Review - Sea Salt Eatery

Sea Salt Eatery
4801 Minnehaha Ave
Minneapolis, MN 55417
(612) 721-8990 ‎

*Update - Sea Salt Eatery is now open for spring and summer! 04/07/11 - 10/30/11*

April 13, 2011

We ate dinner a Sea Salt yesterday, our first visit of the year. I was happy to see a short line but then disappointed when I saw that the whole fried fish special that I read about online was sold out. The line was moving fast and my decision making skills had to keep up. Tony and I quickly decided to share the Fried Fish Tacos (two for $5) and the Crab Cake Basket (1 for $11).



The fish had a crispy batter filled with steaming flaky white fish. Each piece of fish was served on two grilled corn tortillas with sauce, onion and cilantro. I gave Tony my cilantro, it's not my thing. I did really enjoy the grilled tortillas, the char was excellent and so was the price of these tasty tacos!



The crab cake had lots of large chunks of crab meat with a nice proportion of breading, vegetable and crab. The basket included slaw, corn salad/relish and melon. Only the cake was spectacular, I think I would prefer two à la carte crab cakes over the basket if that was an option. Ummm a crab cake taco would be good, maybe I should drop Sea Salt a line.



It was great to sit outside again and enjoy a cold beverage without shivering. The winter was long and all the snow that collected has melted and is now flying over the falls and down the river. It's a great sight to see! I'm looking forward to many more tasty visits to the Sea Salt Eatery and Minnehaha Falls this summer!

Gazpacho w/ Crab and Shrimp

Gazpacho is a tomato based Spanish soup prepared with raw fruits and vegetables and is served chilled. It's super lite and refreshing. This soup is a wonderful summer meal from the garden.



Traditionally, gazpacho is made with chunks of bread blended in it. This adds texture to the soup and makes it more hearty. I didn't add bread to this recipe because I wanted a lighter, smoother soup. Instead, I served this gazpacho with silver dollar sized Jalapeño Corn Cakes. This allowed the diners to dip, top, or crumble the bread into their soups individually. I like interactive food, it adds a lot of fun to the dinner table!

Gazpacho

7 Tomatoes
3 Cucumbers - peeled
1 Jalapeño - seeds removed
1 small Onion - grated
1/4 large Yellow Bell Pepper
1 Garlic Clove - minced or pressed
Juice from 1 Lemon
Hot Sauce
Salt
White Pepper

Set two bowls out in your work station, one large and one smaller. Dice all of the fruits and veggies. Place about 1/3 of each in the small bowl and the rest in the large bowl.




Once the veggies are chopped, blend everything that's in the large bowl together until it's smooth. Use a blender of food processor and work in small batches to insure a consistent texture. Once blended, place the soup in a large serving or storing bowl.




Stir your diced fruits and vegetables, from the small bowl, into the blended soup.

Season the gazpacho with lemon juice, hot sauce, salt and pepper. Taste as you're seasoning and adjust as needed.

Now, your soup is done. You just need to chill, garnish, and serve.

At this point, the gazpacho is gluten free and vegetarian. To keep it this way, serve in a chilled glass topped with petite diced veggies and garnish with a lemon wedge and/or cucumber slice.

To make your gazpacho a little more fancy (and fun), top it with seafood!

This seafood topping was inspired by The Sample Room's Gazpacho that we ate last summer.

Sloppy Jane Sandwiches

I roasted a chicken last night and used the leftovers today to make these open faced sandwiches.



EVOO
1/2 small Onion - sliced
1 Garlic Clove - smashed and peeled
2 cups Chicken - shredded
Soy Sauce
Hot Sauce
White Wine Vinegar
Ketchup
French Bread - 6 slices
Goat Cheese Spread (see below)
Arugula
Sunflower Seeds

Heat EVOO in a pot. Add onion and garlic. Cook until the onion is clear.

Then remove the garlic, cut it up, and set it aside.

Add chicken to the pot and stir in the rest of the ingredients. I didn't measure them. I just splashed and tasted until I had a desirable, well balance flavor.



Cover the pot and simmer over low heat for about ten minutes.

Meanwhile, toast your bread.



To make the cheese spread, mix softened goat cheese in a small bowl with the garlic that you set aside, salt and hot sauce.

Spread your cheese mixture evenly over the toast.



Top with arugula.



Spoon chicken over the greens.

Spicy Red Wine and Fire Roasted Tomato Sauce

It snowed another couple of inches last night, so we stayed in. I made this sauce from what was on hand. It turned out to be very tasty! I served it with fettuccine and broccoli, but any pasta and vegetables would work. I think shrimp would be a nice substitute for the chicken too. As always, have fun with it!



1-2 T EVOO
1/2 Onion - diced
1 Celery stalk - dice
s/p
1 Chicken Breast (boneless, skinless) - diced into small pieces and seasoned with s/p (optional)
3 cloves Garlic - diced
1/4 - 1/2 c Red Wine
Garlic Chili Sauce (or other hot sauce)
1/2 28oz can Muir Glen Whole Fire Roasted Tomatoes
fresh Thyme
Fresh Basil - chiffonade
1 T cold Butter
1 1/2 c Broccoli Florets - Blanched, Chilled in an Ice Bath, and Drained (not needed for the sauce, but it adds flavor, color and great texture)

If you're making pasta with the sauce, start to boil a large pot of water. I blanched my broccoli, and then cooked the pasta in the same water. Don't forget to heavily salt the water before cooking anything in it.

Heat EVOO in a skillet over med-low heat. Then, add the onions and celery. Stir occasionally.



When the onions are clear, add the chicken pieces to the pan.



Turn the heat up a little so that the chicken browns, but doesn't burn. You're looking for a golden brown.

Stir in the garlic.

Once the chicken has started to brown, deglaze the pan with your red wine. You want the pan to be hot when the wine is added. If you're scared of the alcohol flaring up, turn the flame off as you add the wine. Then, turn it back on.

Use a spatula to scrape up and incorporate any brown bits from the bottom and sides of the pan into the sauce.