Wooden City

New fall menu cocktail lineup! 🍂

Marigold Amaro from Portland Oregon is the star of the show in our new Spritz for fall. It’s backed up with apricot liqueur, almond syrup, grapefruit juice, and sparkling rose for a bright, light, and effervescent fall refresher.

Our take on the tiki classic ‘Painkiller’ uses the true to form Navy Rum but is reinforced with overproof Jamaican rum and topped with excessive amounts of nutmeg. Our Bar Manager, Alex’s favorite!

A brand new fall edition is our very own ‘Pieces of Eight’, a bourbon based fall crusher that includes Fernet Branca, peach, pineapple, and an extra rich cinnamon syrup that together will ease the transition into colder weather.

Cheers, Tacoma!

Tacoma! We have some news! This has been in the works for almost a year now, but things just became official so we figured it was time to make an announcement…. Wooden City is moving!

This wasn’t an easy decision - we love this space and everything it’s done for us over the last 6 years, but we’ve outgrown it. When we set out on this journey in 2018, we really had no idea what to expect - outgrowing a space that felt so big to us at the time was definitely not on our minds back then. Our incredible staff, and the whole Tacoma community that’s supported us so fiercely have gotten us to this point and we’re endlessly grateful. Thank you for being a part of this.

Now… the details! While we don’t have too many specifics to share yet we can tell you that we’ll be moving into a beautiful space off 11th and Broadway so we’re not going too far. We also have something up our sleeves for Pac Ave once we get moved over. It’s hard to put a timeline in writing since most buildouts come with unexpected speed bumps, but we’re shooting toward mid-2025. More on all of these things soon but we just wanted to make it IG official.

Again, thank you to our staff and this community. You’ve all become family to us and we’re so excited to see what this next chapter brings!

—

Jeff was a part of the original kitchen team when we opened back in 2018, and today is his last day here at Wooden City before he embarks on his next adventure running

Jeff is an incredible chef, but what first comes to mind when I think about him is his values and character. He’s kind, genuine, focused, patient, honest, and calm under pressure; he’s warm and incredibly likable, and he leads by example. I cant stress enough how important it is for any team to put just as much importance on character as they do on talent. It’s the driving force behind developing a strong and healthy culture that has long term positive impacts impossible to quantify. Jeff has been an integral part of our growth and has personally mentored much of our leadership teams - we are so grateful for his ability to inspire us all to be better people. 🙏

We can’t wait to see all he will accomplish at Go give them a follow and we’ll see ya on opening day 🫶

Our peel ‘n’ eat shrimp are served hot and tossed in Cajun spice. They’re always poached to order so they’re always served piping hot and very tender.

This is one of my favorite ways to eat/prepare food in general - hot, fresh, cooked to order, unfussy, big flavor, eaten with your hands, and served with a couple condiments. It’s randomly kinda healthy too if you don’t go too hard on the clarified butter. So more or less checks a lot of boxes for us. Served up all night on our dinner menu but also discounted at happy hour. 👀

We had so much fun volunteering with the folks at this week!🪴TTF were our nonprofit partners this past March & April for our Draft Old Fashioned program - not only are they awesome people but they're also doing some awesome work here in the Tacoma area.

If you've been in before, you've seen the Draft Old Fashioned donation program note on our cocktail menu that mentions we donate $1 to a rotating local non-profit for every Draft Old Fashioned we sell - so you get to enjoy a delicious drink while giving back to your community 🥃💛 We're proud to have had this program since we opened back in 2018. Over the years, one connection has naturally led to another & another. Now we have this incredibly diverse network of folks in our communities - a lot of whom have become dear friends of ours along the way. Check out the tags for all our 2024 partners so far, and head over to our website for the full list & inquiry form
Through July & August, we're partnered with 🫶 Rebuilding Hope! Sexual Assault Center offers confidential, lifelong support to survivors & their loved ones, including 24/7 crisis intervention and victim advocacy, trauma-focused counseling and prevention education across Pierce County. For 50 years, they have shown up for survivors of any form of s*xual violence whether it happened hours ago or decades ago and regardless of the survivor's age, race, ethnicity, nationality, language, s*x, gender identity or expression, s*xual orientation or ability.
Hope everyone has a safe & fun time at Pride this weekend 🏳️‍🌈, thanks for being awesome Tacoma!

Summer is in full swing yall and our second round of seasonal changes just hit the menu! I love all our seasonal sets for all different reasons……but I'd be lying if I said I wasn't patiently waiting for this one in particular to come back. Blistered shish*to peppers and peaches create that perfect savory taste with just a touch of sweetness. Finished with a mustard gastrique…jeez I could eat this every day. Not your dad’s pork chop 👀

Hope everyone has a fun & safe Fourth of July! We will be *CLOSED tomorrow* and back to business as usual on Friday 🤘
📸 Country-Style Pork Chop with peaches, candied hazelnuts, shish*to peppers, and brown butter & whole grain mustard gastrique

Happy first day of Summer, Tacoma!! ☀️ It's the longest day of the year with some (very) warm, sunny weather to boot. Oh yeah and it also means our Heirloom Tomatoes is back on the menu, baby! Best enjoyed on the patio with a glass of bubbles or our lovely new 'Garden Wall' cocktail with gin, fennel liqueur, arugula, luxardo, & lime 🥂
📸: Heirloom Tomatoes ~ burrata cheese, pesto bread pudding, tomato gelée, aged balsamic, fresh basil

It’s important to us that we have delicious and thoughtful options for our friends with dietary restrictions. We’ve created gluten-free, vegetarian, and vegan options on our dinner menu, but found our dessert menu lacked an option for those folks. So we got to work! Inspired by a dish that Jon had created years ago at a poke bar up in Seattle, Chef Jeff revived and evolved it to its current form. It's been on the menu for a minute now and has become the perfect patio season dessert - so we're really manifesting some sunshine with this one. 🌞
📸: Vegan Tapioca Pudding with coconut, passionfruit, and a sprinkle of matcha. vegan and gluten free!

Watermelon Sundae is back baby! This cocktail has become the star of the summer ever since it first debuted on the menu. Plus we get to collab with every year for it, which makes its return even more exciting.

The Watermelon Sundae features tequila, serrano-elderflower, watermelon agave, and lime. It's just the right amount of spice in a really refreshing drink. Cheers, Tacoma! ☀️✌️
p.s. - you can even get it to-go! just ask your server/bartender. Perfect for your next backyard bbq or sunny day picnic

Gloomy weather 🤝 comfort food. And what's comfier than fresh pasta in a rich red sauce? Nothin', that's what! Pair it with the Tua Rita ‘Rosso dei Notri’ Sangiovese as you gaze longingly out the window in hopes the sun will come out again soon. 🍷🍝
📸: Spicy Lamb Rigatoni with vodka sauce, house lamb sausage, calabrian chili, preserved lemon, parmesan.

The newest Spring variation of the Seared Scallops strikes a really lovely balance between the light veggies & scallops and the richness that comes with the shiitake risotto. This is the first time we've ever had something like this on the menu and we're so stoked with how it came out! It's super bright & not overly filling, and has definitely been my go-to dinner lately.
📸: Seared Scallops with shiitake risotto, brown butter asparagus, crispy potato, preserved lemon & chive oil

She's back baby!! We've been doing this one as a special every so often, but she's for real on the menu! Ever since we first debuted this dish it's been a fan favorite among guests and staff alike. So whenever we bring it back, it's always an exciting day. It is however still a seasonal item, so appreciate the time you have together 'til we switch things up again 👀 Distance truly does make the heart grow fonder, right?
📸: Spinach Gnudi - gorgonzola cream sauce, candied walnuts, smoked shiitake mushrooms, celery leaf

This Spring variation of our Fresh Burrata made its debut last year, and we're stoked to have it back on the menu. Each seasonal set of this particular dish has been as popular as the others, so that's either indicative of a solid formula or yall just really love cheese. We'll chalk it up to a little bit of both?
📸: Fresh Burrata with asparagus, pea tendrils, pesto bread pudding, aged balsamic, pickled fennel, & candied pistachio

Hey you! Yeah you! Did you know we have a late night happy hour now? We kinda snuck it in a couple weeks ago but figured we should probably do a hard launch on the feed. The inspiration came from how we usually spend our time post-service - sitting at the bar, with our favorite "secret menu" snacks & the closing bartender to keep us company. So now you too can experience the cozy bliss of the night owl life while munching on exclusive late night food & drink specials! Swipe for a peak at the menu ->
🌛 Only available at the bar, Sun-Thurs from 8:30pm til close 🌜

The Spring menu is one of the most exciting transitions because - like many others during this season - we can actually feel ourselves coming back to life with renewed energy & motivation. The vibes are bright & colorful and we've had a lot of fun playing around with new recipes and perfecting last year's sets. First up is the salad of the season which is peak Spring: mixed greens, snap peas, goat cheese, pistachio, with a strawberry & poppy seed vinaigrette. The flavors are delicate & light, and all the Spring produce really shines in this one.

New menu launches today!! See ya tonight 🌷✌️

The 'Can’t Never Could' crosses an Old Fashioned with southern dessert flavors. Black walnut and candied banana add a rich darkness that doesn’t overpower the bourbon or bring it too close into dessert territory. It’s a great way to warm up during these cold months. Pairs perfectly with the Fresh Burrata!

📸: Can't Never Could
- Bourbon
- Nocello
- Tempus fugit crème de banane
- Black walnut bitters

📸: Fresh Burrata - brown butter carrots, sage bread pudding,
aged balsamic, fresh oregano, & candied pecans

Over the past 5+ years, we’ve done a lot of growing & evolving. We got through the pandemic, and opened up a couple new restaurants, and I think those experiences pushed us to revisit some of the OG dishes/recipes that seemed untouchable before now. We’ve always consistently worked on upgrading the menu, though the vast majority of that has been through new items. It’s especially exciting to be in a place where changing up/reimagining the dishes that were staples since 2018 doesn’t feel like we’re losing some bit of our original identity in the process. Does that make sense?? When we first launched our rigatoni (which replaced the lamb bolognese) there was honestly a little fear in the back of our heads - the lamb bolo played a huge part in our first menu! We took the leap because it felt good and it still feels good now, so fiddling around with other original dishes from the OG menu doesn’t seem as taboo anymore.

Anyway, it feels a little silly to be writing out all of that when this post is essentially announcing that we’re now using the schnitzel cutlets for our fried chicken sandwiches. It’s a basic swap, but something we’d never considered doing before. Gonna keep riding this new inspiration wave and see where it takes us.

We are mourning alongside the rest of our community over the tragic loss of Jacob Carter. Our hearts break for Daniel, their families, & the whole team. We'll be donating 20% of all bar sales this weekend to their GoFundMe in an effort to help support them in taking the time they need to grieve.

We've added a link in our bio to their GoFundMe page, please consider donating directly if you are able.

Support for Daniel Blagovich and Howdy Bagel:
https://gofund.me/d99a87d8