Salts Brings the Perfect Seasoning

Like a first date who talks too much, Salts is overly self-conscious. Take the cartoonish lettering on the shingles above its door. Or the italicized mantra that takes up a full page of the menu: Throughout history, the offer of salt has been regarded as the offer of hospitality. The tables have saltcellars with cute little wooden spoons, which are remarkably impractical when it comes to actually seasoning food. Sprinkling salt from a spoon means spilling it all over, or having your meal end up tasting overwhelmingly of brine.

The good news: this won’t happen. The flavors at Salts are so masterfully balanced that the miserable little spoon never leaves its little dish. And like the successful first date (the one most Harvard students never go on), once you get past the awkward stages, things can turn out really well.

A good ten-minute walk up Main St. from Kendall, Salts is an intimate bistro featuring unusual fare. The menu changes seasonally, but its influences range from regional American to Eastern European. The small room seats forty-five, and is walled by light-washed still lifes. Strains of light jazz can be heard floating above the murmur of voices. With warm bread and warm service and less-than-exorbitant prices, Salts surpasses its casual atmosphere and offers world-class cuisine.

Someone in the kitchen must have a good sense of humor, though I’m still not quite sure if I was being laughed with or at. Points go out for presentation. My order of fresh rabbit sausage comes on a bed of shredded carrots: the bunny arrives displayed on its own favorite food. The joke, intentional or not, is soon forgotten for the flavor of the dish. The warm and mild white sausage is shelled in salty crisp pistachio crust, and perks up with the tartness of scattered cranberries.

The salad of roasted mushrooms that arrives is unexpectedly towering, layered like a napoleon between round pastry crisps. It’s nearly impossible to figure out how to begin to eat it. Cutting straight into the tower sends mushroom pieces flying; the most successful approach involves delayering first. Again, the flavor pairings are masterful. Creamy dressing deepens the meatiness of the mushrooms, which is then gracefully cut by balsamic vinegar and sharp lacings of tiny cress leaves.

For all the cleverness of the appetizers, the proof is in the meat. Salts provides the best meat-based meal I have had in all of Boston. The mixed grill of beef short ribs and pork tenderloin splits under the fork. The maple braising, sweet and salty, brings out the warm luxury of the short ribs, and the root vegetables and poppy spaetzle (small flour dumplings) add firmness and crunch to the textures at play.

The smoked lamb loin, the house specialty, wafts rosemary from the tender, pink servings. The rosemary releases into smokiness, which then leads to pure lamb, somehow more intense and purer after its opening of herbs. The butternut squash pudding and black barley are fairly boring on their own, but the subtle sweetness and nuttiness compliment the lamb. The meal is masterfully planned. It’s worth trusting the chef, and combining the parts all in one forkful.

For the nervous vegetarian, there are other options on the menu, including an autumn vegetable strudel with truffled pearl barley. If the rest of the meal is any indication, expect a purity of flavor brought out by the dish as a whole. And expect hefty portions; unlike many pricier counterparts, Salts doesn’t skimp on serving size.

By the end of the meal, you’ll feel like you’ve eaten a whole season. Even the desserts have autumnal accents. The signature hot chocolate soup, dark and rich and remarkably like Burdicks’ cocoa, floats a small pumpkin spice cake that goes surprisingly well with the chocolate. The gingerbread mousse blends with its cinnamon cream into a refreshingly light spoonful only hinting at spice. The airiness is welcome after a meal of such heft.

Though Salts wavers close to preciousness, its sheer quality prevails. Who cares about salting your food or being unable to cut your salad when the beef’s perfectly seasoned and the mushrooms taste like pure fall? And with the price of a whole meal less than some restaurants’ entrées, Salts is a tasteful but economical date whose quirks are ultimately endearing.

Salts

798 Main St., Kendall Square

(617) 876-8444

Open Tuesday-Saturday 5:30 p.m. to 10 p.m., Sunday 5:30 p.m. to 9 p.m.

Entrées $19-$30