Thursday 10 July
Salazar is the new hot restaurant
near Music Hall; so hot that when we were walking toward it and had
forgotten the exact address, a woman we asked pointed it out and said,
"it's really incredible, you'll have a great meal there."
They don't take reservations, so
we arrived at around 6 PM and scored a seat on the comfy back banquette; it
sure filled up quick, and got loud, after that.
Service was friendly and efficient, and the staff is very knowledgeable
about their food and drink.
We started with birthday toasts of
prosecco, and then went all out on
the starters: an oozingly cute little fried oyster slider with kimchi, radish sprouts, and
garlic mayo; a boardful of grilled crostini topped with mashed fava beans, preserved meyer
lemon, pecorino romano, and Spanish white anchovies (Kathy's recommendation);
and a sea scallop “crudo” with rolled cucumber, watermelon, lime, mint, Serrano
chile, and nasturtium leaves of such Japanese perfection that we instantly
regretted not having a camera along (and you will too).
The fish dishes looked most interesting,
so we ordered a Chardonnay (Domaine Talmard 2012) to go with two: Verlasso ocean-farmed
salmon served with Tokyo baby turnips, young carrots, bacon, tortellini stuffed
with braised greens, in a pool of dashi broth; and a crispy-skinned fillet of redfish
with yuzu emulsion, served with fennel, green beans, and radishes so good that
Holt exclaimed over them.
Desserts are necessary for a
birthday. Serving them in a mason jar is
something that everyone, including Holt, has already done, but nonetheless the cheesecake
with peaches and streusel had that good sour smack that a New Yorker demands
from cheesecake, while the strawberry sorbet sandwiched in a frozen Holtman's lemon
cake donut (that's how they spell it at Holtman's, which is just up the block)
was also satisfying as well as clever.
Verdict:
Salazar lives up to its hype, so we'll be back.
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