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Wednesday, April 2, 2008
Spring Starts—Really!—on Friday
The deep sense of aggrieved injustice I felt shoving snow off my car this morning (in April! in April!) was mitigated only by the knowledge that spring must come one day. It must.And that day is Friday. This Friday, April 4.
Because that’s when Sea Salt, the wonderful seafood restaurant in the Minnehaha Falls Park Pavilion, will open.
It was supposed to open April 1, but after that cruel April Fool’s joke of a snowstorm, they put it off until Friday. I spoke to Sea Salt co-owner John Blood and he told me: Come hell or high water, the place is opening Friday.
This place is my favorite seafood restaurant in the Twin Cities. Blood and his business partner, Chris Weglinski, were longtime workers at Coastal Seafoods, and they know fresh fish better than just about anyone in town. The fish they sell at Sea Salt is not only great, but available at such a low price point—what’s not to like?
Well, the waiting, certainly. The most child-friendly, most affordable, and most-fresh of all Twin Cities seafood restaurants, Sea Salt gets positively frenzied during prime-time on weekend nights. But, Blood tells me they have some tricks up their sleeve to minimize lines this season.
Tricks like what? Like salads. Like soups. Seafood salads, seafood and seafood soups, of course—but things that they can get to people fast. Weglinski and Blood also toured Peru during their winter break, and came back inspired by Peruvian ceviches, which Blood tells me are quite different from their Central American counterparts. “They only marinate it for about 10 minutes,” he says, “and then they serve it in the marinade, which is really just a little bit of lime and lemon juice. It seems so much fresher that way.” Expect Peruvian ceviches just about every day.
The other change? More beer. Blood tells me they plan to have two or three offerings from Summit, two or three from Surly, and one mega-brewery light beer on offer allavailable all summer, in addition to their wine list.
A Summit Scandia and Peruvian ceviche in the park—doesn’t that sound like heaven? Or, at least, spring?
So burn your duck boots. Or, you know, burn them on Friday.
Sea Salt Eatery
4825 Minnehaha Ave., Minneapolis
612-.721-.8990
www.seasalteatery.com
Posted on Wednesday, April 2, 2008 in Permalink
Comments may be edited for length, clarity, or appropriateness.
Reader Comments:
I love Sea Salt, and I also called them yesterday to see if they are open, because last year I was there on April 1. I think if they hired people that could take orders efficiently, and not chat with customers when there is a line out the door the wait would not be so bad. But seriously, I go there once a week in the summer and there are usually the slowest people working the cash register. I am excited about the expaneded menu and beer list. Dara- I was sad to see you leave City Pages, but I am excited about this blog and being able to communicate with you. You are an awesome food writer. Keep up the great work!!!
Hi Jennifer,
Thanks! And I'm glad you found me. If you have other restaurants you're curious about, definitely let me know, I think that might be a really good use of the blog. I'm glad you're here!
-Dara
A nice little tip for all you Sea Salt regulars...BYOB!
We usually pick up a bottle of Big House Red on the way to the park. Very convenient at it is a screw-cap bottle. Tote along a couple of plastic cups and you've got a great little picnic for you and whoever is lucky enough to be your date.
Great to see you movin' right along here at MNMO, Dara. Ever consider a Fish n'Chip comparo?
I love Sea Salt in principle, but I won't be back for a long time. Last Sunday was just awful. The weather was nice, so of course they were busy. The line was interminable, with one person slowly taking orders and chatting as usual. Ok, this I expect. They were out of half of the menu. This I can also accept.
What I couldn't believe was how terrible the food was. Total lack of standards. Clam fries were mostly big globs of undercooked dough, and the whole plate was WAY oversalted. Soft shell crab sandwich was just disgusting. The bun was burnt--charcoal. The crabs were not fresh. They tasted off, and the shells were tough and inedible (like chewing on fingernail clippings). This is inexcusable for a restaurant that talks so much about how fresh their fish is.
The best thing was the fish tacos, but unfortunately they only had tilapia left, and it was bland, overcooked, and dry.