Salt

Anyone walking by this brick brownstone exterior on the corner by Patterson Park would have thought nothing of it: perhaps another neighborhood pub-in-the-wall type place for locals to dwell past hours. But there's something about the name, Salt, and its glowing green industrial lights as seen from the outside that will make people look twice. Food is a modern art form (in a good way) that you'll only partially understand, particularly the menu descriptions, but an extraordinary experience that will ensure this is your new local hang out.

Just start with the interior: preserved exposed brick walls flanked with interesting art, lime-green circular lights like spaceships or salon hairdryers hanging in lines over the bar, skinny tables serving artistic dishes. It's nothing like you'll find down on Thames Street. Then take the menu next: it's curiously different, yet somewhat familiar. Putting a contemporary flair to traditional American favorites, and not in a wanna-be-trendy-fusion way, food comes out in extraordinary blends. Kobe beef and foie gras sliders! French fries fried in duck fat! A chicken-fried quail with a mini-waffle! Even the antipasto plate twists favorite Italian appetizers by stuffing tapenade inside peppadew peppers and bruschetta is a polenta.
 

For entrees, the whole Spanish mackerel is an experience covered in oregano, lemon and olive puree. They're not kidding about it being a whole fish – be prepared to have the fish staring back at you on the plate. For a head-free fish, there's the pan-roasted halibut with cherry wood bacon fricassee, lobster butter and avocado. The Cuban-braised pork shank has extremely tender, flavorful fall-off-the-bone meat with andouille sausage and sweet plaintains in the bowl.
 

For dessert, which is a must, donuts with goat cheese are a unique and excellent finish to the meal. If you have friends with you, there's also french toast, an ice cream sampler served in mini cones (not really meant for sharing) and a selection of other treats. If you can't try them all, you'll just have to come back another time.

 

- by Rin-rin Yu, Washington Reporter for HelloMetro  (Click to leave a message)

Rin-rin Yu

Rin-rin is an award-winning writer and journalist based in the Baltimore-Washington area. Her work has appeared in China Daily, DAYSPA magazine, Luxury Home Design, Aquatics International, Not For Tourists and other publications. Rin-rin has also worked for ABC News, WHDH-TV (NBC) in Boston and Hanley Wood Business Media. She has a master's degree from the Medill School of Journalism at Northwestern University. She is an avid world traveler and maintains a travel blog, www.mytravelhats.com.