75. BlackSalt

I have been a fan of BlackSalt for a long time, and am a little baffled at how far down the list it ranks. Maybe the powers that be were put off by the fact you have to walk through a fish market to get to the restaurant, but isn’t that where all the cool things usually are? Like Studio 54, where all the celebs hung out in the basement instead of the main room? Not that I know from experience, but Mike Myers made it seem that way in the movie. Anyways, what was I saying? Oh yeah, BlackSalt. It is an odd progression from casual to fancy in the restaurant—enter through fish market, past a raw bar and a few bare tables, then a glass partition cordons off the fine dining section. I’m assuming that is so the rich folks don’t have to look at the commoners buy food they have to actually cook themselves. The horror! Once finally in the back, you are in a chic but very small dining room. The kitchen takes up the entire left side of the restaurant and is left completely open. Usually I find this to be a highlight of the scene, but on this occasion there was a cranky chef screaming “RUNNER! I NEED A RUNNER!” for a full five minutes. I contemplated going back there myself until the poor guy finally went back there to pick up someone’s calamari. My mom and I, having been to BlackSalt many times, decided to try it for lunch on this occasion. We thought it would be empty in the middle of the week since its not exactly in a high business traffic area, but got reservations anyway (got to rack up those OpenTable points!). I was glad we had reservations, almost every table was full. It was an odd crowd—a couple tables of very old people (we assumed from the assisted living place down the street), business men (inexplicable), and the 30-something “retirees” out for a ladies lunch (it is the Palisades after all). The menu had a few of the same items as the dinner menu, but it did have a lunch special that was the deal of the century: three courses for $20. Unlike restaurant week, the dishes on the special menu were actually on the restaurant menu. And there was key lime pie for dessert, we couldn’t resist. Our waiter warned us that the portions were a little on the small side, but with three courses we would be plenty full. I started with the hummus, which seems like a strange thing to order at a seafood restaurant, but it was really great. Perfectly smooth and garlicky, it was served with homemade pita and an unmemorable olive and tomato salad that I was happy to push to the side. Mom had the Addie’s Mussels, which I knew from the actual Addies and therefore could predict how delicious they would be. The verdict? Very delicious! There was a ton of garlic in there, but Mom and I weren’t looking to meet any men at lunch so the more the better. For our main courses, I had the fried tilapia sandwich and Mom had the pasta of the day, fettuccine with vegetables in a champagne vinaigrette sauce with a big piece of hake on top. My sandwich was very tasty, it had a couple giant pieces of bacon and an apple relish that hopefully they will one day bottle and sell in the fish market. The fish was fried in such a heavy and thick crust that it gave the fish a great crunch without being at all greasy. Also, I’m a total roll snob and they done me right on this occasion—big and soft but with enough umph to hold up the fish. The home made potato chips on the side were way too greasy, but luckily I couldn’t even finish my sandwich so I didn’t need them. Mom’s pasta was also really tasty, and the sauce was light with a little zip to it. Also the fish on top was enormous; it could have been a meal by itself. We both obviously ended our meal with the key lime pie (delicious!) and finished full and happy. I’m not sure if the lunch deal is an all the time sort of situation, but for the amount of food and quality, it can’t be beat. And don’t forget to pick up with the salty peanuts in the market on your way out, it too, can’t be beat.