Salt & Time Review - East Austin - Austin - The Infatuation
"If you find yourself in that classic Tuesday night dilemma of trying to decide between grilling some steaks in the backyard or eating dinner at a restaurant, try mulling things over at Salt & Time. This spot on East 7th is equal parts butcher shop and restaurant, so whatever side of the coin flip that you end up on results in you and a delicious meal (cooking skills notwithstanding). Of course, it’s not just steaks here. In the butcher shop half, you’ll find all the usual cuts that you’d also find at your local H-E-B, plus a few things that you’ll only find here, like offal, house-cured guanciale, and other equally hard-to-pronounce cuts and cures. Unless you speak fluent butcher, there’s likely to be a cut or two that you’ve never heard of, and those are what you’re at Salt & Time for. If navigating through a textbook of cow’s anatomy sounds way too intimidating, don’t stress too much. The other half of Salt & Time is a restaurant where you can find prepared versions of the stuff behind the counter, cooked by people who know their way around an animal. There’s a core menu of pastas, salads, and apps, but vegetarians, don’t be fooled—just about every component of this menu is meat-focused, particularly the daily rotating butcher’s cut section. This is where you’ll find most of the steaks and chops you saw behind that intimidating glass window about 20 feet away. And while most of them aren’t going to arrive cooked with the same amount of char as a dedicated steakhouse with a 1200° broiler, they’ve all been well-seasoned and cooked exactly to temp. Plus, the whole experience feels a little less stuffy (and more educational) than it does at those other fancy steakhouses. A meal at Salt & Time falls somewhere between casual and fine dining. It’s the type of place that you can just as easily walk into last minute on a weeknight, or get together with a small group of friends on a Friday night for a few steaks, local draft beers, and (mostly) natural wines. It’s approachable and casual—even if some of the steak names aren’t. But you can also just use it as a learning opportunity, then pick up a few coulotte steaks on your way out to try in your backyard next time. " - Nicolai McCrary
