this Mother's Day--Sunday, May 11, 2008.

We will be serving our Mother's Day Brunch from 10am until 2:30pm

Dinner service begins at 5pm and goes until 10pm.

Reservations are recommended.

Join us on our beautiful outdoor garden patio and treat your Mom right. 

She deserves it.

We will be accepting pre-orders for individual cakes.  Your choice of

a 6" cake with three flavor options: Chocolate, Lemon or Carrot. 

The cut-off date for ordering individual cakes is Thursday May, 8th.

For reservations or other inquiries, please call (510) 883-1720 

Some restaurants start strong and then slowly lose momentum. Others such as Sea Salt in Berkeley continue to build and expand. When Sea Salt opened in 2005, it had just 85 seats. Now there are nearly 200, the interior has been spiffed up with fresh flowers and a full-service bar, and the menu has grown.

While seafood is still at the core, there are now meat dishes, including, on the most recent menu, a hanger steak with celery root mashed potatoes ($28).

One of the other changes is that chef Anthony Paone, who was doing double duty at sister restaurant T-Rex, is now at Sea Salt full time. The menu has always been, and continues to be, a little quirky, with some unusual seafood sandwiches such as barbecued eel bahn mi ($14) with cabbage slaw and house-made potato chips; a bacon, lettuce and trout ($15); and an exceptional steamed lobster on torpedo roll ($25).

The short menu is divided into 11 smaller and larger plates; diners can mix and match at will.

I'd be more than happy to confine my main courses to the steamed clams ($15), which wouldn't be a "smaller plate" for anyone else except the Jolly Green Giant. Served in a copper bowl, the clams share a buttery broth with chunks of browned potatoes, crumbles of fennel sausage, broccoli and two thick pieces of grilled bread.

The clam chowder ($9), filled with perfectly diced potatoes, is another great starter. Other smaller plates include some more unusual offerings: cured tuna heart ($12) with pickled onions and dried beans; monkfish liver torchon with cucumber, sea urchin and caviar ($14); and whole fried smelt with green goddess dressing ($12). For lighter tastes, Paone offers four salads including a mix of greens ($9) with mandarins, crumbles of feta cheese and green olives in a tangy vinaigrette.

The five larger plates include fish and chips ($18), which has been on the menu from the beginning and is one of the best examples to be found in the Bay Area.

We particularly enjoyed the grilled Hawaiian swordfish topped with a creamy basil aioli with English peas, carrots and green garlic. Arctic char ($25) comes on a bed of chopped asparagus and fava beans with a Meyer lemon creme fraiche, the perfect spring combination.

The lemon pie ($7), another Jolly Green Giant dessert, easily serves two. The 5-inch tart shell is filled with thin slices of lemons, much like a Shaker filling, crowned with pastry and a frilly line of whipped cream. The brownie sundae ($7) is nearly as light as a souffle with the chocolate square topped with salty caramel ice cream, a dollop of whipped cream and salted pecans; it's a great dessert.

The service, like the food, has an eclectic friendly quality. It supports the neighborhood vibe, but not at the expense of professionalism.

Rarely does a restaurant that gets larger actually improve the food, but with Paone watching the line, that's exactly what's happened.

Also called: European oyster, flat oyster
In England: Dorset, Whitstable
In America: they have been successfully cultivated, especially in Blue Hill (Maine) and in the Pacific Northwest
In France: Belon -- the classic example of Ostrea edulis and, for some, the epitome of oyster eating. The Belon is native to Brittany.

Marennes -- the famous green-tinged oysters are raised in claires, with a high concentration of the cholorophyll-containing diatom Navicula ostrearia (a tiny algae). They are grouped as fines de claires, which, according to the rather complicated French system of classification, means they are designated as the most superior in quality of oysters.

Also called: Atlantic oyster, Eastern oyster
Regional names (just a few of many): Bluepoint (Long Island), Box Oyster (Long Island), Chesapeake Bay, Chincoteague (Virginia), Cotuit (Nantucket), Kent Island (Maryland), Malpeque (PE Island, Canada), Patuxent (Maryland)

Apalachicola (Florida) -- Plump and sweet, with a hint of copper flavor, these oysters have a greenish, deep shell. This may have been the oyster that was used for Oysters Rockefeller, a dish created at the New Orleans restaurant, Antoine's, during the Gilded Age. It was named after John D. Rockefeller, Sr., because they were both so "rich."

Breton Sound (Louisiana) -- These gulf oysters grow wild in the reefs of Louisiana. They vary in saltiness according to the season, becoming sweetest in the spring when the marshes are flooded with fresh water.

Wellfleet (Massachusetts) -- The salt marshes of Wellfleet in Cape Cod, fed as they are by springs, are the perfect environment for raising oysters. Although the oysters native to the region were depleted by the settlers there in the late 18th century, the area was quickly and successfully restocked with oysters from nearby areas and has remained a strong producer ever since.

Also called: Pacific Oyster, Japanese Oyster

Popular varieties for serving raw include: Mad River and Tomales Bay (California) and Totten (Puget Sound, Washington)

Kumamoto oyster -- This variation of the Japanese oyster is sometimes given its own species name, Crassostrea kumamoto. It was originally cultured on the island of Kyushu in Japan and is now raised in America from the Gulf of Mexico to British Columbia. It has a distinctive, frilly black shell, and the meat is praised as being delicate, even buttery.

we can now accommodate up to 50 people

for your next event.

We can create a menu that is specific

to your party.  For more details,

you can reach us at (510) 883-1720 

 See Menu Below

What business does a seafood restaurant have throwing a Barolo dinner?!

Well, Barolo dinners started a few years back when my friends and I would go out to dinner once every few months and bring some wines from our own cellars for everyone to try out.  In my case it meant  that I would go to Lalime's and grab a bottle of wine to bring with me.  In return, I would end up sampling my friends wine--Stephen Singer bringing Bordeaux that I still have dreams about, Dr. Mark with his wonderful selection of Rieslings, Rhones and, of course, Trockenbeerenauslese.  When my brother Hratch started his wine cellar, he appropriately had to start with Barolos.  What else!  My brother-in-law Barry wanted to come and bring his beer selection, but we turned him into a wine snob as well. 

As time went by, Dan Baedeker, our wine aficionado, joined us and brought his wines as well.  The word went out as far as L.A., where our friend Steve Stathatos decided to join us.  The group kept getting bigger--my brother's friend (and now our friend) Fred joined in and for him it was, "OK, it's Barolo night...I'm heading to the wine store."  It was easy for Fred, he would walk into the wine shop and say "I'm going to dinner with 8 or 9 wine snobs who call themselves the Barolo Knights...what do you recommend?"  After spending a few hefty dollars, Fred would invariably come to dinner with everyone's favorite wine of the evening.  And let's not forget my friend Souren and a slew of his brothers, from L.A. and Germany, as well as the occasional sighting of my friend David with his older vintage Burgundies.  

The dinners are never just Barolo oriented, but we are still the "Barolo Knights".  It's the camaraderie that's most important but also the wonderful meals at restaurants like Oliveto, Chez Panisse, Acquerello, Pizzaiolo and, of course, Lalime's and now Sea Salt.

 So come join the Barolo Knights at Sea Salt on Tuesday October 23rd, and enjoy Anthony Paone's "Not Only Seafood" dinner and some great wine selections by Stephen Singer. 

Haig Krikorian

MENU

Amuse - Bouche.
*
Tuna Kibbeh. Beets. Yogurt. Tahini.
*
Octopus Terrine. Clam Vinaigrette.
or
Rabbit and Foie Gras Terrine. Chicken Gelee.
*
Halibut. Winter Vegetables. Fish Broth. Pistou.
or
"Carpetbagger" Filet of Beef. Roasted Oysters.
Devonshire Cream. Veal-Chanterelle Jus.
*
Brian's Ricotta. Star Thistle Honey.  Dukkah.
*
Semifreddo.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Wine

2006 Massone Gavi, Piemonte
2003 Bruciata Barbaresco, Piemonte
1998 Germano Barolo 'Cerretta', Piemonte
1999 Molino Barolo 'Conca', Piemonte
 

Menu Subject to Change Without Notice

Dinner  75
Wine Pairing  50

FOR RESERVATIONS, PLEASE CALL (510) 883 - 1720

The weather has been beautiful lately and
our outdoor garden patio has been packed
with people enjoying our food, a nice glass
of wine and pleasant company.

We look forward to seeing you soon 

We can offer a variety of menu options
to cater to the specific needs of your group.

In addition to our dining room,
we also have our beautiful outdoor garden patio
that can accomadate  groups of up to 30 people.

For further inquiries or to make reservations, call (510) 883-1720

For Reservations Call (510) 883-1720
Take a look at our sample brunch menu above.

We have also begun to harvest our
first vegetables of the season from our garden,
including arugula and chicories,
which we are now featuring on our menu.

In the coming weeks and months we will also have
peas, shelling beans, herbs, lettuces and cherry tomatoes
--all of which are coming in very nicely
and we can't wait for you to try them.
 

We have expanded to the space next door and added a full bar, which means:

• We are now accepting reservations for all size parties.
• We are featuring a unique and interesting house cocktail list.
• A broad range of elegant spirits to choose from.
  
• A separate dining room available for private parties of up to 50 people.
• Finally, keep an eye out over the next few months as we will begin our weekend brunch. 

Also some recent changes:

• We have expanded our dining room, creating a serene new space next door and giving us more tables to seat, which means...
• We now take reservations for all size parties.
• A separate room that can accomodate up to 50 people for private parties.
  
• Our bar is finally offering a full selection of elegant spirits to choose from.
• We now feature a house cocktail list.
• Finally, keep an eye out over the next few months when we start our weekend brunch.