A Visit To Salt & Brick
A Review Of Calgary's Salt & Brick
Recently, I visited one of Calgary’s newest restaurants, Salt & Brick. If you’re familiar with it’s sister restaurant in Kelowna, then yes, it’s the Calgary version of the beloved restaurant that opened in 2017 featuring an ever-changing daily menu and fresh focus on local Okanagan wines. Heading the culinary team in Calgary are Chef Dave Bohati, CDC Alejandro Buzzalino, and Pastry Chef Larissa Costella.
Boasting an impressive 4500 sq ft with over 180 seats, the space itself is surprisingly comfortable, offering a variety of intimate and communal seating in a setting that conveys warmth with its signature floral print walls and exposed wood beams throughout. Of course, the place to be for me was the chef’s bar.
It was clear upon seeing the kitchen team in action that this was a tight-knit group. Movements had a purpose, actions had intention, and the energy was positive. What I’m trying to say is that it’s rare to see a new team work together in such harmony as we just witnessed. The synchronicity with the expediter was simply a pleasure to watch as plates came to the pass, were assembled, finished and sent off to eager diners with precision as the neatly arranged chits were systematically ticked off. To me, this is choreography at its best and one of the greatest perks of chef bar seating.
In close second is watching dishes come together as you peruse the “fresh sheet” menu which is updated weekly. The food is all sharable large plates reminiscent of Chef Bohati’s work at Market with its Canadian undertones, but flourished with personal touches that make the dishes unique, as is the case with the Bison Tartare with allium XO, coffee sourdough, topped with shaved foie gras “snow”. The foie is distributed evenly on every bite of the lean, bison giving it an air of refined richness. The slightly fermented tang of the sourdough completes the dish’s delicate balance.
Of course, it's important to note that a menu that follows such a dynamic and seemingly spontaneous path from conceptualization to launch can be a challenging feat, considering everything involved in the effort to develop, test, and refine a dish. A menu of this nature would have to be a cohesive balance of complexity and simplicity that interplay with one another, taking advantage of ingredients that unleash maximum flavour and complexity with the least amount of excessively intricate techniques.
Case in point, the fresh sashimi selection from the raw bar, the roasted Taiwanese cabbage with yuzu buttermilk and sesame aioli, or the carrots with chimichurri, pepitas, and sweet soy all demonstrate the essence of the ingredient’s natural flavour. They highlight each of their virtues with a little boost here and there from the various flavourful but unobtrusive dressings. Even a classic steak frites is given a new interpretation with the addition of a savoury pork XO and housemade furikake fries.
Don’t let the evening end without a stunning outro by Pastry Chef, Larissa Costella. Her Caramel Apple Quince dessert featured a deceptively light quince mousse, paired with salted caramel ice cream, candied oats and walnut clusters. As most desserts seem to lean on the decadent and cloyingly sweet side of the dessert scale, Chef Costella utilizes this hard, tart, and astringent fruit to make a subtly sweet and fitting finale to our meal.
When I asked Chef Bohati to describe the cuisine, he answered,
“I think I would describe the cuisine and menu as a combination of talents from the team, combined into an ever-changing offering. We are inspired to make new dishes frequently and that gives us the freedom to be as creative as we want and continually refine.
I want diners to know that no two trips to see us will be the same. We drive forward and have a great time doing it. We cook happy. Thanks again for coming in, man.”
Thank you, Chef.