Winter Wonderland

With vintage bicycles suspended from the ceiling, the downstairs bar at Sel de la Terre Back Bay is known for its unique style. Bar manager and decorator extraordinaire Ashley O’Reilly has spruced up the space for the season with lights and handmade ornaments, creating a cozy ambience perfect for post-shopping relaxation or an impromptu holiday gathering. “I really wanted it to be festive and fun!” says Ashley.

Under the sparkling lights, try Santa’s Little Helper, the latest addition to the cocktail list devised by General Manager Ian Grossman. Its a wintry adaptation of a Cosmopolitan, featuring flavors of orange, cranberry, and cinnamon. Served up with a sugar-frosted rim, it looks as good as it tastes!

Epicure’s Ultimate Holiday Wish List

The first snow of the season has mostly melted from the sidewalks of Boston, but twinkling lights in shop windows still herald the upcoming holidays. Drawing on the expertise of the Sel de la Terre staff, Salt News has compiled some gift ideas that will please the bon vivant in your life.

The Art of Eating by MFK Fisher
This collection of essays is essential reading for any epicure. MFK Fisher blends autobiography, historical information, and recipes with great insight and masterful prose; she is characterized by John Updike as a “poet of the appetites.”

Kolo wine glasses
Available at the ICA, these mouth blown glasses come in different shapes and offer a truly artistic way to serve seasonal wines. Check out the Damian Ortega show while you’re there!

Simon Pearce wood chopping block
Beautifully constructed and extremely durable for everyday slicing and dicing.

Hattori chef’s knife
In the Sel de la Terre kitchen, Walker Widner says this is the first tool he takes out and the last tool he puts away. “I spend more time with my knife than I do with my girlfriend,” he jokes. From butchering proteins to julienning vegetables, a Hattori chef’s knife is versatile and everlasting.

Le Creuset French oven
This enameled cast iron cookware is coveted by chefs around the globe. Check out the new, super sexy black onyx.

Microplane 46720 Premium Zester/Grater
Use to shave hard cheeses, chocolate, aromatics, and spices. Slip it into a stocking with satsumas or clementines—the microplane zests the outer layer of the citrus fruit where essential oils provide the most intense flavor.

Barismo coffee
This independent, small batch roaster in Arlington offers delicious beans in a variety of styles with detailed brewing instructions—perfect for coffee aficionados and aspiring chemists alike. Standout brews include the Kieni from Kenya and the Helsar de Zarcero from Costa Rica.

Zabar’s Scotch-cured Kosher Nova salmon
Pile atop Bagel Rising bagels for a holiday morning brunch. Sel de la Terre Floor Manager Peter Juusola recommends quickly sautéing the traditional accompaniments of red onion and capers for more delicate flavor.

Taza chocolate
Rooted in the Mesoamerican tradition of chocolate, Taza chocolates are stone ground, organic, and locally produced in Somerville. Try the tasting set, which includes cacao nibs, chocolate Mexicano discs, and dark chocolate bars.

Fleur de Sel de Guerande
The most ethereal of sea salts, fleur de sel rises to the top of salt ponds and is harvested by hand. This fleur de sel from the Loire-Atlantique department in western France is particularly lovely and available at Formaggio Kitchen in Cambridge.

SDLT Gift Cards and Chef McClelland’s cookbook, Wine Mondays: Simple Wine Pairings with Seasonal Menus
Experience the exquisite cuisine of Sel de la Terre, which blends local New England ingredients with the flavors of Provence. And Wine Mondays is available for 20% off until Christmas!

The Best Fries in Boston

French fries are offered in most American restaurants, but the perfect french fry is a bit elusive. We know it when we taste it, but what makes a great fry? In The Man Who Ate Everything, food writer Jeffery Steingarten defines the standards for greatness in french fries as “crispness, a golden-brown color, tenderness (instead of toughness), a fine fried flavor, lightness (instead of a soggy interior), and an absence of greasiness—these seem to be cultural universals, like the fear of snakes.”

The pommes frites at Sel de la Terre fulfill these criteria, and more. They are cooked to order and artfully seasoned with rosemary (an herb traditionally associated with remembrance, loyalty, and friendship).

Citysearch recently recognized the fries at Sel de la Terre Back Bay as the Best of Boston. Come in and try them out for yourself! The pommes frites are served with the burger, steak frites (offered on the lunch, dinner, and bar menu), and available a la carte. For the perfect lunch while out holiday gift shopping on Boylston, try the warm goat cheese and arugula salad with a side of pommes frites.

Cheers!

Ivonne, Catherine, Alissa, and Kate

At the Thanksgiving dinner table, the toast can be a lovely moment of eloquence—or entirely nerve-wracking. The ever-poised hostesses at Sel de la Terre Back Bay remind toast-makers to speak clearly, make eye contact, and smile. Also, have a glass of wine (but not more than one!) beforehand. Below, Salt News has compiled some of our favorite sentiments to help facilitate successful toasting this Thanksgiving and throughout the holiday season.

“I drink to the general joy of the whole table.”
—Shakespeare (from Macbeth)

“Thanksgiving is…the one occasion each year when gluttony becomes a patriotic duty.”
—Michael Dresser

“I am giving thanks for the farmers, who put food on our table and grapes in our glass. Cheers! Oh yeah, I am grateful for my loving family, too…sorry, honey. Can you please pass the pinot blanc?”
—Erik Johnson, Wine Director for Sel de la Terre

“As we express our gratitude, we must never forget that the highest appreciation is not to utter words, but to live by them.”
—John F. Kennedy

“If more of us valued food and cheer and song above hoarded gold, it would be a merrier world.”
—J.R.R. Tolkien

“The best toast is at The Friendly Toast in Cambridge.”
—Ashley Conant, Sel de la Terre Back Bay server (she’s right!)

 

In Vogue: Beer Cocktails

Beer cocktails have been bubbling up around Boston. Beer is quite versatile and can blend well with a variety of flavors, from spicy to sweet. But beyond taste, part of the appeal is taking the artistic license to combine high-brow and low-brow, like wearing heels with jeans. The most traditional of the beer cocktail is probably the Black Velvet—stout beer layered with champagne—but some local innovations are truly tantalizing. Here are highlights from around town not to be missed:

Gina’s Ginger Beer at Franklin Café
Pabst Blue Ribbon, Domaine de Canton Ginger Liqueur, fresh lemon juice, and fresh ginger

Shot in a Beer at Eastern Standard
Budweiser and Fernet

Long Day in the Gaarden at Sel de la Terre Natick
Hoegaarden white ale and Belgian framboise (raspberry) lambic

Sake bombs at Peach Farm
They’re the best in town

Belgian Malinois at Sel de la Terre Back Bay
Belgian framboise lambic and champagne; created by Wine Director Erik Johnson and named after his beloved canines

Also, available off the list at SDLT Back Bay is the Manmosa, which consists of Grand Marnier, fresh orange juice, and Hoegaarden; created by cocktail connoisseur and General Manager Ian Grossman.

Beyond Boston, check out these articles on beer cocktail offerings in New York and Philadelphia. All of the above are fabulous to enjoy during a night out on the town, but are also simple (and relatively inexpensive) to recreate at your next at-home soiree!

Thanksgiving, simplified

This week in the New York Times, Mark Bittman divulges “101 Head Starts on the Day” for Thanksgiving. The article compiles great recipes to make ahead of time, so that cooking on Thanksgiving isn’t an overwhelming undertaking.

To make things even easier, you can mix and match homemade dishes with preordered Sel de la Terre Thanksgiving offerings. Pair your family’s best-loved recipes with ours for a holiday that is both delicious and relaxing. Try our roasted apple-turkey stuffing, truffled macaroni and cheese, or sweet potato pie…yum! Full take-out menu available online.

Feature: Five Festive Wines for Under Fifty!

From business dinners to family gatherings, the late fall and early winter months bring with them a multitude of occasions for wining and dining. For some insights on beverage selection, Salt News sat down with Sel de la Terre Back Bay sommelier Brian Wang. Brian shared some of his seasonal favorites from the SDLT wine list—delicious juices for $50 or less—so you can enjoy a few bottles without draining your holiday funds.

Muscadet, Branger, “Le Fils des Gras Moutons,” Muscadet Sevre et Maine, $32
Muscadet is often thought of as a summer wine, but this light and lovely white can also work as an aperitif alternative to sparkling. “It’s the lightest wine on the list, and is very crisp,” says Brain.

Rkatsiteli, Westport Rivers, Westport, Massachusetts, $10/$50
The Rkatsiteli is a medium-bodied white produced by local winery Westport Rivers. “Rkatsiteli is the most widely grown grape that you’ve never heard of,” Brian discloses. “It is the fourth most planted grape in the world.” He suggests pairing it with pork—perfect for Sel de la Terre where charcuterie is cherished. Available at SDLT Back Bay only.

Chateau d’Aqueria, Tavel, Rhone, $50
During the hectic holiday season, the ability to compromise is an essential virtue—and rosé offers just that. The Tavel is a blend of varietals from southern Rhone resulting in a complex, full rosé that will appeal to both red and white adherents. Brain characterizes it as “bone-dry with zippy acidity.” He declares, “I would drink this throughout the entire meal!”

Pinot Noir, Annabella, “Special Selection,” Carneros, $38
“It’s light-bodied, but not the lightest,” explains Brian. The Annabella features a lot of bright fruit and a bit of spice that results in a very versatile, quaffable wine.

Corvina, Ca’ del Monte, “Classico,” Valpolicella, Italy, $38
This wine is a great value from the Valpolicella region of Italy. The corvina grape is blended with rondinella and molinara, resulting in a wine evocative of dried, dark fruits. Brian suggests pairing this with hearty red meats such as the steak frites, short ribs, or SDLT’s unparalleled burger.

Try out these wines during your next meal with us, and keep some of the more unusual varietals in mind when browsing the shelves of your local wine shop. For more insights on wine and other delicious delights, check out Brian Wang’s blog here!

Digestif: Game On!

Check out this write up of the first Fall Game Dinner at Natick in the MetroWest Daily News. And don’t forget to make your reservations for the encore on December 2nd!

Digestif: Smackdown!

Congratulations to SDLT’s Mike “Le Berg” Bergin, who won the Sous Chef Smackdown on Tuesday! Both Le Berg and rival Rich Morin of Eastern Standard put up a good fight, but sweet victory was secured in the first round with Bergin’s roasted butternut squash soup with petit veal tongue Ruben and mace crème fraîche.

Thanks to everyone who attended and keep an eye out for the next Smackdown!

Upcoming: Fall Game Dinner Part Deux

This past week Sel de la Terre Natick exulted the season with a Fall Game Dinner featuring wild game and other special fall products. Sous Chef Ben Lacy, who helped pass hors d’ouvres during the first part of the evening, enthusiastically declared, “Everything went extremely smoothly! Overall it was a wonderful evening.” The game dishes were beautifully presented and full of rich, enticing flavors. Over a hundred guests attended, creating a festive atmosphere—the perfect way to kick off the holiday season!

 

The evening was so successful that SDLT Natick will be hosting a second Fall Game Dinner on December 2nd. Guests will enjoy four courses expertly prepared by Chef Ben, who blends the natural flavors of wild game with more familiar ones for dishes that are simultaneously unique and approachable. Featured proteins will include elk, rabbit, and pheasant.

Make your reservations soon—space is limited and is sure to fill up quickly! Wednesday, December 2nd, 6:30 p.m. $48 per person.

 

 

 

 

Lovely images courtesy of local photographer Lelia Asher