Salt of the Earth -- or is it heaven?

Our experience with Kingsley House was what prompted this blog. We realized that had we plowed through a bunch of reviews we might not have actually gone there. Or we might have gone with the predominate review that it was lovely. What we really needed to know is more about the reviewers and what they valued, not just a one-time post. What we've learned through review sites such as Yelp, is that a review really only means something when you know the reviewER. I think a lot about sushi reviews: "we love the California roll." It might really be a great California roll, but that pretty much tells me they aren't really into FISH. We saw a lot of good reviews for Kingsley House, but realized a lot of the reviews might not have ever stayed at another B&B or knew what to expect for the relative price.

Our big find out of choosing Kingsley was Salt of the Earth. And both the not quite so great experience of Kingsley coupled with the AWESOME experience at Salt of the Earth prompted us to start blogging. Well, and because I stumbled on this great blog that made me thing we had something to add to the conversation that could ultimately help other people make the best choices for themselves and their own tastes.

So on to the discussion of "Salt."

Cathy's View
Wow.  And it's hard to get that out of me for a restaurant.

We arrived at our B&B a bit early for check-in at 4. (Seriously only 5 minutes, but we couldn't. Seriously? Well, see our comments on Kingsley House.) We went into "town" to get some cheese and crackers as we chilled before dinner. It isn't much of a town and we were a little worried that we might have made some not-great choices in where to stay near Saugatuck because this town was at least 20 minutes away. With a bit of Kraft cheddar and crackers (;-() we went back to check in and settle in. We reviewed the suggested places for dinner looking for something appealing. Nothing appeared worth a longish drive after a Really Long Drive. Dan went to the main living area and saw a bunch of menus, including "Salt." We looked it up and thought FINE, it's a four-block walk and doesn't look bad; let's try it if only to minimize the travel time when we were tired.

Wow.

The ambiance is a weird combination of former warehouse and warmly artsy. We were seated promptly and had a wonderfully nice wait person. The menu was wonderfully inventive and we had a hard time choosing. Dan loves pizza (me not-so-much) and I thought the appetizers looked fantastic. Dan also wanted their special apple-beet soup so we ended up getting a kind of smorgasbord of their offerings.

While waiting, they offered their home-baked breads. They were fantastic: a white sourdough that clearly had a long-lived starter because of the depth of flavor and a wonderful wheat that made the bread baker I am envious of the talent. As you can see, they are served with ground salt and pepper and a wonderful butter. Beyond good. Next up was the apple-beet soup with a garnish of nuts and cheese. It was a delightful borscht-ish soup lightened by the apple flavor.

I also had a portion of the roasted sweet onion gratin, which was like the best of a artichoke dip but with roasted onions. I will say this is best eaten in moderation.

The biggest WOW were the Brussels Sprouts. I'll let Dan take over from here. Suffice it from me, it's worth traveling here JUST for the Brussels Sprouts. No we don't have a picture, they were gone too fast.

Dan's View

We had driven for 3+ hours, checked in to Kingsley House (see the Kingsley House post for THAT experience) after a hectic morning of packing and getting the dogs situated while we were gone, so neither Cathy nor I were in the mood to drive far for dinner (Saugatuck was actually about 15-20 minutes away).  The 'places to eat' binder in the room didn't help -- especially since we had use the binder in concert with web searches to confirm hours, distance, and reviews.  Nothing looked good.  I went to the parlour in the Kingsley house for some ice and water, and noticed a menu on the dining room table for a few other places...one of which was S.O.T.E.  It looked promising, and was walking distance from our lodging -- a real plus, since I felt like having more than one beer.  Also, we had to go to the local grocery store for a few things, so we had seen the exterior of the restaurant and it looked inviting.

Cathy has already described the interior so I won't repeat it.  We ordered a few things from the menu -- roasted sweet onion gratin, beet soup, whole hog pizza (this was mine alone), and the fried  Brussels.  Way too much food!  I enjoyed the first three items listed, but the last item -- the sprouts -- were unique.  I've prepared Brussels sprouts in many different ways, but I've never seen them prepared like this.  They were a mix of soft and crisp, and seemed to lose good deal of their weight.  The balsamic vinaigrette that they were tossed in eliminate most of the bitterness.  I found myself wanting for more after they had been devoured by us.  This dish alone made me want to return the next night for another go.

And we did return the next night.  While Friday was more serene and less crowded, Saturday was noisy and  packed.  We had to wait at the bar, but soon struck up conversation with fellow barsitters.  Dinner was excellent again, although we seemed to rush through it for some reason.  Cathy had the hanger steak (really tasty, served on the rare side) while I had the chicken bolognese.

I have to mention the bread that Cathy already discussed.  It was a phenomenal sourdough that had a firm crust, but soft, moist interior with large air pockets.  The butter (locally churned) was a great addition.  I remember our server telling us the bread is made nightly by a mother/daughter team.  I found out later that you can buy the bread in loaves at some area stores.

Postscript: walking back from S.O.T.E. on the Saturday night, the sky was magnificently free from city glow.  I don't think I've seen stars with such brilliance and in such abundance since the mid 90's when I was in northern Wisconsin.  What a treat that was.