Only open for a few months, Sea Salt is another of the handful of successful restaurants in the Lalime group that includes Lalime, Fonda Solana, Jimmy Bean and soon; T-Rex (BBQ).
Sea Salt
2512 San Pablo Ave
Berkeley CA, 94702
(510) 883-1720
11:30-10 M-Su
After a hard day of work on his first vintage, Eric Lundblad and helpers skwid and SFWine were eager to reward themselves with a nice dinner out. When I got the call a little before 5, inviting me to join them, I was at Cedarville Vineyards in the Sierra Foothills but said I would make it. With a gifted bottle of 2004 Viognier from Johnathan and Susan, I was on my way.
Sea Salt has already attracted a lot of attention. We grabbed the only available table for four at 8 PM on Sunday. Don't bring anyone to Sea Salt who doesn't eat fish. There is nothing hooved or feathered on the menu. The majority of the wines on the list are very affordable and priced at just under double retail. Dress is...well it's in Berkeley so anything goes. Corkage is $15
We opened the 2004 Cedarville Viognier first. Always very good, this is their best yet and sells for around $20. Medium bodied with aromas and flavors of honeysuckle and white peach it has good focus and a nice minerally finish. I bought a case.
To match the Viognier, we ordered the Dungeness Crabcakes with roasted red pepper aioli, watercress, red onion and watermelon radish. Very little filler, maybe a little mushy, but great flavor.
While we were finishing the Viognier, our next course arrived. Tartare of yellowfin tuna with orange, basil and black olives. Sort of a Mediterranean twist on Poke Ahi. Really good.
The next wine was 2001 Raveneau Butteaux Chablis. It took a while to open up, but soon revealed nice citrussy flavors with complex mineral notes that included wet stones and chalk followed by a long finish, that was marred for me by a grilled onion flavor.
Fortunately the next course was Grilled Local Sardines with marinated peppers and salsa verde (cilantro pesto). The sardines were nicely charred and easy to debone. A brilliant match with the Chablis. For me, the pairing enhanced the fruit and eliminated the grilled onion flavor. Excellent.
We opened a 2002 Williams-Selyem Heintz Vyd Chardonnay. Weighing in at 15.7alc, this had an oily texture and flavors of apple, candied pear and a bit of pineapple supported by creamy vanilla oak. Fresh and huge, this should be drunk early and would overwhelm most food except for our next course.
Steamed Lobster on a Torpedo Roll. A hefty portion of lobster on a slim, soft roll (like you get with Po-boys in New Orleans) with plenty of melted, lightly herbed (sage?) butter, cut in half and served with housemade potato chips and red cabbage slaw. This was rich and decadent and was perfect with the Chardonnay. The slaw was shredded paper thin and lightly dressed. Very refreshing.
Our fourth wine, the 2001 Guigal Hermitage Blanc Ex-Voto has been commented on quite a bit lately in the Rhone Tasting Notes Forum. Golden colored, on opening, it immediately offers up familiar but exotic Marsanne aromas of nutmeg, resin, toasted almonds and a hint of baking spice that are more in line with mature wines of this type. Resiny and thick in the mouth, there's good underlying acidity leading to a long, but not unexpectedly muted finish. Outstanding wine, and an especially fine match for our final course.
Grilled Columbia River Sturgeon with Beluga black lentils, baby turnips, and herbed aioli. We also ordered two sides: Rapini sauteed in olive oil, garlic and alepo peppers (flakes - not hot) and fresh Italian butter beans with olive oil and a mound of poached and shredded tuna.
Everything at Sea Salt was well executed and cooked perfectly. It's the kind of place that makes you want to go back the very next night. Final tally including tax (charged only one corkage) was $220 for four. |