zoramargolis

Check with Scott, the manager at BlackSalt Market on MacArthur to see what's come in. (Disclosure: I work there.) The Black Pearl organic farmed salmon is the freshest fish I've tasted since I moved to DC from CA. Nantucket Bay and Diver scallops from Maine would be wonderful as sashimi, and there is also sushi grade yellowfin tuna. Striped bass/rockfish is delivered daily from Delaware and is served as sashimi in the restaurant.

Jeff told me that he will have corkage, but hasn't decided on the fee yet. All of his other places are in Montgomery County. which doesn't allow corkage. ← Corkage is $15, and customers can drop off their wine in advance, so that it can be served at the proper temperature.

The Fish Market opened late this afternoon. In these first days, the market will be featuring only fish that are on the restaurant menu. Once we have our feet under us, we will expand the offerings. As of today, there was turbot, Atlantic farmed salmon that were raised on organic feed, Nantucket Bay scallops, diver and day boat scallops from Maine, monkfish, baby octopus, oysters from Martha's Vinyard, crabcakes made with Chesapeake Bay lump crabmeat, and Prince Edward Island mussels. Some are being sourced locally, but a lot of the products are being airfreighted in from Boston, Maine and Washington State. Everything that was in the case today arrived yesterday or this morning. Fresh stuff will be coming in every day.

Jeff told me that he will have corkage, but hasn't decided on the fee yet. All of his other places are in Montgomery County. which doesn't allow corkage.

BlackSalt Restaurant and Fish Market, Jeff Black's newest venture will open for dinner tomorrow, at 4883 MacArthur Blvd., next door to Addie Bassin's MacArthur Beverages. The phone # is 202-342-9101. Anyone who remembers the late, lamented MacArthur Pharmacy will be amazed at the total transformation of the space. The fish market faces the street, then there is a bar area (full bar and raw bar) and then the dining room and open kitchen, which has a woodgrill and a smoker. The fish market will be opening on Wednesday. Lunch will be added next week. (Full disclosure: I will be working in the fish market.) The menu is quite ambitious, with a selection of small plates, appetizers, several seafood stews, five or six different preparations of mussels, specials and entrees-- almost all will be fish and shellfish. Last week, during a staff training session, Jeff Black explained that because he has four restaurants, the fish and shellfish sold in the fishmarket and served in the restaurant will always be very fresh. Within three or four days, everything will be sold or served, if not at BlackSalt, then at Addie's, Black's Bar and Grill or Black Market, his other places. Jeff is very serious about quality --everything is made from scratch, including stock and fumet, and he insists on top quality ingredients. And he has very demanding expectations of the staff in the interest of customer satisfaction.

Oh, yes! Poached in stock, it was. Meltingly tender without being the least bit mushy. The natural sweetness in the cabbage may have been enhanced with just a smidgen of sugar, but the savoryness of the stock was also evident. It was served with some pork and foie gras and roasted fig. DeLIcious!

When I had the Palena roast chicken, and tasted tarragon in the moist meat all the way to the bone, I realized that the birds were not merely brined, they were injected with brine that was infused with herbs. I had brined many chickens and turkeys, but never had such great results. When I was in L.A. last month, I was in Surfa's (heaven on earth, if you love to cook), and bought myself a marinade syringe. I made an herbed brine with lavender, shallot, rosemary and thyme and injected and then submerged a plain old Tyson's chicken from Costco in brine in a ziplock bag overnight. The next day, I rinsed, dried it off, coated it with olive oil and roasted it in my Weber kettle, using indirect method--not directly over the coals. The result was uneffing incredible--the best chicken I've ever eaten, including at Palena. The skin crackled, it was so crispy, and the meat was succulent and deeply flavored with herbs. Birdman and I inhaled that baby, and washed it down with a really nice qpr California pinot. We had some new potatoes and roasted figs and plums and some green beans with it. I love Palena. I believe that Frank Ruta is the only chef in town who could make me moan with pleasure over a wedge of cooked cabbage--this happened in the back room last Fall. We can't afford to go out to eat in great places very often, and middling ones are not worth it, when you can produce great meals at home.

I believe that the roast chicken is not merely brined--it is injected. I loved how the tarragon flavor wnt all the way to the bone. Thanks to Frank Ruta's inspiration, I bought a marinade injector and made an herb brine with lavender. Roasted the chicken in the Weber Kettle. Unbelievable. I love Palena--it's gotta be my favorite restaurant in DC!