Salty Sow

  Howdy folks, yesterday (Feb 16) my sister and I decided to try dining at Salty Sow (saltysow.com).  I chose this place after looking at the menu and being intrigued by the idea of traditional French cooking techniques being used on local produce and meats.  I know that there are plenty of restaurants that use local ingredients, but we chose this one because I wanted to see what the food from a 28 point out of 30 on the Zagat scale tasted.
   So first things first...on a Saturday night, if you're not willing to wait around for about an hour (our quote time for a table for walk-ins) then I would recommend you calling in for a reservation.  I'm usually pretty good about planning and thinking ahead but for some reason or another I didn't think to call and we waited about 45 minutes for a table.  But I can tell you that the wait was worth it.
   My sister and I started with drinks...I had my usual Long Island Iced Tea and my Sister had one of their signature drinks the "Mr Shaw" which is comprised of Jasmine Green Tea Liquor, Bullet Rye Bourbon, Honey and something else that we don't remember.  My Sister said that her drink was tasty and my Long Island went down smoothly.

   As far as appetizers go we had the "Triple Fried Duck Fat Fries: and the "Truffled Deviled Eggs."  Both the appetizers...or "Hors D'oeuvres" as the menu puts it, were delicious.  The Deviled Eggs were delicious and the truffle oil didn't overwhelm the delicate flavors of the stuffing (which didn't use mustard and a definite plus for my sister and I, whom do not like the flavor of too much mustard).  The Triple Fried Duck Fat Fries were awesome.  The fries were very crispy, while still being soft in the center (not as easily done as one might actually expect) and I contribute it to use of duck fat.  And the cold Bearnaise that accompanied the fries paired very well with the yolk of the "110 minute egg" that was on top of the fries.  I would absolutely recommend both of these dishes.

  

   For entree's we both had the "Beef Shoulder Slow Cooked" with "Yukon gold mashed potatoes, glazed root vegetables and neck bone gravy."  Sadly this dish wasn't that great.  The gravy and the vegetables were tasty and cooked well, but the actual Shoulder (which was slow cooked in what tasted like a red wine) was over cooked...dry.  The fried egg didn't really add to the dish either.  I don't really understand how a slow cooked piece of meat would be dry, but in any case, the flavor was good, I just don't think that I'd order it again.  The actual entree was served in a small metal pot, which was surprising to me.

   For dessert we had the "Bananas Foster Beignets."  I personally didn't like the actual beignet itself, it was way to heavy and oily for my tastes, but the nutmeg vanilla ice cream that came with it was outstanding.  If I could order dessert all over again, I would just order the ice cream, yes it was that good.  It was light, creamy with just enough nutmeg to recognize it was nutmeg. 

  Well bottom line is that Salty Sow has decent food and I'm glad I had a the opportunity to dine here, but I don't think that its necessarily a place that I would routinely frequent.  But I would recommend trying this place out at least once.  

Until next time...I wish y'all happy eating.

-Henry