BlackSalt Restaurant and Fishmarket

[fero style]

Can't seem to find a website for this place. Does anyone know what their market's hours are on Sundays? I'm making Bouillabaisse for fifteen peeps and I need the freshest stuff I can find.

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market is open `till 9 pm on sundays

[Joe H]

I also make bouilibasse as well as several other fish stews (Cioppino, Kinkead's Portuguese stew, ((whose recipe is in his new cookbook as well as on the internet;it's incredible! and incredibly time consuming.) which involve several 2-3 lb individual fish and having them gutted and fileted, receiving the heads and frames back for the fumet. I have not used Black Salt for this yet but look forward to trying them. I have not had good luck with Super H since they usually do not have the larger fish that I want and when they do there is some resistence to doing this for me. Cannon is expensive and I am not a fan of the place on Glebe road near I 95. I would also note that I have tried on three separate occasions at Super H and either haven't found rockfish, red snapper, grouper, etc. that would all work in combination with the fileting, etc.. Yet they are excellent for shrimp, scallops, etc. I do not like Wegmans for this yet I do like Whole Foods. The latter can be very expensive, however.

I do like going to Maine Avenue and buying several whole fish then using the "shack" there to have the fish gutted and fileted. Maine Avenue can be a challenge but if you're patient and really look the fish over, having them cleaned and gutted there can give you a good start. I've also been to the market in Jessup and, on the same trip, ended up on Maine Avenue to find everything I wanted. Black Salt carries, among other things, diver scallops and as good of oysters as you can find anywhere. As mentioned by others their selection is incredible, sourcing even Crisfield lump crab meat which I couldn't find last summer in Crisfield!

Black Salt is a very real possibility and I look forward to trying them the next time.

Edited February 24, 2005 by Joe H (log)

[Tweaked]

The fish guy at Eastern Market sells whole fish, I'm sure if you went during a quiet time they would be happy to break down the fish for you.

[bilrus]

Ipswitch Clams

I think my favorite meal of last year was all the fried Ipswitch clams I could eat, courtesy of a former Kinkead's chef.  These were even better-- fried absolutely perfectly.  However, they were served with a romesco sauce that was very heavy on the smoked pimenton.  Dipping the clams in that, you might as well have been eating frozen clam strips for all you could taste of them (I did like the curry aioli that was also served with them, though) 

I had these for lunch a few weeks ago and in addition to the curry aioli the second dipping sauce was a sweet and sour vietnamese/thai fish sauce. Was much better than the romesco sounds, although I too preferred the aioli.

[maureen]

At my request, Susan, the pastry chef at BlackSalt, prepared a fruit tart for me to serve at a dinner party - she listened to my request for something fruit/nut based and not too sweet so I could pair it with a dessert wine. She made a gorgeous and absolutely delicious fresh apricot/pistachio tart (substituting pistachio for almond in the frangiapane) that had my dinner guests, all critical eaters, swooning. Sietsema's characterizations of the desserts at BlackSalt seem totally inconsistent with my experience.

IMHO, that tart bettered by a significant degree anything available for purchase from any of the usual suspects.

[PatDC]

My husband and I had dinner at Blacksalt tonight. The small plates were phenomenal. We had the white anchovy, ham, shittakes, and grilled sardine. I also had half a dozen Bay oysters and the Ipswich clams appetizer. My husband had the Florida Jack fish and couscous, etc., as an entree. The plates seemed to lose lustre as they got larger. The small plates were the best. We also got the peanut butter/chocolate dessert, which was quite good. I loved the coffee. I just got the plain old regular coffee. It was the best I've had in a restaurant in a long time. Our server was really helpful and generally wonderful. Nice meal.

[bilrus]

Had lunch at Blacksalt yesterday - not much new to add, but I was happy to see (or rather taste) that the breading on both the fried clams and fried oysters was considerably less salty but still shatteringly crisp and flavorful.

They also had a very nice soup that they were calling Low Country Clam Chowder. Loads of clams in a smoky tomato-bacon broth.

[Joe H]

Had lunch at Blacksalt yesterday - not much new to add, but I was happy to see (or rather taste) that the breading on both the fried clams and fried oysters was considerably less salty but still shatteringly crisp and flavorful.

They also had a very nice soup that they were calling Low Country Clam Chowder.  Loads of clams in a smoky tomato-bacon broth.

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I agree that their clam chowder is, indeed, excellent. One of the reviews (I don't remember if it was the Post, City Paper, etc.) essentially called it decent while the other raved about it. Black Salt, similar to Kinkead's, is strong on soups and stews.

[baranoouji]

My sister and I had a spontaneous lunch at BlackSalt the other day -- lots of ladies who seem to lunch professionally!

I had the Ipswitch clams and she had the butter lettuce salad for appetizers. The clams were nicely fried, sweet and tender. The remoulade was tasty, but the ponzu was less overwhelming on the clams, so I mainly stuck to the ponzu. Both dips (and my sugar cubes) were served in what we suddenly recognized as IKEA tea candle holders. (Egads!) The butter lettuce salad was simple: blue cheese sauce, red onion confit, roasted pears, and walnuts. It verges on the too-simple, which for me is a delightful change from the usual salads where they seem to throw in everything from the kitchen.

I had the grilled scallop special with a mushroom sauce on top of a mesclun salad. My one complaint was that the mesclun salad had suffered some wiltage from bearing the scallops' collective weight and heat. (I had been hoping to play the warm/cool aspects off each other a little more.)The scallops were huge and tasted sweet with a whiff of smoke... My sister ordered an oyster po'boy and had no complaints. (I didn't have a taste, so I can't tell you how I thought it was.)

For dessert, we shared a chocolate hazelnut crunch cake. I will be returning to BlackSalt again if only for the crunch cake. It tasted of gianduja and had a crunchy botton layer -- perfection against a few tart raspberries on the plate.

I'll be back this Friday night, toting a party of six. I hope that dinner is as good as or better than lunch.

[Joe H]

My sister and I had a spontaneous lunch at BlackSalt the other day -- lots of ladies who seem to lunch professionally!

I had the Ipswitch clams and she had the butter lettuce salad for appetizers. The clams were nicely fried, sweet and tender. The remoulade was tasty, but the ponzu was less overwhelming on the clams, so I mainly stuck to the ponzu. Both dips (and my sugar cubes) were served in what we suddenly recognized as IKEA tea candle holders. (Egads!) The butter lettuce salad was simple: blue cheese sauce, red onion confit, roasted pears, and walnuts. It verges on the too-simple, which for me is a delightful change from the usual salads where they seem to throw in everything from the kitchen.

I had the grilled scallop special with a mushroom sauce on top of a mesclun salad. My one complaint was that the mesclun salad had suffered some wiltage from bearing the scallops' collective weight and heat. (I had been hoping to play the warm/cool aspects off each other a little more.)The scallops were huge and tasted sweet with a whiff of smoke... My sister ordered an oyster po'boy and had no complaints. (I didn't have a taste, so I can't tell you how I thought it was.)

Tom Sietsema was very dismissive of the desserts.  Everyone knows my opinions about this!

For dessert, we shared a chocolate hazelnut crunch cake. I will be returning to BlackSalt again if only for the crunch cake. It tasted of gianduja and had a crunchy botton layer -- perfection against a few tart raspberries on the plate.

Tom Sietsema was very dismissive of her desserts, suggesting that people pass on them.  She has a superb tiramisu-so good you won't have to apologize for ordering it!

I'll be back this Friday night, toting a party of six. I hope that dinner is as good as or better than lunch.

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[Joe H]

The new issue of Washingtonian has a rave review of Black Salt entitled, "Star of the Sea." Apparently it is not available yet on line.

[sweetfreak]

I am going to BlackSalt for dinner tonite. This will be my second time, but the first time was during the winter. Anyone who has been recently who can comment on what might be on the menu?

[C_Ruark]

I am going to BlackSalt for dinner tonite.  This will be my second time, but the first time was during the winter.  Anyone who has been recently who can comment on what might be on the menu?

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Went there two weeks back and got the Blue Fin Tuna (marvelous) after cruising through a seared scallop sampler that had a wassabe and a mango/red-pepper aioli (yum).

Hope that helps. I'd like to know what the specials were, please. Tip: Ask for table #52, it's right by the kitchen.

- CSR

[My Confusing Horoscope]

There haven't been any notes about this place since summer! We were thinking of going there for a special occasion in a couple of weeks. Are they still open for dinner? Anyone visited lately, any idea what's on the menu?