too.
The Midshifters is a monthly Pulse Column and emerging brand. Laugh and cry with us on our social page: We’ll spill tea, share the BTS story, and let you in on who we are- You can follow us on Instagram @Themidshifters.
