The Register Citizen (Torrington, CT)
A symphony of Asian food
Below the Salt’s menu is complex and authentic
SALISBURY — The late chef and restaurateur Charlie Trotter once said, “A jazz musician can improvise based on his knowledge of music. He understands how things go together. For a chef, once you have that basis, that’s when cuisine is truly exciting.”
The arrival of Below the Salt at 19F Main St. in July signaled the start of a season’s symphony in Asian food. Chef and owner Noah Sexton, 38, of Brooklyn, N.Y., had started small a few weeks ago, but has crescendoed to a full-scale menu this month. Sexton said he eschews the phrase “Asian fusion.” Dinner guests at Below the Salt will not find, for example, hamburgers seasoned with hoisin sauce.
“I was focused more on foods created with French techniques,” he said. “I try to avoid the word ‘fusion.’”
Sexton said he has been cooking his whole life. As a child from Bay Ridge, N.Y., he regularly cooked for his family’s household. “I really liked it,” he said. He also worked as a dishwasher in a restaurant at age 14. His adulthood took him to law school and then practicing civil litigation (he is licensed in both New York and Connecticut). Yet he had always wanted to get back into the restaurant business.
“I traveled extensively throughout Thailand, Vietnam and Hong Kong, and have always been inspired by the food,” Sexton said. He eventually established two Jersey City, N. J., eateries, which he sold in 2016. He also worked as a private chef for a family on the Upper East Side in New York.
“I missed the creativity and the camaraderie of cooking in a restaurant kitchen,” he said, explaining his return to the business.
The space for Below the Salt was most recently occupied by Liz and Eric Macaire’s The Lockup restaurant, which had offered a bar and restaurant area. Below the Salt is now open Fridays and Saturdays for prix fixe dinner seatings at 5:30 p.m. and 8 p.m.
The phrase “below the salt” originated in the Middle Ages among the social hierarchy of nobility’s dinner tables. Salt, a precious condiment back then, was set in the middle of the dining table. Those of high noble rank were seated close to the Lord and Lady of the house, or “above the salt.” Meanwhile, those in lower social standing were seated “below” it. Sexton explained the restaurant’s philosophy is a more egalitarian approach by serving “the finest ingredients expertly prepared without the pretense.”
Sexton said the restaurant’s future plans include expanded hours and service, including a Saturday and Sunday brunch. He has brought his kitchen staff of 12 with him from Brooklyn. “They are a solid team,” he said.
Below the Salt offers two dining experiences: the noodle menu and the prix fixe menu.
The noodle menu is served in the space’s bistro and lounge area and includes ramen noodles and small plates. Bistro seating is on a first-come, first-served basis from 5 to 11 p.m.
Meals can be accompanied by an assortment of wines, craft beers, and cocktails. Some small plates ranging in price from $4 to $10 include cucumbers with black vinegar, yuzu, and sesame; a crab claw with Jonah crab, shrimp, crispy tapioca, and smoked mustard; and pork buns, with pork belly, hoisin, scallion, and cucumber.
Bowls on the menu, which range from $14 to $16, include Lamb Dan Dan, which features bok choy, tahini, Sichuan oil, and sesame charred corn; Thai noodles, with shrimp, lemon grass, Thai chili, and peanuts; chicken ramen, which includes wood ear mushroom, shoyu broth, bamboo shoots, and Onsen tamago egg.
Main dishes include Tete de Cochon, a roasted half-pig’s-head with steamed buns, smoked mustard, pickled vegetables, and bok choy; and a whole red snapper, which comes with leek-andscallion cole slaw, rice noodles, cilantro, and sweet chili sauce.
Sexton’s kitchen associate Glen Rosengrant served the scallion potato pancakes dish. “The dish is a play on mother’s latkes, which brings fond memories,” he said.
Another plate, the Sichuan chicken, arrives with a rice cake, smoked bacon, scallions, and chilis. “When people think of spicy foods, they usually blow out the front of their palates,” he explained. “Notice the heat with this dish is at the back of your palate. It is an enjoyable sensation, but you are still able to taste the food.”
The second dining option at Below the Salt is the prix fixe tasting menu — with two seatings at 5:30 p.m. and 8 p.m. in the main dining room.
“The community has responded greatly to the tastings,” he said. “We have sold out. The food has been very well-received.” He said the restaurant averages about 80 customers per evening.
Sexton added, “What we are inspired to cook changes. This week as an appetizer, for example, we have a tagliatelle with caviar, mushroom, and shallot cream. The caviar is American sturgeon.”
Menu items change but some dishes served in previous weeks included the following: A first course included a choice of grilled octopus with confit potato, pickled celery, and frisée, a curly endive; or Brussels sprout salad with smoked labne, grilled eggplant, and pistachio. In this menu, the second course included miso glazed cod with wood ear mushroom and green peas; or a hanger steak with trumpet royale mushrooms, latkes, and aji verde (or Peruvian green sauce). Desserts included a choice of peaches and cream or ricotta cherry custard. Prices range from $60 to $65 per person for the meal.
Local diners who have visited appear to be enchanted by the symphony of the food.
Jordan Rochelson, a local resident who teaches English at the Salisbury School in Salisbury, said, “Below the Salt brings affordable and creative flavor to the area. I have tried amazing foods that I’ve never been exposed to before, and have also been pleasantly surprised by twists on dishes that I had already been familiar with.”
Rochelson added, “All the ramen dishes are amazing and flavorful, and the crispy rice and the pork bun appetizers are terrific ways to start the meal. The cocktails are also exceptional!”
Rochelson’s supervisor, Salisbury School Dean of Faculty Rhonan Mokriski, also commented, “It is exactly what the Northwest Corner needed — authentic Chinese food.”
Online reviews have been equally positive. An AARP website user’s restaurant review, wrote in part: “We moved here from NYC and have missed the creative Asian food that we were able to get in the city. Below The Salt has filled the void! The ramen is unbelievably tasty and well-seasoned, and the appetizers were authentic and homemade. The cocktails weren’t a slouch either. She had a gin cocktail, and I had the Thai Old Fashioned. Both were delicious.”
Below the Salt is located at 19F Main Street in Salisbury. It is open Fridays and Saturdays for a prix fixe dinner with seatings at 5:30 p.m. and 8 p.m. The noodle menu is served in bistro seating on a first-come, first-served basis from 5 to 11 p.m. Below the Salt’s telephone number is 860-596-1127. For more information visit www.belowthesalt.com.