When deciding where we wanted to eat, we knew that we wanted to do a Chef's tasting menu, but we didn't know where we wanted to go. I requested seafood, so Kevin starting researching some restaurants and finally settled on BlackSalt.
BlackSalt is a restaurant and a fish market. The market is in the front of the building and carries fresh fish, seafood, caviar and some prepared dishes such as crab cakes, seafood spreads and chowders.
We had already decided on the seven course Chef's Tasting Menu with wine pairings, but thought it was very cool to learn that if we decided to choose dishes off the menu, that we also had the option to pick out items from the fish market and have the Chef prepare them. BlackSalt had so many choices that made each person's dining experience unique.
When choosing the tasting menu, the waitress asked if we had any food allergies or specific dishes that we'd like to stay away from. She also asked us if there was anything on the menu that we'd like to try in particular. We told her that the sky was the limit and that we were up for anything, but that we'd really like to try the Atlantic Day Boat scallops.
It took a moment for the Chef to prepare a menu for us, so the waitress started us off with an assortment of bread and olive oil mixed with spices and two glasses of champagne. The first course was a British Columbia oyster topped with wild Hackleback caviar and it was served in a chilled martini glass. It was delicious, and the wine pairing was perfect. (Note: the wine pairings were almost full glasses, so details of which specific wines were in the pairings are a bit hazy...)
Our second course was a very lightly seared Hamachi with a chili vinaigrette and thinly sliced radishes. The Hamachi was light and airy, and the radishes added a wonderful crunch. This wine pairing was a little too buttery for my taste, so Kevin was more than happy to drink both his and mine. :)
The third course was not listed on the menu and were were told by the waitress that "this is Chef's favorite dish and the dish he makes for himself." She had told the Chef that we were very adventurous eaters and that the sky was the limit, so he wanted us to try this dish. It was a monk fish collarbone in a soy sauce butter reduction with a kimchi salad and shiitake mushrooms. It was TO DIE FOR. I could certainly see why this was Chef's favorite dish. The collarbone was so full of flavor, it was an absolute treat to eat.
Our fourth dish was a black cod ceasar salad topped with deep fried anchovies and croutons. The anchovies and croutons gave the salad a nice crunch and the cod was perfectly prepared.
Our fifth course featured the Atlantic Day Boat scallops that were were so excited to try. They were placed on a butternut squash puree. I was starting to get full, but made sure to eat every bite of this dish!
Our last savory course was a head-on prawn with Blue Shell mussels and a fish fillet (that I don't recall) with a wine reduction. By this time I was extremely full, so I didn't mind letting Kevin finish my dish.
While waiting for our dessert course, we were brought a small kettle of hot apple cider as a palate cleanser. It was paired with a tiny piece of gingerbread cake. Kevin also enjoyed a shot of espresso.
Here is a picture of our dessert course! On the left is a Key Lime pie with blueberries. In the middle is a chocolate cake with raspberries and on the right was our favorite-- a mix between banana pudding and creme brulee served in an espresso cup and topped with vanilla bean ice cream!
It was the perfect end to a perfect evening. I highly suggest BlackSalt for any occasion!
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