Salt of the Earth - Fennville, MI - former Journeyman, sorta

New restaurant set to open the end of August in the former Journeyman storefront. The same bakers that Journeyman used are back to baking again and providing some of the old favorites and a few new things. New ownership and new executive chef.

They do have a website, but not much out there yet.

www.saltoftheearthfennville.com

So, we'll see.

I *think* Mark was in charge of booking music at the old Rye and I hope he does the same for Salt of the Earth. (God, that's a dumb name.) Rye featured a good lineup of varied bluegrass acts and I always enjoyed the music there almost as much as the food.

Stopped by this place with a couple of Michigan transplants on the way back from another less than satisfactory Illinois basketball performance.

I'll start off with the worst item of the night which was the pizza. The crust was lacking flavor and way too thick/doughy for my liking. Toppings, cheese and sauce were all fine, but once the crust was lost, it's fate was sealed.

On the much brighter side, this isn't a pizza joint. App of pork belly with parsnip, sweet mustard, pumpkin seed and maple was a really great bite. Thick pieces of belly with proper fat/meat mixture with accompaniments that added without distracting. Cheddar pierogies with buttered cabage were soul warming on a snowy night. My main was the grilled hanger steak with roasted shallots, potato puree and balsamic and bacon roasted brussels also delivered, a perfect medium rare steak with a nice minerally beef flavor and outstanding brussel sprouts.

This is a region i almost never get out to, but i'll certainly be stopping back next time i'm in the area and i can't imagine a better value in the area.

EDIT:

aschie30 wrote:I *think* Mark was in charge of booking music at the old Rye and I hope he does the same for Salt of the Earth. (God, that's a dumb name.) Rye featured a good lineup of varied bluegrass acts and I always enjoyed the music there almost as much as the food.

The act for the night i stopped through had to cancel due to the storm, but judging by the calender of events, live music with a bluegrass emphasis is alive a well.

Alex-I was there the same night as you, and I think I saw your table. You're correct in that it's not a pizza joint (didn't mean to imply that if I did), although it's a popular item. I'm sorry to hear you didn't like it; it's definitely a unique style that derives from various traditions, but for a restaurant that builds on a precedessor that made its name for its breads, it's a style that works for me.

aschie30 wrote:Alex-I was there the same night as you, and I think I saw your table. You're correct in that it's not a pizza joint (didn't mean to imply that if I did), although it's a popular item. I'm sorry to hear you didn't like it; it's definitely a unique style that derives from various traditions, but for a restaurant that builds on a precedessor that made its name for it's breads, it's a style that works for me.

The manager (who was an old friend of one of my dining companions) gave the impression the crust is a work in progress and recently changed so they may be working some kinks out and i don't see why they can't put out a pizza. Either way, given excellent execution of the meats and roasted vegetable dishes, I'll have a hard time straying on my next visit.

Reason for edit: slight improvement of terrible grammar.

any other reports?

It is on my schedule to dine at Salt of the Earth next Friday Sept 20 with some friends from Zeeland.

We first checked out SOE back in 2010 and liked the food fine, but the FOH was such a mess that our meal dragged out over two hours. I guess I had written them off, since I did not return until this summer after raves from my co-worker last summer.

We ate there three times this summer and fell in love with the place. While we have had the occasional robotic or overly attentive server– if you spend as much time eating out in this area as we do, you notice a pattern of shitty service that seems to land on these two sides of the bad service spectrum. All in all, the flow and organization of the place is running much more smoothly these days.

The drinks are fine, though I appreciate their local beer and cider list (Virtue, Short's, Founder's to name a few).

The food is really dynamite– quality, locally sourced ingredients prepared with finesse and large portions to boot. The pizza is fine, not my favorite, a bit too bready, though well topped. The bread service, itself, is quite good, gratis and plentiful with high quality butter (though their head baker split last year to open her own bakery, Kismet who I source in my kitchen up there and love). Their signature Seedy Salt bread is a fave. I've enjoyed all the apps and salads across the board. Their confit of pork belly, thick quivering slabs of caramelized bacon, should not be missed. The scallops that were on the menu in July were delicious, if not too decadent, sort of a deconstructed Rockefeller– fatty bay scallops plated with spinach, breadcrumbs, bacon, cream, and cheese. Their salads shine just by the virtue of their lovely ingredients.

Red meat seems to be their strong suit. All the steaks I've sampled have been spot on. A toothsome flank steak paired great with a zippy chimichurri and polenta salad. A dead medium rare hanger lusciously melted in the mouth. The burger rules too, crusty on the outside, bloody on the inside, served on a great house roll with sharp local cheddar. Even the fries kick ass.

This place does farm-to-table American cuisine at its best. I recently enjoyed a meal at Nightwood, which to me is a kindred spirit to SOE, and it was great (and certainly a notch more creative) but did not quite reach the highs of my meals this summer at Salt of the Earth. Its a tucked-out-of-the-way gem in a sometimes pretty bleak dining scene.

Have been several times and liked the food every time, and have had the occasional service gaffes. Make it a point to get over there for dinner, if I can make the timing work.