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Also this issue: Italian Market Festival returns |
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May 14-20, 2003
food
 Salt of the earth (and sea): Salt's wild black bass with fennel pollen, orange zest and three marmalades. |
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Succulent meats, inventively prepared greens, at Salt.
In a small, spare, white space that once housed a takeout joint at the corner of 20th and Rittenhouse there is now a restaurant named Salt. In it, chef Vernon Morales is doing some weird and wonderful things. The white walls and gray banquette serve as a fitting backdrop for his presentations. The only decorations are the orange flames of a small fireplace set into the wall and the votive candles scattered around the room, echoing the wide, circular, recessed ceiling lights. There is a small, square bar near the entrance. (Beware a table near this bar, because as the evening progresses and the bar fills up with waiting diners, you can feel very crowded.)
And frankly, that's my only complaint about Salt -- that it is so small you can be a bit overwhelmed.
The menu suggests that M. Morales has been worshiping at the shrine of Ferran Adrià, the trend-setting chef from Spain whose restaurant El Bulli, near Barcelona, has set new standards for chefs in Europe and America. Widely inventive, Adrià is the man behind all the foams and gels that have been showing up everywhere. M. Morales, originally from Nicaragua, has studied at El Bulli and even worked at Daniel in New York. Impressive credentials.
His fricassee of fresh morels and asparagus, two spring delights, simply floats in an intensely mushroom-y emulsion, just coating the vegetables. The amuse bouche of carrot soup topped with coconut foam arrives in a tall shot glass; sipping it, we all appear like rabid dogs but the coup de foudre of the hot, spicy carrot soup drunk through the cool white foam is akin to the effect of Irish coffee -- a wonderful contrast.
Not all is froth -- a carpaccio of black bass is sliced so thinly that the white plate almost looks bare when it arrives. But then you detect the shimmer of lemon oil and a hefty blob of American sturgeon caviar, and your first bite combines the tartness of the lemon and the saltiness of caviar taming the strong, marine flavor of the fish, and you can't stop eating.
My friend vacillates between the veal kidneys and the seared scallops with a cauliflower purée, but I point out that you can get scallops everywhere so he goes for the kidneys, and they are great -- roasted to fatty tenderness with no lingering renal taste, and dynamite potato gnocchi as a bonus. They rest on a purée of Jerusalem artichokes, which impart a nutty flavor. The bread, which comes in a silver vase, is a diagonally sliced baguette sprinkled with sea salt and served with sweet butter (a great combination).
Salt has assembled some interesting wines with a nod to all cultures, but the cheapest wine on the list is a $32 Côtes du Roussillon, which we drink because the spicy fruit will complement what we are having. I never order the cheapest wine on the menu (usually the second from the bottom), but this just happened to be exactly what we wanted. A $56 Arneis, a $39 Sauvignon Blanc and a $285 Dalla Valle Cabernet are not within many people's means. They need to keep the list as interesting as it is but include some less costly wines -- not an easy task, I know.
An exquisitely plated roasted loin of veal is our only disappointment. It sports a tasty hazelnut and lemon crust, little beggar's purses of spring onions and a fine peppery sauce, but the meat is unchewable. The hanger steak, however, a difficult cut to keep tender, is soft and pliable. It is as if the two meats had changed identities. The steak, cleverly lacking frites, comes with delicious mustard-y spatzle and a purée of parsley root with a dash of horseradish.
I'm torn between the poussin in toasted almond froth or the snapper with fennel pollen (a new buzzword) in a bouillabaisse broth, but settle instead on the skate, deliciously roasted with rock shrimp, calamari and a touch of chorizo for that Spanish touch. I don't recall when my palate has been more excited.
Desserts cover today's standard list: warm chocolate cake, tapioca, panna cotta, roasted pineapple or a plate of cheeses, including some Spanish ones. The pineapple is made into a luscious bread pudding with brioche and the panna cotta, usually dense with gelatin, is as light as oeufs a la neige and has a cooling citrus gel to finish it off.
To quote Jeffrey Steingarten: The earliest roads were built to transport salt, the earliest taxes were levied on it, military campaigns were launched to secure it and African children were sold into slavery for it. Salt gave Venice its start in the sixth century as the commercial capital of Europe, caused the French Revolution, nearly defeated Mao Tse-tung and helped Gandhi bring India to independence. If Salt can do all that, surely it can change the Philadelphia dining scene.
SALT
253 S. 20th St., 215-545-1990
Appetizers, $9-$18; entrées $19-$28
Mon.-Thu., 5:30-10 p.m.; Fri.-Sat., 5:30-10:30 p.m.
Wheelchair accessible. Smoking is not permitted. Reservations essential. All major credit cards.
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