SALT refits tapas concept, putting food ahead of drink

Everyone has an opinion, but finding someone to trust isn’t easy. When it comes to opinions about food, I always apply my litmus test: 12th Avenue Grill or Town? Contemporary neighbors, but a world apart in style and spirit, the answer tells me everything I need to know.

I may just have to come up with a new test since 12th Avenue chef-owner Kevin Hanney introduced SALT Kitchen & Tasting Bar a little more than a month ago. For this town the restaurant is a game changer, taking a breezier approach to food and drink. I hope it launches 20 similar projects.

For more than a decade, I’ve been begging someone to open a tapas bar. SALT reinterprets the concept with more sumptuous, elaborate preparations than tapas bars, where simple food is accompaniment to drink. And although not Spanish per se, little hints of Spain do appear in a tasting menu that bursts with wide-ranging textures and flavors.

As a tasting kitchen and bar, patrons are liberated from the traditional formal restaurant format. No reservations are taken because it is intended to be walk-in, walk-out casual. That hasn’t always worked out for the more impatient among us, as I’ve heard some grousing about long waits. In that case, showing up immediately when the kitchen opens at 5 p.m. helps, as does avoiding the weekend traffic. Because SALT is the first of its kind for Honolulu, crowds come with the territory.

This is a house built around the small plate, appealing to the most adventurous diner whose inquisitive nature isn’t served by the idea of settling for one big entree. Here, you might pick up three or four quick bites one night, then come back the next for more.

There’s a lot to like. After trying many dishes, the only one I wouldn’t order again is the bland confit of Hamakua mushrooms ($7) drenched in olive oil. If you’re drinking wine, beware the pickled eggplant ($6). Many people were ordering the deep-fried egg ($5), which prompted me to do the same, but the crispy exterior emphasized the waxy texture of the white and runny yolk.

A tapas menu will usually offer a mix of cold, hot and finger foods. Start cold with one of two kinds of ceviche. Rather than the usual citrus, I opted for a creamy version of kajiki ceviche ($7) shot through with Kahuku corn and crème fraîche.

Shinsato Farms pork appears in multiple forms throughout the menu, the first time as sausage stuffed into calamari ($10) in a beautiful blend of textures and flavors, bringing out the best in the pork and sweetness of the char-grilled calamari, both enhanced by a deliciously smoky tomato crème fraîche.

Albondigas ($8), small meatballs, are served in a rich tomato sauce studded with finely ground almonds that lend subtle flavor and texture to the dish.

Balance those selections with a platter of crudo ($9) or a salad ($11) of roasted beets, arugula, goat cheese and pistachios.

One of my favorite dishes when departed chef Robert McGee was in the kitchen a month ago was a dish of clams steamed in sparkling Spanish wine with chorizo and leeks ($12). On my most recent visit, I found it watered down; those who never tried its earlier incarnation won’t know what they missed.

Highlighting the menu are cheese and house charcuterie platters. Charcutier Doug Kocol’s platter ($18) features local Shinsato pork and/or grass-fed beef in various forms. You might find bresaola (air-dried, salted beef), braunschweiger (pork liver sausage) or soppressata (dried Italian salame) at various times. Offered earlier this week were coppa (dry cured pork nape), offal terrine, deep-fried head cheese that tasted like a kalua pork croquette, fennel salame and maple-chicken pâté.

As off-putting as the idea of eating organ meat and entrails might be, I enjoyed the terrine most. Liquid running off marinated vegetables on the platter rendered the coppa soggier than it should have been. And instead of minced fat in the salame, chunks of fat were like big white windowpanes covering a third of the sausage.

If you’re squeamish, you might start with the imported charcuterie ($14) with tamer selections such as mortadella and prosciutto.

A three-cheese platter ($14) comprises Big Island goat cheese, manchego and triple-cream St. Andre served with sweet port-soaked Mission figs. A five-cheese platter ($18) adds semisoft morbier and Oregon blue.

A handful of sandwiches round out the menu. Thick Maui Cattle Co. burgers ($10) are new contenders for a spot on local best-burger lists. Add manchego for $1 more, or for $12, get it with taleggio, Italian bacon, arugula and aioli, or morbier, red onion jam and sliced Hamakua Ali‘i mushrooms.

And joy of joys, SALT also serves a credible crisp soft-shell crab po’ boy, topped with smoked ham hock-mizuna salad and light Old Bay aioli.

I welcome the idea of a SALT II, III, IV and more.

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Nadine Kam’s restaurant reviews are conducted anonymously and paid for by the Star-Advertiser. Reach her at nkam@staradvertiser.com.