Salt – Decent Enough

I have now been to Salt twice.  Verdict – absolutely worth a try, but it has not catapulted to favorite level.  The space and atmosphere though – I have to say – are stunning.  Bright, cheery paintings (artist: the owner’s mother-in-law [according to our waiter]) cover the walls of this wonderfully maintained home along Lindell.  Oh, and if you go upstairs for restroom purposes, poke around the other end of the hall and take a gander at the gallery space and the Egyptian themed mini theatre area.  But to the food:

Duck fat fries.  Desperately wanted to try them.  The garlic aioli was good… Basically just a crispy mass of incredibly thin fries.  Nothing swoon worthy here.

Duck fat fried chicken — I’m almost equally ambivalent about it.  It was certainly crunchy, but nearly too crunchy.  Definitely didn’t surpass my dad’s fried chicken.  However, that pickled watermelon you see there was amazing.  Nothing like the jar of jello-like stuff my Arkansan mother brings out of the fridge at dinner.  Crunchy, tart, with almost a mulled spice flavor.  Incredible accompaniment for fried food.

The pork steak.  Oh the pork steak.  The first time I went, PB ordered it and it was wonderful.  I’m a sucker for apple sauce and pork, and there on top is a big ol’ glob of the homemade stuff. The pork steak was tender, and the risotto was savory with a lacing of apple.  SO.  The next time I went, I decided to forego partaking in the small plates my friends EC and JF were selecting and opted for the pork steak.   What a wreck.  I felt determined to like it, so down the gullet it went, but it was – wait for it – wayyyy too salty.  The restaurant’s eponymous seasoning had clearly taken over the dish for the night.  Most disappointing.

Here’s the strategy I would suggest if you visit Salt.  Go for the small plates.  Both times I visited Salt, I did sample a fair number of them (from charitable dining partners), and they were all generally tasty, whereas the entrée plates were either mediocre or hit-and-miss.  Just finagle a sampling of the watermelon rind sans chicken.