THURSDAY'S TOP CHEF RANT..

Bye Manuel...and we hardly knew ya! Really! We hardly knew ya, which is one reason he is probably gone, he brought nothing to the table or the show. But if it were really based on talent there is no doubt there could have been other choices to send packing....say...Ryan. Antonia. Zoi. Maybe even Andrew. But each of them bring something to the table (except maybe Antonia, who was my pick this week by the way.)
I thought the quickfire challenge last night was tough, but thought they all kind of did well on that. The elimination challenge though should have been an opportunity for each of them to shine, and in my opinion, the only ones who really ran with it were Richard, Andrew, and Dale. Though for the same reason that Manuel was booted, for following blindly, so went Andrew with Richard. Fortunately for Andrew, Richard is much better then Spike so he was safe. I also felt that Spike and Manuel showed much more technique and skill with their dish then Zoi and Antonia, c'mon...It shouldn't have come down to how much of your budget you spent over how well you executed your dish. Anyway it was fun to see Daniel....The guy is just a culinary God, and seeing him on shows like that make me realize what an experience it was being able to have worked with him for as long as I did.....
For next weeks pick I am going to have to stick with Antonia, though I don't think Zoi or Ryan have much longer either..
b.

UPDATE...

Sorry these are getting longer in between posts, it just means we are busier both physically and mentally as the opening is approaching. Just to keep everyone in the loop...We have officially started our front of the house training this week. It got off to a bit of a slow start but perked right up on day 2 due to some ice breaking games that Laurie and Jen came up with (something about toilet paper and mummies..as you can see above) Today is training for group 2 front of the house as well as our first kitchen meeting. So as you can see, things are moving along. Septic has hit some glitches but we're back on track with that. Plumbers have been on the job and are finishing up there stuff. So we are "Oh So Close"!!

TWO SALT CONGRATS THIS WEEK...

Happy Birthday to Laurie and
Congrats to Jeremiah and Susie on the birth of their healthy baby yesterday!!

Salt will be making it's debut at this years "Taste of Talent" benefit for Project Self Sufficiency at Perona Farms on Monday April 7th. So if any of you out there are attending stop by and say "HOWDY" we'd love to see you!
b.

A FEW MENU ITEMS....

The menus are finally done and ready to go. This is how they will play out.
Open Tue - Sun
Bar menu- will be offered from 11am until close, all day
Lunch menu- will be offered from 11am until 4pm
Dinner menu- will be offered from 5pm until 11pm

BAR MENU

Olive & feta tapenade with pita crisps
Goat cheese quenelles with a raspberry balsamic reduction and poached pear
Flight of pub sliders (3) with roasted tomato aioli, chipotle aioli, Guiness onions
Salt fries, hand cut and tossed with sea salt
Meatloaf sandwich (chilled) with smash potato and house ketchup on crisp french bread
Cheese plate with a fresh fruit compote and pickles
Boiled eggs

LUNCH MENU

Shrimp Po'boy with lettuce, tomato, pickles, and a srirachi aioli
Turkey club with a sundried tomato aioli and candied bacon
Chilled roasted vegetable salad with goat cheese and sunflower seeds
Bar-b-que pulled pork sandwich with house slaw
Tofu saute', cornmeal crusted with spring herbs and baby greens
Country French salad; baby greens,chunks of crisp bread,olives,red onion,sundry toms

DINNER MENU

apps.
Steamed pot; clams,cockles,mussels in hearty fish broth with crisp bread
Risotto of the day
"Bloody" prawns;skewered,panko crusted with a bloody mary dipping sauce, celery stalks
Baked caesar with beer battered anchovy, baguette croutons and lemon/parm vinaigrette

entree
Rack of lamb,mustard crusted with apple risotto and a cider reduction
Grilled strip steak with brussel sprouts,fries,and a red wine reduction
Mixed Grille,lamb chop,banger,and hanger steak with house kraut and home made mustard
Blue moon chicken, orange/blue moon lager marinated with sweet potato smash
Carbonara pasta with crisp pork and bacon in parm cream topped with sunny side up egg
Fish & Chip...our spin on the "Classic"
Pan seared scallops tossed with lemon and mint with pignoli nuts and white wine
Pub burger flight (3)

Well, there it is, that is just a sampling of the menu which will be posted in it's entirety on the web-site www.saltgastropub.com very soon. What do you think so far??
b.