Salt...The Bistro

When I was last in Boulder, my son Phil and I had lunch at a new eatery called Salt. It's in an old historic building on the Pearl Street Mall. It looks like it's been there forever, which means they did a great job at taking a very old building and redoing the inside, giving it a great feeling. It was tasteful and contempory but did not feel "new." They have a beautiful long bar with gorgeous lighting, and an open kitchen. We sat near the front of the restaurant so we couldn't see the cooks at work, but I was very impressed with what came out of the kitchen.

The slogan of the restaurant is "salt, civilizing taste for over 6,000 years." When you first sit down the waiter brings you a little tray with two different types of exotic salts. We had a Himalayan pink salt and a French flaky salt. Both were declicious. The Salt's committment is to use Boulder County product whenever possible. They shop at the local Farmer's Market and use more than 10 local farms for beef, cheese, buffalo and produce. They feel that the closer their food source is, the fresher the food will be. Everything I ate for lunch that day was fresh, abundant and beautifully presented.

For lunch, small plates included house marinated olives and salted marcona almonds, warm flatbread (with rosemary, sea salt and olive oil), procisutto salad with field greens,pickled onion and balsamic, Haystack Mountain cheese plate (local farm) and crispy polenta and grilled D'Anjou pear. Great choices. The entrees included an ahi tuna and tangerine salad, chicken curry salad, beer battered Alaskan cod, grassfed burger with homemade fries (delicious), rotisserie sirloin steak, flatbread pizza with carmelized onions, tomatoes and pancetta (this was great) and a vegetable tasting (about 8 different veggies). Everything I tried was wonderful, and I left wanting to come back soon again. They have a wonderful dinner menu too, including meat, chicken and fish, most locally raised, in addition to some pasta and vegetarian choices.

The big bargain at Salt is their Social Hour (our happy hour), from 3-6 everyday. During that time they serve house made hummus and flatbread, mixed nuts, orecchiette bolognese, local roasted beets with fresh chevre, warm marinated olives, flatbread of the day, wood fired mussels with grilled bread, and local cheese plate. They have many more choices. All of these dishes are between $2-$4. When I go back it will be for an early dinner. I'll order three or four of these little appetizers and a nice glass of wine. If you you go to Denver or Boulder, try to check out Salt for a great meal.