Cure for the Common Meal

Salt's Cure West Hollywood Spring '11
www.saltscure.com
eat: Charcuterie & Pickles, Braised Pork Shoulder, Veal Burger, Yellowtail, Mussels, Blackberry Crumble, Bread Pudding, Homemade Ice Cream
sip: North Coast Coturri Rosé 2009, Alesmith IPA


When I spied the "I Love Bacon" paperweight, I knew I had come to the right place. This porcine valentine sits atop the kitchen/bar counter at Salt's Cure, a delicious, down-to-earth spot in Weho. As one would expect from a restaurant/butcher shop, the air is perfumed with roasted, smoked, and braised meat. The small chalkboard menu changes daily due to the fact that the food is admirably sourced from Californian farms. Inside, the sparse space forgoes fancy decor. Instead, the open kitchen, exposed brick wall, flickering candles, and hum of happy diners create a simple backdrop where the focus is on the food. Forget the Food Network and grab a seat at the kitchen bar, where the chef duo, Chris Phelps and Zak Walters, cook right beneath your nose.



The well-curated wine and beer list keeps up with the Cali-centric theme. We are wowed by the North Coast Coturri Rosé 2009, a gorgeous, ruby-red rosé. Made from Merlot, an uncommon rosé grape, this medium-bodied quaff is ripe with currants and proves that pink wines aren't just pretty to look at. San Diego's Alesmith IPA is a refreshing mix of bitter hops and sweet malt. As the back of the bottle rightly boasts, "It's Pretty Awesome".





Start off with a house-made Charcuterie Plate featuring a rotating array of cured meat morsels. Skinny, beet-red strips of duck prosciutto is a tasty twist on this buxom bird. Potted rabbit is packed with lardo-like fat, while thinly sliced, smoked pork shoulder is delicate, yet intense. The unique, in-house pickles, like black radishes and cherries, are delightfully original. A whimsical pretzel roll--imagine a doughy bun sprouting a crisp, pretzel appendage--and grainy mustard round out the plate.





Braised Pork Shoulder is melt-in-your-mouth good. Served with it's succulent juices, creamy grits, and a healthy handful of cilantro, this is southern comfort.







A juicy, Veal Burger topped with veal bacon proves you can't have too much of a good thing. Held together by a tasty, and squishy, poppy seed bun, it's a charred, smoky, meaty masterpiece. There's such a fight for the Belgian-style fries that we consider ordering a second round.





It's not just meat at Salt's Cure. After honing their skills at fish-centric Hungry Cat, these chefs know their way around the ocean. Yellowtail is served raw with green olives, shallots, dill, and drizzled olive oil--it's sashimi, American-style.








Plump mussels are bathed in a beer broth - the IPA adding a yeasty heft to the shellfish--as well as a delicious dunk for buttery, garlic bread)






Seasonal sides are plucked-from-the-fields fresh. A dish of Roasted Corn, thyme, butter, and aged goat cheese is farm fabulous. Our waitress earns mad points when, upon discovering the corn was sold out, she convinces the kitchen to scrape together a mini-version for our table.





The dessert choices are so tempting that we each gluttonously order our own. Normally, I shy away from liquorous desserts, but in the Whiskey Brioche Bread Pudding, the booze blends wonderfully with the butter. As we swirl the bread in luscious crème anglaise, my friend, Hollis, exclaims how good this would be for breakfast. I second that emotion.



Blackberry Crumble is a steaming bowl of summer. When warmed, the tart berries are mellowed to sweet goodness. With chunks of buttery pastry and vanilla ice cream, it's pure yum. Other homemade ice cream flavors include a lovely Lavender Shortbread, a delicate Wildflower Honey, and a bracing Fresh Mint Chocolate Chip.



Eating at Salt's Cure feels like a meal at an old friend's house, albeit one who is a damn fine chef. Here, the staff is so amicable that the lines between waiter/customer are blurred. It's a convivial, casual dinner party, where the menu and guest list change daily, but the deliciousness remains the same.

Seven Meats In Heaven

Má Pêche Midtown 8 October 2010
www.momofuku.com/ma-peche
eat: Beef Seven Ways
sip: Bayerischer-Bahnof Leipziger Gose

This is Sammy. He is holding a rib which glistens with crispy fat and tender meat. This isn't just any rib, nor is it the only meat he will devour tonight. He is midway through the gluttonous feast, aptly titled Boeuf Sept Façons, offered at Má Pêche, David Chang's French-Vietnamese restaurant. Last week, I was graciously invited by my fellow foodie friend, Jeff (who is Sammy's dad), to celebrate my birthday - and our shared carnivorous worship - along with his girlfriend, daughter and her friend.


Má Pêche is the first restaurant in Chang's empire located away from the East Village. In spite of it's Midtown location, it still bustles with the same downtown energy as his other restaurants, albeit in a brighter, slightly more upscale environment. I tend to prefer beer to wine when dining on Asian cuisine, so I order a Bayerischer-Bahnof Leipziger Gose, a citrusy, herbal wheat beer that is refreshingly bubbly - almost champagne-like - and yeasty. Gose beers are brewed with the non-traditional addition of coriander and salt, so I find it to be a tasty meal-accompanying brew, but some non-salt addicts may find the saltiness overbearing.



After reading the Beef Seven Ways Menu, which honors the meat's provenance by listing the farms where the beef is sourced, we decide to order a salad to supplement the veggies in our meal. The Heirloom Tomato Salad (Eckerton Hill Farm, PA) features last-of-the-season tomatoes and watermelon rind with an Asian influence of basil and yuba, dried beancurd. It's a bright palate-cleanser that is the perfect start to the sumptuous meal.




Tongue (Creekstone, KS). Admittedly, even I, the adventurous meat-lover, find that the idea of eating tongue makes my stomach queasy; consequently, my previous experience with tongue was limited to lingua tacos, which were smothered with spicy salsa that disguised the meat. However, this dish has made me a new fan of tongue. In fact, the entire table was all surprised and impressed with the tasty tongue, who's heft and texture I would liken most to Jewish deli meat. Served with a mountain of spinach and whole basil leaves, crunchy peanuts, and a plum vinaigrette, this savory salad is an encouraging omen for what's to come.



Wagyu (Imperial Beef, NE) America's version of Kobe, the exquisitely-marbled, high-quality Japanese beef, is seared slightly and served with radishes, scallions, ginger, and cilantro. This uncomplicated presentation highlights this magnificent meat; like fatty tuna, the Wagyu's richness is heightened when barely cooked.




Cote de Boeuf (4 Story Hill Farm, PA) and Sausage (Niman Ranch & Imperial Beef). Next, a mouthwatering platter of meat arrives with succulent, bone-in rib-eye (featuring the aforementioned rib), roast garlic, and amazing, house-made sausage that bursts with flavors of Thai lemongrass, basil, and shallot. A tray of accoutrements - pickled veggies, chili paste, fried garlic, homemade hoisin and fish sauce, bunches of fresh cilantro & basil - plus a head of butter lettuce accompany the meat. This is when the meal truly evolves into a festive, family-style feast - we are laughing , sharing our favorite flavor combos, eating enthusiastically with our hands, and licking our fingers as if we're at home rather than in a public place.




Oxtail and Shank (Pineland Farm, ME) The piece de resistance is the Flintstone-size beef shank that has been braised all day with crab paste and chili and arrives smothered in onions. The shank is so tender that no knife is required - a set of tongs is all you need to pull the succulent meat off the bone. Nestled next to the shank are plump oxtails packed with flavor from soy, sherry and apple juice. If you have always been hesitant to try oxtail, I urge you to taste these, which are, like the rest of the meat, outstanding. When we finally wave the white flag of food surrender, Jeff asks to take the mammoth shank bone for his homemade ragù. Turns out this is a common request - though the waiter warns us of stuffing the greasy bone in a purse (!) which has been the regrettably inane choice for previous diners.




Consommé (Pineland Farm, ME) The meal concludes with a delicate, short rib consommé brightened by the traditionally Vietnamese melange of cilantro, lime and basil. Although we are all stuffed like sausages at this seventh and final course, this simple soup is surprisingly, stomach-soothing. As I sip the savory broth, I'm reminded of the Bull Shots (Bloody Marys made with Beef Broth instead of Tomato Juice) I served as a hangover cure in my bartending days. Like that restorative cocktail, this consomme relieves our bursting bellies.


No dessert is offered for the meal, nor at the restaurant a la carte - though a massive wheel of stinky Epoisses is available if you're craving a non-meat finale. However, you can get your sweets fix upstairs at Milk Bar, Chang's decadent, dessert wonderland. There, the desserts are so damn delicious, that we ignored our full tummies and ordered their trademarked Cereal Milk Ice Cream and Birthday Cake Truffles (think Funfetti cake donut holes). Unfortunately, no photos were taken since we were busy gobbling up the goodies, but take my word for it, there's a reason that Milk Bar has a cult following.

All in all, Boeuf Sept Façons is one of the most memorable meals I have ever had. Singularly, each dish is a bovine masterpiece; together, they are beefy bacchanal that needs to be put on everyone's bucket list. Indeed, the $85 price tag may seem high for a Vietnamese, family-style meal, but how many tasting menus involve finger-licking, chin-dripping, mouth-watering wow?