A couple weeks ago, I had the pleasure of dining with my friend Becca at the newly-opened Sorghum and Salt on Coming Street. Although I was sad to see its predecessor, Two Boroughs Larder bid adieu, I couldn’t have picked a better restaurant to replace it. The concept of S&S is locally sourced small plates with a heavy emphasis on vegetables (mom would be so proud!). The restaurant’s atmosphere is an appropriate reflection of the menu itself: earthy, humble, and refreshing.
And also it’s a restaurant, just FYI.
Because we got so much food, I’m going to go in order of my favorites, rather than in chronological order of what food we got (although I truly enjoyed everything we ordered; they were all winners!). Keep in mind that because they source locally, some of the menu items I mention might not be on the menu when you visit. I recommend differing to the expertise of the wait-staff, because they definitely did not steer us wrong when we were ordering!
Behold, the mighty sprout!
Crispy Brussels
with raisin, local buttermilk, and chili, $12
I’m obsessed with Brussels sprouts lately, and I definitely have my favorite sprout hot spots. But after trying Sorghum & Salt’s Brussels, I think I might have to move them to the top of my list. They were perfectly crispy and the buttermilk sauce they were tossed in had the perfect amount of spice. There was a great mix of textures and flavors. I’ll be back for these alone!
Essentially a bowl full of veggies with a beef dust.
Charred Cabbage and Snap Peas
with crispy braised short rib, kimchi yogurt and mint, $14
So I really wasn’t sure what to expect with this dish, so I was completely taken aback and blown away by how delicious and packed full of flavor it was. The char on the cabbage added a nice level of smokiness and the snap peas were perfect for a brightness and some crunch. The short rib managed to be crispy without being overly dry, truly a miracle.
Queen of the tarts.
Key Lime and Yuzu Tart
with Chantilly, blackberries, graham cracker crust, $varies
So this was the dessert of the day on the day we visited, but I really hope it makes its way into the regular rotation. Yuzu, FYI, is a Japanese citrus fruit that’s pretty similar to a lemon, so it works awesome in conjunction with a key lime pie-type dish. The graham cracker crust was one of the best crusts on a pie that I’ve eaten in recent memory. I feel like a lot of times, people treat crust as an afterthought; a mere vehicle for transporting custard and fruit. But Sorghum and Salt put a lot of TLC into their graham cracker crust, and it was the perfect crunchy, salty complement to the tartness of the yuzu and Key Lime.
Pork Punch! Sounds like an alt-rock band.
Bread Service
brown sugar bread with Berkshire pork butter, $5
So a lot of places use pork fat to make their butter, but Sorghum & Salt actually puts some shreds of pork into their butter to add that extra pork punch to each hunk of bread you eat. The brown sugar in the bread was very subtle, and together the combo of the salt + pork + sugar was just short of heaven.
These sweet potatoes make me feel like I need to go to church.
Crispy Fried Chicken
with fermented collards, chili sweet potato ginger honey, $23
The fried chicken was really very tasty. Served hot and boneless (which is good for those of us who make a mess when doing battle with bone-in chicken) with a cornmeal breading and drizzled with ginger and honey, Sorghum and Salt really find a way for this southern staple to stand out amid a sea of fried chicken. But my absolute favorite part of this dish was the sweet potatoes. They practically melted in your mouth, and with the chicken grease and honey dripping onto them, felt decadent and downright sinful.
Still awaiting my conversion to beetdom.
Lavender Roasted Beets
blackberry, olive dirt, flowers, and herbs, $13
So beets aren’t my favorite food, but I let myself be talked into ordering these because the waitress loved them so much. I will say that they were absolutely gorgeous to look at and felt like a work of art. And I don’t really know what olive dirt is, but I want it on more things. The cooking technique they used on the beets, which I understood to involve packing them in salt and lavender and then slow roasting them, took a lot of the tart earthiness typically found in beets away, making them much more mild and easily palatable. I quite enjoyed these (although I’m not sure if I’m a beet convert quite yet).
Perfectly pleasant.
House Made Cheese
with tomato and zucchini, olive oil, and crostini, $13
The house made cheese was just slightly disappointing in that it was the mildest in terms of flavor. Even with the zucchini and tomato, it didn’t really pack the punch of flavor that the other dishes did. The cheese on its own didn’t really have any flavor. The crostini were baked just a minute too long, giving them the consistency of croutons. They were still a good complement to the creaminess of the cheese, but would’ve been much more enjoyable had they been slightly less done. The dish was unoffensive, but didn’t knock our socks off.
All in all, I will definitely be visiting Sorghum and Salt again (for the Brussels sprouts alone), because we had an amazing first visit. Everything from the service to the plating to the flavor of the food was exceptional, and I hope they stick around for a long, long time!
Read Sydney G.‘s review of Sorghum & Salt on Yelp
