Good choices: Consomme of cider with black walnut-pumpkin dumplings; sauteed wild sturgeon with horseradish; roasted and wood-grilled vegetables with herbed ricotta; rosemary and black tea smoked lamb loin; loin of veal with spaghetti squash; hot chocolate soup; witches' cream.
Hours: Dinner, Tuesday-Saturday, 5:30-10 p.m.
Reservations accepted. No smoking.
Credit cards: American Express, Visa, MasterCard, Diners.
Access: One step up.
SALTS
798 Main St.
Cambridge
(617) 876-8444
Restaurant reviewed 11/10/97 by Alison Arnett
The location of a restaurant can take on a life of its own. When Panache opened in between a candy factory and a Chinese restaurant in 1979 off Cambridge's Central Square, going there to eat Bruce Frankel's exquisite nouvelle cuisine seemed like an exotic adventure. It was the beginning of the era of the chef-owner spinning out his or her vision on the plate.
The space metamorphosed several times - from Panache to 798 Main to Anago Bistro - but always kept its reputation as a little enclave to find highly personalized fine food.
Now another young chef, Steve Rosen, and his wife, Lisa Mandy-Rosen, have opened Salts in this spot. Happily, the skein is unbroken. Rosen's enthusiasm is apparent in a phone interview as he describes the Old World inspirations for his dishes. In the best of them, his intensity sparkles on the plate.
A consomme of cider and vegetable broth with sage was vaguely sweet and brightly herbal at the same time, with a pleasant crunch of spaghetti squash as a garnish. Pumpkin dumplings floated in the clear broth, and biting into them revealed a surprise of a black walnut half inside. Rosen explains later that he makes a dumpling enclosing the black walnut and then embeds this dumpling inside the pumpkin mixture before poaching. The result was a wonderfully light dumpling with a distinctive flavor, perfect against the spritzy quality of the consomme. And it's an involved approach for a $6 appetizer.
Unlike the prevalent Mediterranean trend, Salts's cuisine turns toward Eastern and Central Europe and Scandinavia. Rosen forms blini, pierogis, and varenike (a Ukrainian dumpling). He bakes his own bread daily from a potato starter. His food is comforting and robust, but with a refined line and a highly decorative view toward presentation. The wine list ranges across the globe, but has a good selection in the $20-$30 range and seems chosen to match the food.
The first of the season's tiny Nantucket scallops were braised and nestled inside a ribbon of leek over a pouf of cauliflower souffle for a special recently. The scallops were so good that they elicit exclamations; just simply cooked, they had a startlingly fresh quality, a depth of flavor that needed nothing else. Cauliflower was an unexpectedly good matchup, and swirls of yellow pepper puree and basil oil added a sharper tone and color. Roasted and wood-grilled vegetables, spears of carrots, creamy white turnips, squash, potatoes, and some greens are offset by a creamy ricotta. The vegetarian plate was sumptuous, even rich, with elements crunchy, sweet, mild, and bold.
Rosen is obviously inspired by herbs, which he uses liberally. Moist chunks of chicken were wrapped in thin pastry and topped with a mustardy sauce that bursts with rosemary. Lamb loin was infused with tea and more rosemary, giving it several layers of interest, from the meaty lamb flavor to the smoky edge of the tea and herbs. A special of loin of veal was perfectly handled, the meat pink and tender, with a touch of sweetness from a cider and cognac glaze. Tiny halved Brussels sprouts, an herbed potato cake, and spaghetti squash filled out the plate.
Sometimes comforting falls over into heavy, marring the intentions of the chef. An appetizer on an earlier menu, poached oysters over sweet corn blini with a little caviar mixed into creme fraiche, sounded promising. But unfortunately the combination was too heavy and colorless. The blini were thick and spongy; the oyster seemed to sink into it, and the dish needed an element of sharp to brace against the bland.
I liked a wild hare and herb ragout, rich and pleasantly gamey, but the butternut pierogi with it were large and ungainly. That was also my feeling about a spinach and tomato vareniki with the tea-smoked lamb. It's intriguing to see side dishes other than pasta and risotto, but the Eastern European starches are tricky - one slight misstep and they seem too heavy to pair with a main course. Rosen, who previously was chef at Dayla in Bedford and the former Rarities in the Charles Hotel, says he's trying to balance portion size as he settles into his new place, fearing that the plates seem too spare or too overloaded.
Desserts have a charm about them, varied enough but not structured or overly fussy. Hot chocolate soup was just that, like eating a big bowl of very rich chocolate anglaise, a takeoff on Viennese cocoa houses that preceded coffee houses. Witches' cream, taken from a gypsy legend, was a swirl of compressed apple compote and custard, delicious but also very rich. I love cookies, particularly after a substantial meal, and Salts' plate of hussar's kisses (almond and raspberry jam), chocolate pretzels, tiny sharp-flavored peppernuts, a soft biscotti with dates and a ginger cookie was a perfect ending.
The dining room has a new splash of color with mustard walls above a deep purple-blue wainscoting. The artwork is nicely chosen, and a series of mirrors that resemble windows add depth. Although the several visits on quiet weeknights went smoothly with attentive service, some pauses in delivery of food and the intricacy of the dishes made one wonder how the kitchen might keep up with a larger crowd.
Salts keeps a tradition going and does it with spirit and flair. One might even call it panache.
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