HAPPY MEMORIAL DAY WEEKEND...

Let's just remember why we celebrate!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY JENN!!!!!!!!!!!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO YOU
HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO YOU
HAPPY BIRTHDAY DEAR JENNIFER
HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO YOU!

Everyone wish Jenn a Happy Birthday when you see her this weekend!
Here she is at Salt with her "birthday flourless chocolate cake" being serenaded by the staff!

THANKS FOR THE RESPONSES...

Boy this restaurant has aged me!! LOL
Thanks to all of you Salt fans out there....Boy, I asked for some feedback and you guys gave it to me. Thanks for the support and the re-affirmation that we are doing it right. We are constantly trying to get better and to offer a great experience, something you just can't get at those other places. We have a "waitstaff training" scheduled for today, and boy are they all excited, so Laurie and Jenn, as well as our friend Nick Cutrone will be running that. Tony is working on "specials" that we will be starting to run next week. I am trying to put together some fun "happenings" that we'll be doing at Salt. We are getting a huge amount of requests for a volleyball court out back...who knows, "Industry Nights" are still in the workings, culinary book group, Beer Club, running/riding club, building birdhouses, (not really)...speaking of birdhouses, if anyone knows where you can get "bat-houses please let me know, we could use a couple around the property!!
Again, thanks for all of the support, and we look forward to seeing ALL of you at Salt.
b.

LOOKING FOR SOME FEEDBACK HERE.....

I just read a post on Salt and had some questions for you that have been here.....

This is the post...

Wine list was sketchy, presentation wonderful, service good, appetizers tiny, entrees OK in size. Salmon smallish, chicken decent size. Odd combinations: if you are a meat and potato guy go somewhere else. Pricey

Here are my thoughts on it, and I would love feedback from anyone reading, maybe I don't see it...

First...wine list is sketchy..not sure what that is supposed to mean. We tried to touch on all of the major styles. We kept them in a reasonable price range. Have a great variety "by the glass". Tried to keep it mostly domestic to keep it more "local". And went with fairly big houses to keep it familiar but not mass produced crap.

Appetizers are tiny... any input?

Entrees OK in size... The entrees are all weighed out and are appropriate sizes, and what I think is a good value. We are definitely not Applebees with the bottomless bowl of food, nor do we want to be. We want people to be comfortable and satisfied and do so at a fair price, which I think we do.

Odd combinations.... Again not sure here.... Strip steak with fries and snap peas, grilled chicken with sweet potato, fish and chips, bowtie pasta with chicken and olives, hanger steak with mashed potato and slaw, these don't seem too far out to me...I understand its not chicken parmigiana, chicken marsala, penne' bolognese, and mounds of fried calamari or mozzarella sticks....but odd?

pricey? This one seems odd to me.....by no means are we the 36oz steak for 9.99 place, or again, the all you can eat pasta with a salad bar. We can't nor do we want to compete with "value meals". You don't get a toy or and kind of frequent eater points here. No super-sized meals. No all you can eat shrimp. I think like I said before that we want people to leave comfortable and satisfied and do so at a reasonable price...This is how small businesses stay in business, and why we are being taken over by the box places......We appreciate all of you who support us and understand that....I would love any feedback on this. Like I said, maybe I just don't see it through your eyes. If things need to be tweaked I will certainly do so. Thanks all!
b.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY KIRK....

Another local restaurant celeb......Kirk Avondoglio celebrated his 30th birthday with us last night here at Salt....Here he is with his beautiful wife Mary and friend George Giller.

b.

SO, YOU WANT TO OWN A RESTAURANT...

These are just some thought that ran through my head when I spoke with someone in the not so distant past about the restaurant biz. Their comment was, in summary, I am going to buy a restaurant because I want to have fun. (And this person did just that, buy a restaurant that is). First and foremost, don't get into, at least not the ownership end, the restaurant business "TO Have Fun"...It's not! Don't get me wrong, there are fun days, and fun moments. You get to meet alot of interesting people, you get to share with people some of their happiest moments, you are thrust into a spotlight at times. Now, that being said.....you will give up basically every holiday, you will work long hours, usually 7 day's a week, you will work every weekend, you will miss important family times. There are NO sick days. You will be relentlessly abused by the public telling you everything you did wrong, why should they wait, why do you do things THAT way, you should do it THIS way. It was too cold in the dining room and I think you should comp our dinner. This is not risotto, I belong to a cooking club and I know risotto, this is not risotto. It was too warm in the dining room and I think you should comp our dinner. I don't like peanut butter but I will try the peanut butter pie for dessert.....I didn't like it and don't want to pay for it. People will steal every and anything they can from the restaurant. They will do un-mentionable things to the bathrooms, drink too much and throw up at their table (this HAS happened),in corners, in foyers, or anywhere else. The music sucks. There are parents who allow their children free range of the restaurant, screaming, running around, throwing food. You will literally be attacked by the local PTA's, the Tricky Tray people, every local, state, regional, national, international, and universal charity and be expected to donate to each and every one and if you don't, it is promised that they will bad mouth you as loud as they possibly can to anyone that will listen. Anyway, I could probably go on for day's about this kind of stuff.....but getting back to my point, DON"T get into the restaurant business to have fun. Be in it because in spite of all of that stuff you love it. And in some sick and twisted way you actually love all of that stuff as well..I didn't get into this business to have fun, but man do I have fun! So "Thank You" to all of you crazy people that make my life fun, that have kept me in this biz for the past 28 years......SO, YOU WANT TO OWN A RESTAURANT? "LOL"

b.

JUST IN...TOP CHEF....

Just to add some juice to the Top Chef stuff...I just read that Drew Nieporent, the man behind Tribeca Grill, Montrachet, Nobu..just to name a few, had hired "TOP CHEF" Spike Mendelsohn to man the stoves at the place he opened in Nov called Mai House. No sooner was Spike in that he was out and replaced by......none other then Lisa Fernandes...YES, THAT Lisa....just makes for interesting conversation.