VANCOUVER: Salt in Blood Alley

Directions are key in getting to Salt for the uninitiated. The first time I tried to find it was on a whim, guided by a vague sense that it was in some alley in Gastown. Cranky and uncaffeinated at the time, we gave up.

But I was prepared this time, having actually checked Salt’s website, written down its location and drawn a sketch in my Moleskine for good measure.

Armed with actual directions, it was pretty easy to find, though Kevin, G, and Jason were pretty skeptical when I pointed down Blood Alley, whose history turns out to be much less sensational that its name suggests.

Salt zoomed to the top of everyone’s top lists when it opened in 2006.

The space is tiny — intimate, in PR-speak — dominated by an 18-foot long communal table. I wouldn’t consider Salt a restaurant, so much as a gathering place for munchies and drinks. Like dropping by a best friend’s ultra-cool pad for wine and cheese.

The kitchen-less concept is dead simple: Choose three items from the daily, changing mix of 10 meats, 10 cheeses and 10 condiments on the blackboard wall. Really, that’s it, but somehow it’s enchanting and gratifying.

Salt features artisanal cheese companies (many from Vancouver Island) and local charcuterie producers who cure their meats in small batches.

For our meats, we picked:

• smoked lamb salami made by the Oyama Sausage Co.
• rosette du lyon
• pancetta casalingo from Moccia’s Italian Meat Market.

For the meat condiments, we went with the cornichons, olives and Guinness mustard.

For a second platter ($15), we asked our wonderful server to help us pick one hard, one soft, and one blue cheese, as well as the condiments for them.

She returned with:

• soft Oka from Quebec, with amazing walnuts flash-fried in olive oil and covered with sea salt
• hard Lincolnshire Poacher from the United Kingdomm with a fruity piece of (roasted?) quince
• blue Roquefort from France, paired with an eye-opening piece of pure B.C. honeycomb.

We enjoyed the cheese but were really socked by the unique condiments.

Salt’s dynamic wine list is a fun exploration too. Our server again came through with a medium, fruity Renato Fenocchio Dolcetto d’Alba 2006 ($55) from family-run vineyards in Italy, which she said was one of the staff’s favourites.

She also happily and patiently poured a couple of 2 oz.-tasters for some rosé wines we were curious about. (Goodbye white zinfandel, hello crisp and wonderful Hochar Pere et Fils 2007 from Lebanon’s Bekaa Valley.)

I respect that the staff here know their stuff, and seem to genuinely enjoy any feedback on their suggestions.

Lucky for those of us who don’t live in Vancouver, Salt’s success has convinced others to push the charcuterie including the Murray Street Kitchen in Ottawa, and the much anticipated opening of Janice Beaton’s FARM any day now in Calgary.

Salt Tasting Room, Blood Alley, Gastown, Vancouver, (604) 633-1912. Open daily noon to midnight.