"If one of your simple pleasures involves eating lo mein on your couch, by all means, keep doing that. But on an evening when you’d like that lo mein with a side of lychee martini, go to Sal Tang’s. The restaurant from the folks behind Cafe Spaghetti and Cha Cha Tang makes slightly zhuzhed-up Cantonese American food, and—if you order right—it’s a great option for a casual group meal that includes at least one Cobble Hill local who’s using this evening as their opportunity to convince everyone to move nearby. photo credit: Kate Previte photo credit: Kate Previte photo credit: Kate Previte photo credit: Kate Previte photo credit: Kate Previte The dining room is charming enough to convince anyone. Groups crowd around bright yellow tables, interspersed with a few lowkey date nights, and at the backlit bar, a solo might be eating fried rice and drinking a Tsingtao. That’s actually a perfect meal here: the fried rice feels special, served on a silver platter. Or swap the beer for a pot of chrysanthemum tea, and add tangy hot and sour soup, and thick-skinned pork dumplings. Go heavy on starters and dim sum. The mains—like crispy orange beef with fresh orange segments and chunks of rice cake—taste mostly like creative takes on classics that never needed to be messed with in the first place. But the fortune cookie at the end is perfect. Food Rundown photo credit: Kate Previte Hot & Sour Soup Always get the hot & sour soup. It’s thick and tangy and dotted with chili oil—a perfect rendition. photo credit: Kate Previte Egg Roll Share one of these with someone. It’s a thick egg roll, served in a wax paper sleeve, like you’d receive in a takeout order. Cucumber Salad Not a necessary order, but this provides a refreshing crunch between bites of fried things. Crystal Shrimp Dumplings We like everything from the dim sum section of the menu, especially these shrimp dumplings. The chewy translucent skins are bursting at the seams with pink knobs of shrimp, and the chili oil on the side is a nice addition, though you really don’t need it. Char Siu Pork Ribs These sticky-sweet glazed ribs come with hand wipes on the side, which is very helpful for when the bones are inevitably picked completely clean. photo credit: Kate Previte Crispy Orange Beef The “crispy” here comes from cylindrical rice cakes, the kind you might find in the snack room of a local private preschool. We get the idea, but they don’t soak up any sauce, and end up taking away from the overall impact of this dish. The meat, however, is nicely singed on the edges. photo credit: Kate Previte Black Pepper Beef & Broccoli This dish tastes like black pepper and not much else. photo credit: Kate Previte Vegetable Fried Rice Another great rendition, presented on a silver platter. Because even your casual weeknight dinner is worthy of impeccable presentation." - Willa Moore
