Wolfdale's | Blog

Happy Hour Extended!

2012-01-05T12:27:00.000-08:00

As we pray for SNOW, and lots of it, we are extending Happy Hour to 8pm! Happy Hour is now everyday from 5pm to 8pm at the bar until further notice. (as of Jan. 21st, 2012)

San Francisco's HAUTE LIVING magazine reviews Wolfdale's in "The Best of Tahoe" article in the September/October 2011 issue.

2012-01-05T12:25:00.000-08:00

"Best Lakeside Dining - WOLFDALE'S CUISINE UNIQUE"

"Wolfdale's Restaurant has been serving deliciously fresh and decadent dishes to Tahoe's North Shore patrons since 1978. Ingredients are always fresh and carefully combined to create unique plates that keep patrons loyal and coming back for more. Entree options include classics like filet mignon, Maine lobster, mussels and short ribs. The only thing that rivals the fare at Wolfdale's is the view. The eatery's location allows diners to take in the alpine air while enjoying an incredible view of the grand mountains and crystal clear lake. Nosh on the various happy hour specials, like delectable small plates, specialty cocktails and wines, while taking it all in."

by Alexandra Delgado

Wolfdale's Gift Cards Now Sold in Costco

2012-01-05T12:07:00.000-08:00

As of December 2011 Wolfdale's is now selling gift cards in the Reno, NV Costco. Two $50.00 gift cards for $79.99!

Review by 'Dining Detectives' Joe and Carol

2011-12-01T11:33:00.000-08:00

Lake Tahoe is beautiful year round and is a great getaway from the Bay Are.. Hikers and boaters love it in the spring, summer and fall and skiers love it, as it affords them a spectacular winter wonderland. All visitors and locals have one thing in common and that’s right, they appreciate excellent cuisine. Wolfdale’s in Tahoe City has been open since 1978 serving East-West Fusion Cuisine created by Restaurateur/ Executive Chef Douglas Dale using fresh, seasonal, local ingredients. The restaurant is right on the Lake with fabulous views and has outdoor dining in warmer seasons. The interior décor is sophisticated with a striking bar, interesting art and lovely flowers on each table creating wonderful atmosphere.

We ordered Manhattans and Cosmopolitans from their full bar to start and warm bread with soft butter was soon at our table. The menu has both Small Plates and Entrees so you can enjoy many tastes or have a dinner entrée. As ever, we have to try a number of menu items and fortunately we came with friends, so we could share. The Combo Teaser Appetizer with Edamame, Gomashio, Asian Beets, Wolfdale’s Smoked Trout, Olives and Scallops was an amazing starter! The flavors of each taste really popped and we knew we were in for an excellent dining experience. Next, we had their very fresh Hawaiian Ahi Poke Cones with wasabi cream which were not too spicy and quite delicious. The combination of crispy texture of the cones and delicate ahi is fun to experience. The 5-Spice Pork Belly Spoons with Guacamole and Teriyaki was also excellent. The Asian Carpaccio Rolls of Beef with Asian Beets, Arugula and Ginger Cream was thicker than most carpaccio but beautifully presented and quite nice. Another great small plate was the Chili Rellano Tempura with Smoked Chicken, Queso, Tomato Sauce and Guacamole.

Our next course was Soup and Salad. We loved both the Traditional Caesar Salad with anchovies and the Kabocha Pumpkin Soup with Apples and Chestnuts. The entrees are generous portions. Our favorite was the Thai Seafood Stew with shrimp, scallops, halibut, shitake mushrooms, spinach and Jasmine rice. This entree is a beautiful composition of flavors creating a lovely stew. The Alaskan Halibut with Asian glaze, wasabi cream, snap peas and Jasmine rice and the Mushroom Tortellini with tomato sauce, sautéed mushrooms, and roast peppers were both delicious, as well.

Wine Buyer JB Jim Budny has created an extensive Wine List. We enjoyed the 2008 Sherwin Family Vineyards, Spring Mountain Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon.

As ever, we saved room for Dessert. The White Chocolate Crème Brulee with Berries was incredible. We also really loved their Fig Apple Sorbet and their Coconut Sorbet which is a perfect light choice for dessert. We finished our meal with a Graham’s 20 yr. Tawny Port and Espressos.

We highly recommend Wolfdale’s Restaurant which is located on the Lake in Downtown Tahoe City for dinner or for cocktails and small plates at the bar. The fresh, seasonal cuisine is unique with flavors from Asia and Europe with California flair. Service is very friendly and professional. We also highly recommend the Sunnyside Lodge just a couple of miles away www.Sunnysideresort.com where we stayed and had a fabulous time. Our room was perfect and the view of the Lake was spectacular. The stars at night and the fresh Alpine air made our trip to Lake Tahoe truly memorable.

By Carol & Joe Davis
Dining Detectives

Restaurant Week 2011

2011-10-04T12:54:00.000-07:00

Wolfdale's joins 'Restaurant Week' and offers a 3-Course Price Fix Menu for $40 per person! Click here to view the menu.

Fall Happenings

2011-09-07T12:08:00.000-07:00

* Andy Skaff's art will be showing at Wolfdale's now through December.
* The Autumn Food and Wine Festival will take place September 9th-11th. Chef Douglas Dale will do a cooking demo on Saturday the 10th and on Sunday the 11th is the Grand Tasting, where Wolfdale's will be paired with Silveroak Winery.
* Wolfdale's Farmers Market Workshop featuring Michael Jones Ceramics on Thursday September 15th at 9 AM. $95 includes 4-course luncheon, wine pairings, and discussion with potter Michael Jones.
* The 15th Annual Bud Davis Memorial Abalone Dinner is Monday September 26th at Wolfdale's. The suggested donation is $95 benefitting the Tahoe Truckee Community Foundation, Abalone Dinner Commemorative Statue, Tahoe City Fireworks, and Japan Earthquake Relief. The dinner includes 3-courses, N2 Wines on tap, tax and tip. Please call Wolfdale's for more information and for reservations at (530) 583-5700.
* The 2nd Annual Restaurant Week is October 2nd-9th. Wolfdale's will offer a 3-course dinner for $40 per person.

1st Annual Interlake Bocce Ball Championships

2011-09-07T11:58:00.000-07:00

The 1st Annual Interlake Bocce Ball Championships took place Thursday September 1st in the Wolfdale's courtyard. The Wolfdale's summer season winners, Tahoe Yacht Club, battled the Truckee River Winery summer season winners, Bocce Vaticans. The championship was best-of-3 games to 12 points each and in the end the Bocce Vaticans were the champions! The event included Truckee River wines, Wolfdale's bocce bites, and music by Tuck Wilson. Both Wolfdale's and Truckee River Winery hope to make this an annual event as they were very excited about the attendance and attentiveness it received this year!

Wolfdale's Farmers Market Workshop

2011-06-11T19:12:00.000-07:00

During the summertime on occasional Thurdays you can come experience Tahoe City's Farmers Market Wolfdale's style. Meet chef Douglas Dale at Wolfdale's at 9 AM and shop with him at the local Farmers Market. Pick the freshest ingredients and head back to Wolfdale's to prepare a four course luncheon. Enjoying preparations paired with a sampling of wines and a special guest will culminate the day.

It's very educational and fun! Class size limited. Cost - $95 per person. Classes for Summer 2011 are July 7th, 21st & 28th / August 4th, 18th & 25th.* To find out more information and to sign-up, please inquire at Wolfdale's downtown Tahoe City or call us at (530) 583-5700.

*If you have a large group of friends (12 or more) that all want to do it together (i.e. for a Birthday party) please call to inquire about an additional Thursday for a private cooking class.

Wolfdale's Summer Bocce Ball League 2011

2011-06-11T19:07:00.000-07:00

For July and August join Wolfdale's Bocce Ball League on Thursday nights starting July 7th and last thru August 25th. The leagues last for 8 weeks and each team plays an hour each week. A team must have at least 4 players and pays an entry fee of $100. The $100 must be turned a week prior to the league starting date to hold your spot (due 7/1).

Every team receives an appetizer platter each week. There is a Bocce bar with wine, beer, specialty cocktails and burgers (possibly other food items) offered to purchase during the games.

On the last night, "Playoffs", the 1st place team will win a prize (last year a $100 Wolfdale's gift certificate).

For more information and to sign up please call (530) 583-5700.

SPRING NEWS

2011-04-12T09:12:00.000-07:00

We are having a beautiful spring in Tahoe. Wolfdale's will be open Thursday thru Monday during April, closed Tuesday and Wednesday. We will also be closed from April 25 to May 5 for our semi annual cleaning. Looking forward to seeing you when we reopen on May 6.

TRATTORIA the movie

2010-10-25T14:26:00.000-07:00

Join the cast and crew of TRATTORIA on the making of their independent movie in San Francisco. Inspired by real chefs (like Douglas Dale) and real-life experiences in the family restaurant business (such as Wolfdale's) TRATTORIA is a drama/comedy about a chef and his son that reconnect and heal their past through cooking set in the exciting San Francisco restaurant scene.

Please see their website www.TRATTORIAthemovie.com for more information!

Movie Synopsis:
Chef Sal Sartini and his second wife Cecelia have just opened their new restaurant, Anunzia, and are trying to get the reviews and buzz that restaurants need to succeed in the competitive San Francisco culinary scene. As they work out the kinks and get the restaurant running smoothly, Sal’s estranged college-age son, Vince, comes to visit and help out in the restaurant.

Sal works more and more to attract customers and be prepared for when the all important food critic comes in, falling into the same pattern of workaholism that dissolved his first marriage and separated him from his son originally. He no longer enjoys himself and forgets why he became a chef in the first place- his love of food and cooking… and loses site of what is really important- family.

Chef Sartini must learn with the help of his son to rekindle his passion for cooking and life, and not make the same mistakes again… or risk losing everything.

Follow them online:

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Annual Abalone Dinner Displays Awesome Community Effort

2010-10-25T14:24:00.000-07:00

By: Christine Dale

Usually communities fundraise by having special events, such as spaghetti dinners or pancake breakfasts, or selling products, like cookie dough or spring bulbs. Not the community of Tahoe City.

For the 14th year the annual Bud Davis Memorial Abalone Dinner took place at Wolfdale's Restaurant on September 27th. Many may think it is merely a delectable, successful dinner that proceeds diverse local organizations each year. While it is in fact both delicious and lucrative the abalone fundraiser goes way beyond normalcy. Before last year I was guilty in thinking it was merely a traditional fundraiser, but I was wrong. The amount of work and risk to make this fundraiser happen is truly unimaginable.

In preparation for the 13th annual Abalone Dinner I joined the divers such as; Nancy Davis, Tom Lovely, and Bill "Sandy" Sandeman, to dive for the first time. After driving six hours up the coast to Sea Ranch, California, it was time to dive. Arriving well-equipped with a fishing license and an abalone diving card I suited-up from head-to-toe in overpriced rental scuba gear. I was ready to go in the ocean and simply get my quota of three abalone for the day. Well not exactly, thinking it would be "simple" was definitely an understatement. Not only was it hard work in the choppy, kelp-infested waters, but it was extremely dangerous. Without the help of the skilled Tahoe City divers I may have never attempted it.

This experience made me realize how much work, effort, and chance the local divers take in doing this community event each year. The abalone divers deserve a huge thank you, as the annual abalone dinner would not be possible without them.

This year when the divers returned from Sea Ranch the fundraiser was bound to be a success with the amount of abalone brought back to Wolfdale's Restaurant, where 170 reservations were already booked. At 9 a.m. sharp, with many volunteers from the benefitting organizations, Tahoe Cross Country Ski Education Association and Tahoe City Abalone Dinner Memorial Sculpture, the shucking, cleaning, and pounding began in the Wolfdale's kitchen with Chef/Diver Douglas Dale. Around 3 p.m. the line and prep cooks arrived at Wolfdale's to begin the preparations of creating a delicious evening with the innovative menu of: Asian salad and tomato soup; sauteed abalone with celery root mashed potatoes, coleslaw, and tartar sauce; and fresh strawberry and golden raspberry shortcake.

As the night went very smoothly for the staff of Wolfdale's and Rombauer Winery it was a very successful Abalone Dinner with serving 210 people. Again many thanks goes out to the courageous divers of Tahoe City, Wolfdale's Restaurant, and Rombauer Winery for making this event possible for our community. I will always think of this fundraiser as heroic!

Bud Davis Memorial 14th Annual Abalone Dinner

2010-09-07T23:57:00.000-07:00

Join us on Monday September 27th for a delicious abalone dinner, Rombauer wine, and an extraordinary community event at Wolfdale's Cuisine Unique, Tahoe City on Monday September 27th, 2010 featuring the wines of Rombauer Vineyards.

Suggested Donation $85 per person. Seating begins at 5:30pm. Reservations required to this sell-out event!

All proceeds benefit the Tahoe Cross Country Ski Education Association Laser Biathlon Program and the Tahoe City Memorial Sculpture Fund.

Please follow these steps to attend the dinner: 
1. For more information call, Valli Murnane 530.405.6689
2. Mail your donation check payable to: TCCSEA, PO Box 7260, Tahoe City, CA 96145
3. Make reservations with Wolfdale's, 530.583.5700

Healthy Soil. Healthy Food. Healthy People.

2010-09-07T23:51:00.001-07:00

It is no secret that our country is in big trouble. America has been hit hard by an epidemic of obesity and diseases that are caused by artificially cheap food. But no wonder this outbreak has effected a vast majority of America's population with a greedy food industry marketing processed junk-food effectively and conditioning Americans to be stingy when shopping for food.
As many food-movements have been created to reverse this horrifying trend of the food industry the local-food movement seems to be the most promising to teach our children for the much-needed change in America's nutritional future. The local-food movement advocates to buy in-season produce from local farmers. The movement really began on the West Coast where the awareness of where food comes from that people are consuming is much higher than the rest of the country. Communities need weekly farmers markets for the movement to stay current in the mind's of Americans and widespread throughout the country.
Joanne Neft and Douglas Dale have both been very involved in Tahoe City's farmers markets and avid shoppers. Both, Neft and Dale, saw a demand for people needing more guidance on how to get the best out of local farmers markets. Joanne Neft created a very simple cookbook, "Placer County: Real Food from Farmers Markets", to follow depending on what produce are in season and Douglas Dale has been organizing and teaching Farmers Market Cooking Classes at Wolfdale's, his local Tahoe City restaurant, for three summers now. Last Thursday the two joined together and taught over twenty locals the importance of eating fresh, local, and seasonal foods.
The morning started with several enthusiastic women accompanying Chef Douglas Dale to the Tahoe City farmers market. Once returning to Wolfdale's restaurant with all of their fresh produce they split-up into four groups to prepare a four-course luncheon. As a result the women not only got to enjoy an amazing luncheon, but learned some of Dale's favorite seasonal recipes, learned specific techniques and facts about produce from the farmers at the market, and heard about Joanne Neft's journey of her lifetime passion for eating only real foods from local farmers markets. North Tahoe High School students from Laura Hartung's cooking class also attended to help with the luncheon and benefitted from Neft's inspiring talk.
Neft discussed author Michael Pollan, who has become a nominal figure for the local-food movement, and his little rule, "Pay more, eat less," to follow in order to eat better foods. By hearing Pollan's rule to follow-by really put America's epidemic into perspectives as it is completely conflicting to how the food industry is promoting the opposite: pay less, eat more.
Joanne Neft highly recommended Pollan's, "In Defense of Food: An Eater's Manifesto," as an amazing book to read.

Wolfdale's Bocce Ball League

2010-06-23T11:42:00.000-07:00

In July and August join Wolfdale's Bocce Ball League on Thursday nights starting July 8th and August 5th. The leagues last for 4 weeks (7/8-7/29 and 8/5-8/26) and each team plays an hour each week at 6pm, 7pm, or possibly 8pm. A team must have at least 4 players and pays an entry fee of $50. The $50 must be turned a week prior to the league starting date to hold your spot (due 7/1 and 7/29).

Every team receives an appetizer platter each week. There is a Bocce bar with wine, beer, specialty cocktails and burgers (possibly other food items) offered to purchase during the games.

On the last night, "Playoffs", the 1st place team will win a prize (last year a $100 Wolfdale's gift certificate) and the 2nd place team may get something as well.

For more information and to sign up please call (530) 583-5700.

Wolfdale's Farmers' Market Workshop

2010-06-22T00:14:00.000-07:00

During the summertime on occasional Thurdays you can come experience Tahoe City's Farmers' Market Wolfdale's style. Meet chef Douglas Dale at Wolfdale's at 9am and shop with him at the local morning Farmers' Market. Pick the freshest of fruits and veggies and then head back to Wolfdale's to prepare a four course luncheon. Of course, enjoying preparations paired with a sampling of wines, selected by Wolfdale's wine enthusiast JB, will culminate the event.

It's very educational and fun! Class size limited. Cost - $90 per person. Classes for Summer 2010 are July 8th, July 22nd, August 5th, August 19th, and possibly September 9th.* To find out more information and to sign-up, please inquire at Wolfdale's downtown Tahoe City or call us at (530) 583-5700.

*If you have a large group of friends (12 or more) that all want to do it together (i.e. for a Birthday party) please call to inquire about an additional Thursday for a private cooking class.

COME CELEBRATE

2010-06-09T17:30:00.000-07:00

Join us for Wolfdale's 32nd Anniversary and enjoy the music of
THE BLUES MONSTERS
FRIDAY JUNE 18th 9 pm
A $10 donation is greatly appreciated for the Tahoe City Downtown Association

NEW ARTISTS

2010-05-20T09:14:00.000-07:00

We are featuring two new artists.
Kenny Volz - Photography and
Annie Hall - Original Oils
Come visit and see their great work.
Artist Reception - June 4th 4-6 pm

REOPENING

2010-05-06T10:11:00.000-07:00

We are reopening Thursday, May 6th. Come enjoy our Happy Hour and beautiful spring weather in Tahoe.

Hello World

2010-04-30T08:47:00.001-07:00

Wolfdale's has a Blog! Keep an eye out for events and specials.